FLENSBURG, Germany — Orion Wholesale has announced a restructuring of its management team following the retirement, after 30 years, of Wholesale Manager Sven Jacobsen. Orion's Purchasing and Wholesale groups will now be merged under the leadership of Hans-Jürgen Bähr, who takes on the dual roles of Chief Product Officer and Chief Sales Officer B2B.
"Sven Jacobsen has been closely associated with the Orion group for almost half of his life, a time when a small, internal sales department originally supplied the Orion group’s subsidiary company and which then grew into one of the largest erotic wholesale businesses in Europe," noted a company rep.
“That was a lovely and intense time,” said Jacobsen, “and it doesn’t feel like work when what you’re doing is fun. However, now is the right time to step down from my active role after 30 years at Orion with fantastic colleagues in one of the most interesting industries in the world. I will miss the trade fairs and the numerous trips but above all, I will miss the contact with the customers but I am looking forward to what is to come. And I know that it’s going in the right direction both for me personally and for Orion."
Orion's Managing Director Maike Rotermun praised his positive effect on their team.
“Sven has had a strong influence on Orion – both personally and professionally. I am very grateful to him for that. We would have loved to celebrate his departure all together during a barbecue but corona has unfortunately thrown a spanner in the works," Rotermun said. "But we’ll make up for that as soon as we can — and then with the whole team."
Hans-Jürgen Bähr, trained as a business economist, will celebrate 25 years with Orion in 2022, with 20 of those years as the company's purchasing managing.
"It was time to bridge the gap between our Purchasing Department and Wholesale Department,” he said. “This is the only way that a holistic product management is possible for us in the long term — from the creation of ideas and the product development right up to marketing and sales."
He noted a planned focus on the digitalization of sales as "a major task and opportunity for the future" in order to "permanently improve the service for the customers and also to conquer new markets and be more broadly positioned internationally."
"Not only will we analyze, optimize and significantly tailor our product portfolio to our customers’ needs, but we’ll also enter into new, promising partnerships in the industry,” he said.
Bähr expressed confidence in the support of his management team and his new dual role as chief product officer and chief sales officer B2B, noting they count "a total of almost 100 years of experience in the erotic industry."
The rep noted Mark Boderius will now take on the role of Head of Purchasing and Product Development.
Hauke Christiansen will become Head of Wholesale Operations and Björn Radcke will become Head of Sales & Marketing B2B in Wholesale; both of them will also continue their previous jobs as Senior Key Account Managers.
"Orion's well-known and reliable team will also remain the same," the rep added. "This means that all the Orion customers will keep their usual competent and reliable contact person. After all, continuity and personal contact with customers, as well as the extensive bestseller assortment, are what makes Orion Wholesale stand out."
Visit Orion online; direct inquiries to wholesale@orion.de.
Image (L-R): Hans-Jürgen Bähr, Mark Boderius, Sven Jacobsen, Hauke Christiansen, Björn Radcke
