Head of Trigema, Wolfgang Grupp. Sebastian Gollnow Alliance/image via Getty Images
Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp is now 80 years old. He will hand over management of the company at the end of the year. For a long time it was unclear which of the children, Bonita or Wolfgang Grupp Junior, would take over the business.
Now he makes it clear in an interview with “Tagesspiegel” that he will transfer the company to both his children and his wife. Children must lead the company in dual leadership.
Both children enjoyed an elite education at a boarding school and university in London. At the company you currently work with e-commerce and sales.
The king of the small town of Burladingen, in the Swabian Alps, does not belong to a traditional noble family nor does he hold political office in the region. The king of Burladingen is Wolfgang Grupp: textile millionaire. The Trigema boss generates triple-digit million sales with his company and is one of the last manufacturers to produce exclusively in Germany.
He is now 80 years old and announced that he would hand over management of the company at the end of the year. However, it was unclear whether his wife or which of his sons would assume leadership of Trigema. Now Wolfgang Grupp has made his decision in an interview with “Tagesspiegel”. The two descendants should take over: Bonita and Wolfgang Grupp junior.
“I once said that I would like a child to take control so that they don’t fight for the rest of their lives. The two get along well, but it could happen that they get married and strangers join the company,” says Grupp.
But the plan doesn’t work for tax reasons, the company explains, because the tax on donations would be significantly higher. “That’s why I’m going to pass the company on to both my children and my wife. I have no concerns that they will continue to run the company well with dual leadership,” he says.
According to Grupp, there will be no official farewell party – especially because it is not a farewell forever. “Everything will be normal. I will hand over the company at the end of the year, but I will still be on the market. But then I’m no longer in charge.”
Grupp is a man who acquired the spirit of managing director as a child. His grandfather Josef Mayer and his brother Eugen founded the Gebrüder Mayer shirt factory – Trigema for short – in Burladingen in 1919. He has been managing director of the family company since 1969 and replaced his father, Franz.
At that time, the company was anything but good. However, Grupp cleaned up, eliminated millions of liabilities and increased sales to around 100 million euros and the number of employees to 1200. The entrepreneur and his company became particularly well-known through a television advertisement featuring a chimpanzee.
Bonita and Wolfgang Junior take the lead
Wolfgang Grupp junior and Bonita Grupp. Sebastian Gollnow Alliance/image via Getty Images
The company has always been at the heart of the family. That’s how Wolfgang learned it and that’s how he passed it on to his two sons. Grupp lives with them and his wife Elisabeth, 24 years his junior, on their property opposite the Trigema factory. Always close to the action.
His two sons have positioned themselves to take over the company in the past. His daughter Bonita, 34, works in the company’s e-commerce sector. Son Wolfgang Junior is two years younger and works in sales. Both have been integrated into Trigema since the beginning and will bear a great burden in the future.
Both kids seem suitable – although the audience doesn’t know much about the group’s successors. Apparently her father’s face still represents the entire company too much.
A life for the family business
The Grupp family at their estate in Burladingen in 2000. Joachim Schulz/ullstein bild via Getty Images
Bonita and Wolfgang Grupp junior’s CVs are very similar. After fourth grade, they both went to an English-language boarding school in Switzerland. Father Grupp made his children’s elite education cost up to 160,000 euros a year. After school, Bonita studied business administration in London. Her brother did the same and also went to the British metropolis to study business administration and politics. Wolfgang Grupp also studied business administration.
Since 2013, Bonita has returned to live with her parents on the property, opposite the factory. Her brother Wolfgang came five months later. Since then, they have been firmly anchored in the company again. Bonita stands out above all for its commitment to digitalization. In an article in “Wirtschafts Woche”, companions say that she has a strong character and the ability to integrate and motivate other people. She is a perfectionist, like her father.
Wolfgang Jr. is also very organized and always gives 100%, they say. They both admire their father. This also gives them adequate freedom in the property. Friends can show up for parties; the fleet is full of luxurious cars.
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This article was published on Business Insider in May 2021. It has now been revised again and updated on October 2, 2023.