Wanzl Stories (part 7) – Wanzl and the inspiring spark

Australia. They already had koalas, endless coastline and kangaroos – but they still did not have the right shopping trolleys. It stood to reason then that Gottfried Wanzl, who was both Head of Sales and the Chairman of the Management Board, made the journey together with his CFO to discover Down Under! Of course, in completing their store checks, the small delegation

came across shops that did not have any Wanzl shopping trolleys whatsoever. And although an Australian saying goes ’Tis a silly sheep that confesses to the wolf, products manufactured by Australian competitors could hardly avoid it: these products drew the interest of the small Wanzl team, and they disclosed their key features.

In the basement of a large shopping mall, at the collection point for the shopping trolleys spread across the underground parking area, Gottfried Wanzl steered towards a trolley, knelt down, and performed his expert checks: he ran his fingers along the welded seams, noted how the handles were processed, and turned the trolley onto its side, testing its bearing and how easily it rolled. He forgot himself while performing his technical diagnosis, and suddenly there was a rough voice: “Hey, mate, what are you doin’?”

A member of the supermarket security staff had happened across the German delegation, in front of which the Australian representative rose up, protectively: “This is the famous Mr. Wanzl from Germany – the GODFATHER of SHOPPING TROLLEYS!”Puzzled, the man stayed where he was and focused on the godfather, who was currently still kneeling on the ground. He then stood up, dusted himself off, approached the security guard and stretched out his hand. The guard took his hand firmly and gave a warm smile. Thank heavens!

To part 8 – Creativity, not crisis