Entrepreneurial M&A Advisory: Commercial Due Diligence and Value Maximization for the Spirits E-Commerce Business of Waldemar Behn GmbH

Challenge

Waldemar Behn GmbH (Behn) is a leading German family-owned company in the spirits sector. Following an initial phase of consolidating its e-commerce activities, hy conducted commercial due diligence for the online stores Wachholder Express (WEX) and Bolou / Feine Tropfen Handels GmbH (FTH). The original plan was to create pitch decks for these shops in order to sell them to third parties.

However, hy identified significant optimization potential that could contribute to substantial value creation in the short and long term. As a result, Behn decided to pause the sales process and instead pursue targeted growth initiatives together with hy. The overarching objective is the sustainable increase of contribution margin in order to achieve a significantly higher enterprise value and sales price for the shops.

Solution

The chosen approach is designed as an ongoing entrepreneurial partnership in the form of a retainer, with hy acting as an active co-entrepreneur. To sustainably increase the performance and enterprise value of the online shops “Wachholder Express” (WEX) and Bolou / Feine Tropfen Handels GmbH (FTH), the strategy focuses on activating short- and mid-term growth levers simultaneously.

Operational priorities include a comprehensive SEO overhaul, optimization of performance campaigns (Google Ads), and the implementation of a holistic “Customer Value Optimization” approach to significantly increase conversion rates and customer retention. At the same time, the pricing structure is optimized through the identification of EBIT-relevant potential and targeted product rationalization based on a detailed 80/20 revenue analysis. This approach is complemented by mid-term scaling initiatives such as expanding B2B sales, establishing marketing subsidy models, and developing exclusive private-label concepts.

Impact

The consistent implementation of these growth initiatives leads to a substantial increase in the value of both online shops, directly contributing to the achievement of a higher purchase price in a future transaction. A key result is the significant improvement of contribution margin (DB III).

In addition, the project has professionalized digital operations: a structured data collection and analysis framework was established, enabling precise management of all marketing and pricing components. Strategically, the collaboration resulted in a sharpened market positioning, including the rebranding of WEX toward a premium provider (“The Golden Juniper”). Overall, the project enables the Behn Group to either continue operating its e-commerce assets highly profitably or successfully position them in the market at an optimized enterprise value.