• Acquisition of the remaining 24.9 per cent in December

• New Outdoor Cooking business segment at Miele further strengthened

• Founders see the “task of bringing Otto Wilde Grillers from a start-up to a safe harbour as fulfilled," and continue to be involved in an advisory function

When Miele acquired a majority stake in the Düsseldorf-based start-up in March 2021, this marked the Gütersloh-based company's entry into the outdoor cooking sector. By acquiring the remaining shares, Otto Wilde Grillers is now a 100 per cent subsidiary of the world's leading supplier of premium domestic appliances. In the course of the complete takeover, the founders Alexander Luik and Nils Wilde have announced that they will retire from the company but will remain on board in an advisory capacity

The common goal of Miele and Otto Wilde is to establish a high-quality and harmonised outdoor enjoyment world for highest demands. And with success: almost 8,000 units of the Otto Wilde platform, with the G32 Connected gas barbecue made entirely of stainless steel at its centre, have already been sold. The sales network has also been expanded to around 100 well-positioned specialist dealers since last year. Otto Wilde is also continuing to expand its platform concept, most recently launching an innovative storage system for outdoor kitchens.

"With the purchase of the first shares in 2021, we have not only gained a promising product portfolio, but also an outstanding and committed team," says Gernot Trettenbrein, Senior Vice President Business Unit New Growth Factory, in which Miele bundles the development of new business areas. "Otto Wilde has great potential, which we want to utilise together and further expand our Outdoor Cooking business segment." Trettenbrein also thanked the founders and managing directors Alexander Luik and Nils Wilde for their extraordinary commitment: "We have achieved a great deal together over the past few years and have also learnt a lot from each other on a personal level. I am therefore delighted that Nils and Alex will continue to support us in an advisory function."

For both of them, the complete takeover by Miele is the right time to hand over their passion project into good hands and dedicate themselves to new tasks: "When we started in 2015, we wanted to use our experience from the USA to revolutionise barbecuing in Germany. In Miele, we found the ideal partner who shares our values and supports our vision," emphasise Wilde and Luik. "We would like to thank Miele, all our partners and our entire team for the respectful collaboration and wish everyone continued success."

Following the departure of Nils Wilde and Alexander Luik, Otto Wilde Grillers will be led by former Co-Managing Director Achim Schade (Product Development and Operations) as well as Florian May (Finance and Administration) and Anna-Lena Hasse (Marketing and Sales), who previously held other positions at Otto Wilde and Miele. "We look forward to driving forward the vision of the founders in the future and working together with Miele on new ideas and products."

Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. Their product portfolio also includes dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications. Founded in 1899, the company has eight production plants in Germany, one each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland as well as two production plants belonging to its Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. Sales in the 2022 business year amounted to around € 5.43 bn. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries/regions. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 23,300, of which approx. 11,900 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.