As of: April 2, 2024, 5:21 a.m
By: Natascha Berger
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The Swabian entrepreneurial legend Wolfgang Grupp appears very private in a TV documentary after his resignation from Trigema. At one moment the 81-year-old becomes visibly emotional.
Burladingen - The former owner and managing director of the textile company Trigema, Wolfgang Grupp, usually draws attention to himself with provocative statements. Now the 81-year-old appears unusually private in a TV documentary from SWR and gives deep insights into his life. The retired businessman not only speaks openly about his past times as a bachelor, but also about how he feels about the future of the Trigema company after his children take over.
Former Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp unvarnishedly honest in TV documentary: “I am an egoist”
A camera team from the public broadcaster SWR accompanied the now 81-year-old entrepreneur for a year. In addition to Wolfgang Grupp, his wife Elisabeth and his children Wolfgang jr. were also present for the “SWR Portrait” format. (33) and Bonita Grupp (35) in front of the camera. A long-time school friend also talks about shared experiences. The timing for the documentary is convenient: After 54 years at the helm of Trigema, Wolfgang Grupp resigned at the turn of the year and left the clothing company to his children and wife. He said goodbye to his employees with a hefty bonus. Right at the beginning of the documentary, Grupp, whose assets are estimated at around 100 million euros, makes it clear: “I am an egoist.” He only does everything he reveals to SWR to benefit the company. Not to do anything good for the journalists.
Wolfgang Grupp next to his wife Elisabeth and their children, daughter Bonita and son Wolfgang Grupp Junior. © picture alliance / dpa | Felix Kästle
OTTO managing director Andreas Merkel also confirms that Wolfgang Grupp is “totally selfish”. Negotiating prices with the 81-year-old was always difficult. But Merkel knows that the entrepreneur only wants the best for his Trigema. This is also clear from the voices of the employees who have their say in the SWR documentary. They only have positive words for their workplace. “They know that you are making this public. “They don’t say my sins so loudly,” jokes Wolfgang Grupp. His influence on the employees was particularly evident in 1987 when he persuaded 120 employees to join the CDU.
Trigema legend Wolfgang Trupp is emotional in a new documentary giving a speech to employees
After more than five decades in a leadership position, Wolfgang Grupp clearly finds it difficult to say goodbye. Viewers of the TV documentary see the entrepreneur emotionally speaking to his employees. “I was pleased that I was able to work with you so pleasantly for 54 years, in good times and in difficult times. “I won’t forget all these years, all these decades,” says the father of two in tears.
The Trigema boss is fighting back tears: Wolfgang Grupp gave his last Christmas speech before retirement. © Screenshot/Youtube/Trigema
In addition to the 81-year-old's leadership style, a big topic in the documentary is his private life. At boarding school he met Georg Strangemann. The two men have been good friends for over 70 years. The entrepreneur from Bremen says: Wolfgang Grupp was always admired by women and there were “always beautiful girls” at his parties. Even though his long-time friend “personally didn’t like” how Grupp treated the women back then, he remained a happy bachelor for a long time. “I haven’t committed myself,” he says in the TV documentary and talks about his female acquaintances in various German cities. Whenever he was invited somewhere, he always “inquired about the ladies”.
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Clear idea about age: Ex-Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp chats about women
When he inquired about the ladies in 1986, he met a woman who he was finally able to commit to: his current wife, Elisabeth Grupp. The Austrian was studying medicine at the time and was significantly younger than Grupp. But that's exactly what he liked. “I always said: No matter how old I am, my wife has to be in her early 20s when I marry her,” says the former Trigema boss in the documentary. Luckily for him, Elisabeth Grupp was only 19 years old when he met him. The couple married when she was 22 and he was 46. Elisabeth Grupp finally gave up her studies in Graz and joined her husband's company.
Although she was married to the owner, she did not enjoy any benefits. When it came to Trigema, Wolfgang Grupp was always primarily their boss. She had to perform the same as all the other 1,200 employees.
Elisabeth Grupp remains a shareholder, managing director Wolfgang Grupp withdrew from the Trigema business at the end of 2023. © IMAGO/Pervin Inan-Sertas
No computer, no emails and hunting: That's how Wolfgang Grupp from Trigema works in his private life
In the documentary, Wolfgang Grupp also tells us what he doesn't like so much. First: computers. He doesn't own one and never writes emails. All incoming emails were always printed out for the managing director. He passed his answer on to his secretaries using a voice recorder. The 81-year-old doesn't like working from home either. He is also not a big fan of alcohol. Wolfgang Grupp had never been drunk, not even when he was a student. Instead of computers and alcohol, the 81-year-old has been enjoying spending time in nature hunting for many years. After the hectic business, he finds peace there.
After half a century as one of Germany's best-known businessmen, Wolfgang Grupp is now retired and can spend more time hunting. Is he worried about how his children and wife will cope with the management of Trigema? Probably not. After all, he is “still there” if questions arise. He also knows that he can rely on his children and appreciates them for their ambition.
(nbe)