Together through the crisis”

Together through the crisis”

Mr. Bouchal, Mr. Just, thank you very much for the opportunity to speak – even if the time is a bit early for a journalist.
Robert Just: Yes, every job has its own advantages and challenges.

That's a good keyword: you recently expanded your executive team with a new member - you, Mr. Bouchal. What is the distribution of tasks on the board?
Just: We are now a team of three. In addition to Florian Bouchal and me, Erika Hochrieser is also there, who has taken on the role of spokesperson as CEO. She is responsible for finances and also oversees the IT and HR departments. This was important to create a clear structure. As COO, my focus is on operations, but I am also responsible for some sales units, such as Continental, Continental Electric and elektromaterial.at.

Florian Bouchal: As Chief Sales Officer, I am responsible for all building technology sales - we are the market leader there with our brands ÖAG and SHT. This also includes our showrooms and pick-up stores. We have made a clear realignment in sales and are focusing on two customer segments: project installers and classic building technology installers who serve end consumers.

What is the idea behind this realignment?
Bouchal: The two customer groups have very different needs: Project installers are often concerned with long-term project planning, complex processes and other supplier structures. Our traditional installers, on the other hand, have a much shorter planning horizon and different needs. If you treated both the same, you wouldn't do them justice.

Just: Previously, it was common for a field representative to supervise both traditional installers and one or two project installers. That worked, but never optimally. Now we are consistently focusing. This means: We want to make our customers more successful by adapting to their individual needs. This is the only way we as wholesalers can create real added value.

Speaking of success in business, how is business going for you this year?
Bouchal: 2025 is a challenging year. We feel strong fluctuations, especially in the heating and photovoltaic sectors, because funding policy has an extreme influence on demand. You know the current situation. The classic plumbing and installation sectors are suffering from the slump in residential construction. As a result, competitive pressure has also increased significantly in retail: people meet each other more often directly in the market and there are more predatory battles.

Just: We see multi-dimensional competition: industry against industry, trade against trade, and processors also compete against each other. However, 2024 was even more difficult in many ways.

How do you react to this environment? How do you combat this?
Just: With a series of measures. This includes strengthening the board and realigning sales. We are increasingly focusing on the topic of renovation in order to at least partially compensate for the weakness in new residential construction. And we pay attention to profitability: being the market leader does not automatically mean that you always do everything. You can rely on us in the long term. Of course we defend our position, but we do so with a sense of proportion.

Bouchal: We have also looked intensively at our cost structure over the past two years. This includes an important step that we took last year. We call this “back to basics”. We asked ourselves the following question: What really benefits our customers and what are they willing to pay for? We consistently concentrate on our core tasks – the best availability of goods, reliable logistics, fair prices and handshake quality in customer relationships. We consistently avoid things that do not provide added value for customers.

What does that mean specifically?
Just: A good example is the showrooms. After the integration of ÖAG and SHT, we had many good showrooms, but some of them were too close to each other. Some didn't work - we've now closed them. At the same time, we make targeted investments where it makes sense. Overall, we still have the largest number of showrooms and cash-and-carry stores on the market. We have just reopened our enlarged showroom in Wals, Salzburg. We are planning something for next year in Tyrol, Styria and Upper Austria. The same applies to the digital sector: our webshop is now a central pillar of sales. While others here saved during the crisis, we invested. This is now paying off.

Bouchal: One thing is very important to us: we rely on long-term partnerships with our customers. We will get through this crisis together with you. We are an Austrian wholesaler with Austrian employees. The construction industry in Austria thrives on regional value chains. But we see that the influence from Germany is growing. There is a risk that Austria will simply become a sales market - the 17th federal state. We consciously oppose this.

Just: At the end of the day, it's about a confession. We see ourselves as partners of the craft industry. And we see our task as ensuring that the added value does not move away, but stays in Austria. This is not just a strategic decision – it is also an attitude.

Finally, let's take a look at the economy: When do you expect a recovery in residential construction?
Bouchal: The bottom is likely to have been reached this year. The forecasts assume nominal growth of 3.3 percent for the construction industry...

... there is nothing left after deducting inflation.
Bouchal: Probably a little. After all: there is a positive sign in front of the nominal number. However, you have to keep in mind that the business will only reach us with a delay. Depending on the progress of construction, it takes nine to twelve months from the start of construction to installation work. This means: We may see the first positive effects at the end of 2026, but it will take longer across the board. The recovery will be gradual.
Just: Expectations are crucial: Anyone who believes that the next few years will bring another boom will be disappointed. There will be no overheating, but a slow, gradual recovery. This is the new normal. And we are preparing for that.

The new distribution of tasks on the board of the Frauenthal Handel Group: 

CEO Erika Hochrieser: Spokesperson for the Board of Directors, Finance, IT and HR

COO Robert Just: Category management, materials management and logistics as well as marketing and several sales units: Continental, Continental Electric and elektromaterial.at.

CSO Florian Bouchal: Building technology sales with the SHT and ÖAG brands, the showrooms and the ISZ pick-up stores.