By Mathias Frohnapfel
December 2 – In an interview with our associated company, SPORT1, Bayern Munich’s commercial chief and board member Andreas Jung spoke about shirt sales, the Dortmund rivalry, the rise of Leipzig and Uli Hoeness. Jung was speaking before the meeting of Bayern club members last week.
Andreas Jung was first a fan of FC Bayern. Now he has turned his hobby into a career and, in true football style, he is loving every minute of it. And top of his favourite topics is the fact that Bayern cracked the one million mark for the first time, translated from 1.3 million jerseys with club emblem.
Jung has worked since 1996 for the Munich club, is a board member and is responsible, amongst other things, for sponsorship, branding and merchandising. He has been one the driving forces behind making Bayern, by membership, the biggest club in the world.
Prior to Bayern’s annual general meeting of Munich, he spoke to our colleagues at about what makes the FC Bayern brand, the club’s competitors, and the implications of the trial of former president Uli Hoeness.
SPORT1: Last season Bayern sold 1.3 million Jerseys – a new record. What is the target now?
Andreas Jung: Of course, we want to sell more jerseys. But in a World Cup year, it is not so easy for us.
SPORT1: Why is that?
Jung: If Germany is world champion with seven players from FC Bayern, then of course there is hype. The national team has also sold a crazy amount of jerseys. The purchasing decision makers, ie those who pay for the shirt – parents, grandfather or grandmother – now say, “Boy, you’ve got already your favourite team’s shirt.” So they get a national team shirt.
SPORT1: The national team is in competition with the club?
Jung: If you like: in this case, yes. When we talk about the German market and merchandising, the national team is the main rival.
SPORT1: Club legend Paul Breitner likes to say he is one of millions of fans of Bayern Munich. Have you tried to record how many there actually are in Germany?
Jung: The number is always between 12 million and 14 million. That number can be a bit performance-based.
SPORT1: And how would you define the FC Bayern brand?
Jung: We are an international brand that now has a global focus. The motto here is to act commercially. Do not spend more than we earn, like Uli Hoeness has always said. The social component and the ‘Family’ are also attributes that are important for Bayern.
SPORT1: Your big rival in Germany, Borussia Dortmund, has the slogan ‘Real Love’, in Bavaria the Bayern slogan is ‘Mia san Mia’. How do you value the positioning and growth of the BVB?
Jung: I can only say that I absolutely respect the work Dortmund have done. I know from my colleague Carsten Cramer that they have then analyzed exactly which slogan best fits Dortmund and its fan structure. For us, the slogan comes from a somewhat different background. The “Mia san Mia” is from the eighties, when the players after winning the championship have sung at the town hall balcony: “Mia san Mia, mia san stärker wia a Stier, mia san stärker wia a Ba(u)m, weil mia echte Bayern san.” (we are we, we are stronger than a bull, we are stronger than a tree, because we are real Bavarians)
SPORT1: Between Bayern and Dortmund, there are always taunts. Does this help you from a marketing point of view?
Jung: Sledging goes with the job. This is perfectly normal between sporting competitors, there are different views and everyone is convinced of theirs. As for the economic viewpoint, everyone must decide which way he goes. As long as everyone accepts the rules, that’s okay.
SPORT1: As can be seen in the context of the development of RB Leipzig?
Jung: If Leipzig adhere to the DFL guidelines, which must be accepted by all. Leipzig will come sooner or later into the Bundesliga. The 50 + 1 rule applies to all, it must be observed by them as it is with other clubs too. If Leipzig qualifies for a European competition, then there is also Financial Fair Play. Then they should not spend more than they earn.
SPORT1: Bayern’s ‘Mia san Mia’ slogan is said by some to be arrogant, to a confident manner. Can that have negative consequences for the brand?
Jung: Every successful brand polarizes people. If success is there, there is always envy. Therefore, there is an emotional positioning. We are aware of our role and responsibility. The people who know FC Bayern, know that the club does not have this arrogance. Also, FC Bayern started small, we were not, for example a founding member of the Bundesliga. Other clubs already had stadiums with more than 60,000 spectators. For Bayern it was a long and complicated way to position the brand in sport and commercially at the level it is today. And all this with the proviso that the FC Bayern AG is still in the majority “ownership” of the members.
SPORT1: How would you describe these beginnings?
Jung: The concept of merchandising, for example, was around at the beginning of the eighties, but not in Germany. Uli Hoeness brought the idea from the United States. First there was a scarf, a poster and a cap. In the old club building, the post office was cleared to become a club shop. A secretary working for Uli Hoeness was there selling the first fan items – the first day there was 27.50 marks in the cash register. These were the first merchandising revenues of Bayern.
SPORT1: And today?
Jung: Today FC Bayern takes Merchandising per year more than €100 million and the fan catalog has a circulation of 1.2 million copies
SPORT1: You said in an earlier interview, Uli Hoeness was your role model as a manager at the beginning.
Jung: Not only at the beginning. Uli Hoeness is my role model and he will remain so. I’ve always been a Bayern fan and have watched closely what happened. It is based on his first developed visions and then implemented. Each time I could go to him if I needed some advice. His door was never closed.
SPORT1: How much have you suffered during the court process with him?
Jung: Everyone has suffered extremely with it, it’s more than sad beyond words. About the process, I have nothing to say, one should rather look forward as the heaviest part of the punishment will soon be over and he may soon be given the opportunity to work here again.
SPORT1: At the annual meeting the issue of ‘Uli Hoeness’ will resonate. What reaction do you expect from the members? He said in May: “I’ll be back.”
Jung: I don’t think we could present these figures at this level if Uli Hoeness had not been there. We will start with the commerical and sporting data which promises to make this in to very good annual meeting, which will take place harmoniously. It is to his credit that there will be question about him.
SPORT1: You have known Uli Hoeness for a long time. Will he again seek office in the club?
Jung: The decision is up to him first, and then for the members. I look forward to seeing him whatever the outcome. But he needs to assess his own situation and knows with certainty what he wants to do.
SPORT1: Has the trial of Uli Hoeness also affected the brand?
Jung: There were no adverse effects. I emphasize again: the strength of the brand Bayern is also in large part to his credit.