Klaus Baumann - Trailblazer Part 2

This is a translation of an article/interview published by GARTENBAHN profi in  magazine 5/2008, pages 16-21. The original magazine is available under http://www.gartenbahnprofi.de/Gartenbahn-Profi-Magazin/Jahres-Inhaltsverzeichnisse.  Italic text in parentheses is background information about related topics in the article.

She was important to get LGB into retail stores and to the customers: the battery train "Lehmann 74"  priced initially  at DEM 49.50 for the complete starter set. (The 40-year logo is part of the article and not related to the product)

GBP: Even if I don't convert that into Euro right now it still seems a pretty low price. As is well known starter sets have been priced below costs again and again as an incentive to buy into the product. Did the battery-pack train set fulfill these expectations?
Klaus Baumann: Yes, definitely! Back then the toys-wholesale-trade still played an important role and they were to offer the hesitant retailer a basic offer with that "Lehmann 74" (train set). It didn't exist at all, then, since 'Playmobil' didn't enter the market until Christmas 1980. But even the robust LGB seemed too complicated for a lot of retailers. So, the "Lehmann 74" was a foot in the door. But sadly, they made the mistake at Lehmann - as would be done again and again later on- to include more and more (stuff) into this set and it got more and more complicated technically. Consequently the battery pack train set almost matched the price of a regular LGB (train/loco). After about 10 years in 1985 they eventually abandoned the battery-pack train set product line.
GBP: The new battery train was offered in big department stores and wholesale chains like 'Metro' and 'Handelshof' (compare to Macy's and Costco). LGB trains were not available at these stores at first. Why did Lehmann not make use of these expanded retail possibilities? What strategy were they pursuing?
Klaus Baumann: They would have but- they had to protect the specialist retailer (specialist retailer in Germany was/is a distinction/award given to a retailer by the Federal Retail Association when the retailer fulfills certain distinctly set rules). That was a balancing act! Therefore they tried to use a two-track policy; get the attention of the prospective customer at the department stores and at the whole sale chains and at the same time have the complete product-line offered at the specialist retailer while 'coercing' him to deliver an expert service covering the complete LGB program.
GPB: Did LGB have enough market coverage back then; did the specialist retailer trade realize how much money they could possibly make?
Klaus Baumann: This insight was growing very slowly. Often space problems in those retail stores hindered   the placing of the big LGB boxes. (The average German specialist retail store space was 500 sq ft) and then the retail trade just dreaded the (required capital) investment for a complete (LGB) product-line. You just depicted what was already offered  in the early Seventies. And that was all cutting into the piggy bank already.---Later that changed at the big department stores. (By then) they offered only those products that had been assigned (to them) by their operational headquarters. And it was one of my tasks to get them (headquarters) to list LGB. And for that it was especially important to be able to offer a simple,basic product- not only for the consumer but also for the sales person.+++to be continued++++
(The original German article contains additional 'boxes' with fun stories shown here in  a grey shade)
Customs Control: --- Eberhard Richter and Klaus Baumann were jointly travelling in Austria in the Seventies to visit a model train fair and present the LGB brand. To forgo pesky customs formalities at the border they tried to wing it. Well, that didn't work. Eberhard Richter was asked to move to the side maybe because of his big Mercedes. He had to open the trunk which of course was filled to the top with red LGB boxes. That's when he showed his quick wittedness and his acting abilities. In front of an audience of puzzled customs officers he started to wildly berate Klaus Baumann why for heavens sake he'd forgotten to empty the trunk the day before. They were just about  to attend a meeting and  did not at all plan to import any merchandise whatsoever.
It worked. They were able to proceed unchallenged. 300 ft into Austria Eberhard Richter apologized profoundly to Klaus Baumann....