Dieter Hilpert – a personal obituary by Thorsten Hilpert

My father could only ever look ahead. Perhaps he was born with this in his cradle, as he was born on 12 October 1945, when the Second World War had only been over for a few months and the country had to reinvent and reorganize itself. My father was known to be a master at structuring things.

He acquired his professional skills over 23 years at the Schieder Gruppe. At the time, the group was the ultimate furniture supplier – and my father built up a large network and learned a lot, especially about importing furniture, of course.

When Schieder began to falter in 2007, he had long since founded his own business. “After I left Schieder, I spent exactly three days thinking hard about what I could do as an entrepreneur,” he once recalled in the members’ magazine of the IHK Lippe Detmold. With a staff of four people, his wife and myself, he got started and on January 1, 1999. He founded BEGA-Consult, a start-up, as they say today, in a saturated industry – at the age of 53. The rapid development was unstoppable: He founded a total of 16 companies under the BEGA umbrella. In 2009, ten years after its foundation, the group of companies broke the turnover barrier of 100 million euros and the start-up had become a mature company. Just three years later, turnover doubled to 200 million euros, and by 2015 it had reached 300 million euros. That’s what you call exponential growth. The strategy was always the same: each company represented a product group that was initially aggressively priced. Once the foot was in the door, the area penetration (and price increase) in retail was continuously increased.

The in-house exhibitions were a very important instrument for this success – right from the start, as my father invited the trade to Lügde for the first time in September 1999. This is where he was able to play to his strengths: constantly surprising visitors with new models and great prices and responding to requests and challenges at lightning speed. The first expansion of the exhibition space became necessary in 2014, the second in 2017, and now construction is underway again: A new three-storey building complex including an exhibition hall will ensure that the exhibition quality in Lügde continues to set standards.

He was characterized by the fact that he was noncommittal and always re-assessed the situation. In 2023, Bega Logistik Polska was founded, a logistics company with its own distribution warehouse. It was actually one of his basic principles not to operate his own warehouse. But if you want to get involved in online retail, you must enable drop shipping, and for that you need a warehouse.

My father had a good feel for people. This was evident, for example, in the selection of employees for the individual companies in the group. He always found strong personalities. He demanded performance, delegated responsibility and instilled trust. The employees lived up to this.

Clear, reliable, down-to-earth – that’s how he acted in business and in his private life. He was characterized by entrepreneurial vision, market knowledge and negotiating skills. If a situation got stuck, he was able to get things moving again with his charm, enormous knowledge and entrepreneurial enthusiasm. He knew how to inspire his business partners, and not just through pure expertise, but always with wit, irony and quick-wittedness. “In the end, there must be compromise, not breakdown”. That was his credo.

But my father always put his family first – even though, or perhaps because, he was a very busy man. He could recharge his batteries at home. My mother always managed to create a private idyll. Anyone who knows the garden in our house knows what I’m talking about. He felt happy here. He also experienced moments like this on vacation in Mallorca or when breeding hummingbirds and dwarf parrots, for which he received many awards.

My father passed away on March 21, 2024. He left us all a great legacy with the BEGA Gruppe and we will do everything we can to justify his trust in us. We will continue to honour his memory.

Thorsten Hilpert

Information about the BEGA-Gruppe

With reference to the painful loss of our shareholder and founder Mr. Dieter Hilpert, it is now more important than ever for us employees of the BEGA-Gruppe, to continue to successfully advance the fortunes of our family company after the initial moments of deep sadness.

As already mentioned in our first published press release, a seamless transition into the future has been paved thanks to the foresight of Mr. Dieter Hilpert. Specifically, a family foundation will be set up with the task of continuing the BEGA-Gruppe in the same spirit and as one unit. The existing Advisory Board of the BEGA-Gruppe will continue its work in this context.

With this notice, we want to express that the BEGA-Gruppe will remain a reliable business partner now and in the future – as it has been to date – and that “continuity and dynamism” will continue to be its credo.

In the near future, we will approach our business partners even more intensively via existing responsibilities and contact persons in order to answer any remaining questions in direct dialog in a trustworthy manner.

All employees of the BEGA Gruppe
Together with the Advisory Board
April 16, 2024

Death of Mr. Dieter Hilpert

It is with deepest sadness and a heavy heart that we hereby announce, our shareholder and founder of our family company the BEGA Gruppe
–
Mr. Dieter Hilpert
–
passed away on March 21, 2024 at the age of 78.

Mr. Dieter Hilpert expanded and strengthened this group of companies over a period of 25 years, successfully developed it and left an overwhelming mark until the end. His visions for the BEGA Gruppe are also key parameters that will continue to drive and guide us employees in the future.

We are infinitely grateful to have been able to benefit from Mr. Dieter Hilpert’s expertise, experience and entrepreneurial enthusiasm. It was a privilege to have experienced him as the head of the BEGA Gruppe. We will always remember Dieter Hilpert as a person with all his facets.

In addition to our own grief at this loss, we extend our sympathy and deepest condolences to Mr. Dieter Hilpert’s family, especially his wife Helga Hilpert and his son Thorsten Hilpert.

We ask for your understanding in allowing the family and ourselves a little time to grieve over the next few days

Regardless of this, thanks to Mr. Dieter Hilpert’s foresighted actions, the BEGA Gruppe is positioned in such a way that a seamless transition into the future has been paved to continue his legacy successfully.

All employees of the BEGA Gruppe
22.03.2024.