The Mittelstand is name of Germany’s more than 3.5 million small and midsize businesses that account for 60% of the country's workforce and more than half of its economic output.
In the UK a lot of small businesses are owned by older people. It would seem to be the same in Germany and hence a lot of people are going to be working in companies that will experience a change of owner due to retirement.
By 2017 it is thought that the jobs of four million German employees at 580,000 midsize companies will depend on a successful leadership transition.
Now I am not sure if this is true (I guess it might be) that older bosses at these companies, many of whom are also the owners, are less eager to invest in their own business than younger ones.
The bottom line of these observations is that German industry is going through a big transition during the next decade as older managers hang up their laptops - or whatever they do when they stop working.
Not sure what this means for marketers - it is an interesting result of population ageing that I doubt if many people have considered.
If you want to read more the article is in the WSJ (beware it costs). Dick Stroud
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