Winkler & Graebner

What Winkler & Graebner does

Winkler & Graebner GmbH & Co. KG is a German specialist trade retailer (Fachhandel) founded in 1990, operating 180+ branch locations across Germany and an online e-commerce platform (winkler-graebner.de) serving professional painters, decorators, floor layers, drywall contractors, and general construction trades. The company distributes more than 450,000 articles organized across eight core categories — paints/coatings, thermal insulation composite systems (WDVS), drywall, plasters and fillers, floor coverings, wall and ceiling materials, tools and machinery, and consumables — combining third-party brands such as ALLIGATOR, Pufas, Festool and Tesa with its own M-Plus private label.

Revenue is generated through one-time sales of building materials to registered commercial customers via the branch network and e-commerce shop. The website explicitly states prices are exclusive of VAT and accessible only to commercial/industrial buyers, indicating account-based pricing. Ancillary services — Mix Service colour mixing, a Digital Consulting Centre, on-site delivery and construction-site logistics, machine servicing, and the Winworker training programme — are designed to deepen account relationships and support basket size beyond commodity distribution.

The company is structured as a German GmbH & Co. KG with Winkler & Graebner Verwaltungs GmbH as the general partner, is led by Managing Director Daniel Schewe, and operates as part of the CMS Gruppe. No external investors, M&A activity, public listing or disclosed headcount/financial figures appear in the source material, and there is no indication of international expansion beyond Germany. Underlying technology consists of a standard responsive e-commerce storefront; no proprietary AI/ML platform, patents, or data assets are described.

Name

Winkler & Graebner

Legal name

Winkler & Graebner GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://winkler-graebner.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Winkler & Graebner is a German specialist trade retailer (Fachhandel) founded in 1990, operating 180+ branch locations and an e-commerce platform that supply 450,000+ building-material articles to professional painters, decorators, floor layers and construction trades.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Altmittweida

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Trade Retail of Building Materials: Revenue is generated through the sale of building materials, paints, coatings, floor and wall coverings, tools, machinery, and consumables to commercial tradespeople (painters, decorators, floor layers, construction professionals). Sales occur through physical branch locations and an online e-commerce shop. The website states all prices are exclusive of statutory VAT and are for commercial customers only.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Winkler & Graebner is a German specialty building materials trade retailer serving commercial tradespeople (painters, decorators, floor layers, drywall contractors, general construction professionals) through 180+ branch locations across Germany and a complementary e-commerce shop. Its assortment of 450,000+ articles spans paints and coatings, thermal insulation composite systems (WDVS), drywall, plasters and fillers, floor coverings, wall and ceiling coverings, tools and machines, and consumables, distributed alongside services such as colour mixing, delivery logistics, training and digital consulting.

Product overview

Winkler & Graebner is a specialized trade retailer (Fachhandel) for walls, floors, and ceilings, operating as part of the CMS Gruppe. The company offers a comprehensive building materials portfolio organized into eight main product categories: Colors/Paints (including interior paints, lacquers, facade paints, wood protection), Thermal Insulation Systems (WDV-Systeme), Drywall Construction, Plasters & Fillers, Floor Coverings (design, textile, elastic, laminate, parquet), Wall & Ceiling Coverings (wallpapers, glass fabrics, decorative coverings), Tools & Machines, and Consumables. The company distributes both third-party brands (ALLIGATOR, Pufas, Festool, Tesa) and its own private label brand M-Plus. With 180 locations across Germany and over 450,000 articles in its catalog, the business model centers on serving professional tradespeople (painters, drywall installers, floor layers) through both physical branches and an e-commerce platform, supplemented by services like color mixing, delivery logistics, training seminars, and digital consulting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• M-Plus: Private label brand offering various construction and finishing products including floor coverings, wallpaper, tools, and building materials.

Products and services

• Paints and Coatings (Colors / Farben) Comprehensive range of paints and coatings for professional painters and decorators, covering interior, exterior, facade, wood protection and tinting products.
• Thermal Insulation Systems (WDV-Systeme) External thermal insulation composite system (WDVS / ETICS) components and interior insulation systems for energy-efficient facade renovation and construction.
• Drywall Construction (Trockenbau) Drywall construction materials for interior wall and ceiling installation, including gypsum boards, metal profiles, joint fillers and accessories.
• Plasters and Fillers (Putze & Spachtelmassen) Interior and exterior plasters, WDVS plasters, fillers and plaster profiles for surface preparation and finishing.
• Floor Coverings (Bodenbeläge) Flooring range including design, textile, elastic, laminate and parquet/cork coverings, plus construction chemistry substrates and accessories for flooring installation.
• Wall and Ceiling Coverings (Wand & Decke) Wall and ceiling covering assortment including wallpapers (woodchip, paintable, ready), glass fabrics, decorative wall coverings, adhesives, profiles, interior insulation and accessories.
• Tools and Machines (Werkzeuge & Maschinen) Hand tools, power tools, airless devices, rollers, brushes, ladders, work clothing, occupational safety equipment and workshop supplies for construction trades.
• Consumables (Verbrauchsmaterialien) Construction consumables including masking and adhesive materials, joint sealants, abrasives and cutting products, paint strippers, thinners and cleaning agents.
• M-Plus Private Label Brand Winkler & Graebner's in-house private label covering underlays, wallpapers, design floorings, levelling compounds, mesh, tools and consumables for trade customers.
• ALLIGATOR Brand Distributed brand of paints, primers, fillers, facade colours and construction chemicals (e.g. Kieselit facade paint, Spritzspachtel, ALLFAtexx products, Presto, Euro Weiß, Maler DIN, VWS-Mörtel).
• Pufas Brand Distributed brand of spackling compounds, wallpaper adhesives, primers, sealants and cleaning products (e.g. pufamur Super-Haftspachtel, KVS Zell-Leim, Aqua-Deck Isolierweiß, Konstruktionskleber, Glätt- und Füllspachtel).
• Erfurt KlimaTec KP 2500+ Klimaplatte Specific interior climate panel of size 120cm x 80cm x 2.5cm made of diffusion-open expanded glass granules, marketed as mould-inhibiting and energy-saving for humid interior spaces.
• Pufas Fassaden-Strukturacryl FR 3 Specific white, single-component acrylic sealant for filling cracks in plaster/masonry and finishing structured expansion joints at windows and doors.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• MEGA eG: German Fachhandel cooperative specifically serving painters, decorators, and flooring contractors with paints, coatings, drywall, flooring, and tools — the closest direct peer to W&G in terms of customer base and assortment breadth.
• Eurobaustoff Handelsgesellschaft: European specialist trade cooperative for building materials serving professional tradespeople through member Fachhandel locations, directly comparable in business model and assortment focus to W&G.
• Wessels & Müller: Independent German Fachhandel retailer of paints, flooring, drywall, and construction materials serving professional tradespeople with branch network and delivery logistics comparable to W&G.
• Hagebau Handelsgesellschaft: German specialist trade and DIY cooperative operating a network of building materials Fachhandel locations nationwide, with comparable assortment across paints, flooring, drywall, and tools for trade customers.

Broad incumbents

• BayWa BauTec: Building materials and construction services division of the broader BayWa group, serving contractors and trades across Germany with overlapping product categories including paints, drywall, and flooring.
• Saint-Gobain Distribution (Raab Karcher): Saint-Gobain's German building materials distribution arm serving professional tradespeople, with comparable assortment breadth and trade-focused customer model, though backed by a much larger global manufacturing parent.
• Bauhaus (Fachhandel / Werkstatt): Large European home improvement and trade retailer with overlapping product assortment in paints, tools, flooring, and building materials, though primarily serving prosumer/DIY alongside trade customers.
• STARK Group: European building materials distribution group operating specialist trade brands across multiple countries, comparable in B2B Fachhandel model and trade-customer focus, though at substantially larger pan-European scale.
• Hornbach Baumarkt: Major German DIY and trade retailer with comparable assortment across paints, flooring, drywall, and tools, though positioned more heavily toward prosumers and DIY rather than pure professional trade.

Regional players

• Fuchs & Söhne Baustoffe: Family-owned German building materials Fachhandel focused on the regional trade customer with comparable assortment and B2B model, though with smaller geographic footprint than W&G.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/winklerundgraebner
• Instagraminstagram.com/winklerundgraebner

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Winkler & Graebner