The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
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Mateschitz took up to $800M annually in Red Bull dividends
“Over the last few years, he was taking anywhere from five hundred million to eight hundred million a year in annual dividends, and he had a net worth somewhere between 20 and thirty billion dollars.”
Mateschitz paid for Red Bull's first ad campaigns through agency freelance labor
“And so he actually paid for this initial work with labor. He had no money. So he actually helps out in the agency as a freelance employee, just to pay for that marketing advertising that the advertising agency that his friends started is doing on behalf of Red…”
Red Bull owns zero production facilities, completely outsourcing its manufacturing
“Red Bull has no production facilities or warehouses. Many large corporations outsize their outsource their marketing and advertising activity. Red Bull consistently took the opposite approach. It outsource production and distribution and takes care of sales an…”
Red Bull's primary bottling partnership was established on a 1987 handshake deal
“His main bottler relationship was sealed with a handshake. The bottler is this family business that has been around for over a hundred years. He meets with the lead, the head of that, that company, right? It's in German. I'm not even gonna try to pronounce it.…”
Red Bull spends over 30% of gross revenue on advertising
“I think it's something like over 30% of their gross revenue they spend on advertising. At the beginning, it was even more than that.”
Red Bull gave Air Race content free to 70+ TV stations
“And so when they put on the red bull air race the red bull air race world series, that content that red bull made and owned, they gave it to over 70 different television, television stations all over the world and said, Hey, We put all this money into this. He…”
Mateschitz rejected all licensing deals to maintain Red Bull's brand focus
“And so as the brand got more and more popular, he got assaulted with all these offers to like, Hey, let's license it. We can make Red Bull gummy bears and we can make Red Bull underwear and Red Bull perfume. And he said no to every single one. He does not want…”
Red Bull was expanding into new countries almost monthly by 1997
“By 1997, they're opening new markets, which are new countries nearly on a monthly basis.”
Red Bull sold 33M cans in Germany within three months of launch
“In the first three months of a legal market presence. They sell thirty three million cans in Germany alone.”
Red Bull Was Banned in Several European Countries at Launch
“Red Bull was forbidden to be sold in several European countries that he initially tried to launch in.”
Red Bull issued zero dividend payouts until 1999
“To not go into debt, there were no dividend payouts of Red Bull until 1999.”
Red Bull generated over $667,000 in revenue per employee in 2010
“In 2010, Red Bull employed just 7758 people, which works out to more than 667,000 in revenue per person.”
Red Bull has exclusively used Bankhaus Spängler in Austria since launch
“Massachusetts is excessively loyal. And so to this day, that is the only banking house that red bull used in that country.”
Red Bull spends half its marketing budget on unusual sports
“And so some of the things that they spend money on, it says about half of the marketing budget is spent on unusual, unusual sports as running in the Himalayas, skydiving over the English channel, surfing on the Amazon, or Mike are mountain biking in a mine.”
Red Bull funded its $200M annual F1 costs directly from income
“He finances the annual two hundred million dollar cost of his F one teams out of the company's healthy operating income.”
Red Bull launched failed maple-lemon drink Red Rooster in 1989
“It's in 1989. He comes out with this drink. It's a lemonade drink called the Red Rooster, which is, like, maple and lemon syrup. It sounds disgusting, by the way. But they launch it, and it's just a complete flop.”
By 1997, Red Bull opened new country markets nearly every month
“By 1997, they're opening new markets, which are new countries nearly on a monthly basis.”