German Market Guild
The German market guild eG (until November 2009: DMG market guild eG) is organizing a company in the service industry, the weekly markets. For this purpose, marketplaces are rented by municipalities and sublet to weekly market traders (“feeders”).
The name "market guild" was chosen based on the " guilds " of the Middle Ages - associations of merchants in a city or a group of traveling traders to protect and promote common interests (similar to the " guilds " of craftsmen). In the mid-1980s, individual market traders faced increasing economic problems due to general developments in the retail industry (keywords: discounters, green fields, competitive situation, predatory competition, etc.). They reported e.g. B. that in addition to the strenuous daily rhythm of shopping, travel to the market, stand construction, stand support and sales activities during market time, stand dismantling, travel home, warehouse work and replenishment of the range, administrative work, etc., they were also unable to provide an organizational framework for the Build the market yourself and fill it with life. Many weekly markets worried or fell asleep completely. The dealers had to fight for stands on a few attractive places. Other forms of shopping were increasingly draining the weekly markets.
Because many municipal market offices, which traditionally organize weekly markets in public ownership, because of their often tight budget situation, could not expect much support, the idea arose: Several market traders have to get together to have an organization that takes care of their weekly markets Supports competition with other forms of retail - and thus secures the jobs of the individual dealers.
The cooperative emerged from this in autumn 1985 in the south-Westphalian city of Siegen as part of a founding meeting . It set itself the goal of acting as a mediator between market traders and municipalities and running weekly markets for the benefit of all those involved (market traders, municipalities, the population). The first weekly markets in Hennef (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Langenselbold (Hesse) were soon taken over or rebuilt. In 2009 the German Market Guild ran weekly markets in over 110 municipalities , including in large cities like Bonn , in most of Germany's countries.
Around this core business, numerous other services around the weekly market have been created over the years due to the holistic approach pursued. The in-house newspaper "Der Wochenmarkt" is z. B. published since 1997. With a circulation of over 13,000 pieces, which are given free of charge to market traders, municipalities, associations and other people interested in weekly market events, there is a forum for developments relating to weekly market trading. The establishment of ImoHa - Institute for Research and Promotion of Mobile Trade at the Harz University of Applied Sciences in Wernigerode in 2001 contributed to the fact that mobile trade received increased attention in a number of events.