Falke (company)

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FALCON

logo
legal form KGaA
founding 1895
Seat Schmallenberg , Sauerland
management Franz-Peter Falke,

Paul Falcon

Number of employees 3325
sales 229 million euros (2016)
Branch textiles
Website www.falke.com
Status: 2019

Falke headquarters in Schmallenberg
Main entrance at the headquarters
Falke Fashion
Warehouse in Schmallenberg
High-bay warehouse
Historical Falke knitting machine in the Medebach Municipal Museum

The Falke Group is a German family company from Schmallenberg in the Sauerland , which mainly produces hosiery . Sportswear, men's fashion and accessories are also produced.

history

The company was founded in 1895 by the former roofer Franz Falke-Rohen. Falke-Rohen had previously worked as a day laborer in a knitting mill during the winter months . In 1895 he finally went into business for himself. When orders were running out in 1900, the son Franz Falke Jr. learned to make umbrellas and sell them in door- to- door sales. From 1906 Falke started producing under its own name for the first time and began to purchase the yarn directly from the spinning mills , while the company founder used to regularly go to the market in Essen to buy yarn.

In 1918 Falke-Rohen acquired the Carl Meisenburg wool and hair yarn spinning mill in Schmallenberg (later Falke Garne ; today HorusTec ) and built its own factory in Schmallenberg in 1920, where the company is still located today. After his father's death in 1928, Falke Jr. took over the majority stake in the company. In 1939 the "Knitwear Factory Salomon Stern" was acquired and the product range was expanded to include outerwear for men ( today Falke Fashion ). The “FALKE” trademark was designed in 1946 and trademarked in 1950 .

After the death of Franz Falke Jr. in 1951, his sons Paul and Franz-Otto shared the management of the company. Paul Falke was responsible for yarn production and finishing in the company's own spinning mill, Franz-Otto Falke for the production of socks and outerwear. In 1958 they acquired a factory for fine stockings in Lippstadt and expanded the company's range accordingly. In the 1970s, the stocking factory Ewers from Medebach , founded by Carl Ewers , came into the possession of the company. Production was discontinued at the end of 1981.

While sales rose steadily in the 1950s and 1960s, a crisis broke out in the entire textile industry in the 1970s as a result of labor disputes and cheap imports from abroad. To counteract this, Falke relocated parts of the production abroad. In the 1960s and 1970s, women's fashion was also added to the range, but this was given up again in 1985 in favor of men's fashion.

When Paul Falke died in 1990, his son Paul and Franz-Otto's son Franz-Peter moved up into the company management. After reunification, production in the CWS hosiery factory in Thalheim and Dorfchemnitz was discontinued. The Dorfchemnitz plant was sold to FALKE Strumpffabrik GmbH for 1 Deutsche Mark via the Federal Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues, without consulting the legal owners of the Schletter family,

In 1992 Falke opened a flagship store for men's clothing and accessories in Cologne . More Falke stores followed by the mid-2000s, also for lingerie and stockings, in Berlin , Moscow , Zagreb , Split , Vienna and Paris , most of which, with the exception of the branches on Kurfürstendamm and in the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, will continue until the end the 2000s were closed again. The Falke company also maintains shops-in-shops in larger department stores. At the end of the 1970s there were already Falke sweater shops and franchise stores that no longer exist. In 1994, Falke Garne ( carpet yarn , insulating wool , needle punch ) received the German environmental protection award in the "environmentally friendly products" category from the BDI . In 1995 Falke International GmbH was founded to coordinate exports. In 1997, textile works in Leinefelde (LTW) were taken over (insolvency 2013). From 1999 the activities of the fine stocking factories, the hosiery and the export company were bundled under the name Falke KG . Falke has been a full-range supplier of functional sportswear (Ergonomic Sport System) since 2005. In 2006 and 2007, the ESS product line received awards. Falke received the Runner's World ispo Award 2006 and the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany . Since April 1, 2008, Falke KGaA has bought the trademark rights to the Burlington brand . In 2012 the new production facility in Leskovac (Serbia) started operations.

Company data & products

The Falke Group consists of four companies with the following products:

  • Falke KGaA: knitted hosiery for women, men and children, fine hosiery and sportswear ( Falke Ergonomic Sport System )
  • Falke Fashion: men's outerwear (knitwear)
  • Franz Falke Textiles RSA (South Africa): Knitwear and fine hosiery
  • Burlington: men's clothing, knitted hosiery

In addition to its own products, Falke also manufactures licensed products for Esprit . Former licensors were Joop! , Hugo Boss , Giorgio Armani , Moschino or Kenzo . The Falke Group employs 3225 people in Germany and abroad. In 2016, the company generated annual sales of 229 million  euros . Today the FALKE Group operates companies at its headquarters in Schmallenberg, in Dorfchemnitz , Slovakia , Serbia and South Africa .

Sponsorship

In August 2017, the Falke Group was presented as the new main sponsor of the traditional SV Waldhof Mannheim club .

See also

literature

  • Tanja Bessler-Worbs, Klaus Pradler: Discoveries. Documents from company history collections in south-eastern Westphalia . Arnsberg 2001, p. 126f.

Web links

Commons : Falke Group  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Falke: Facts & Figures , accessed on January 11, 2019.
  2. International Radio Serbia: “Falke” stocking factory opened in Leskovac , March 16, 2012, accessed on August 26, 2014.
  3. https://www.falke.com/de_de/company/karriere/arbeiten/
  4. Falke Group new main sponsor of SV Waldhof Mannheim. In: SVW07.de. August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 9 ′ 6.8 ″  N , 8 ° 17 ′ 3.3 ″  E