fit (company)

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fit GmbH

logo
legal form GmbH
founding 1993
Seat Zittau , Saxony , Germany
management Wolfgang Groß (Managing Director)
Number of employees 244 (2017)
sales 165 million EUR (2017)
Branch Consumer goods production
Website www.fit.de

The fit GmbH is a German medium-sized company based in Zittau - Hirschfelde in Saxony, which specializes in the manufacture of detergents, polishes, cleaning products and personal care products.

History of the company

The beginnings of fit lie in today's Chemnitz . The VEB Fettchemie Karl-Marx-Stadt company based there introduced the flush detergent to the market as early as 1955 - at that time still in powder form. It was delivered fit - as it is today - in the unmistakable bottle, modeled on the Chemnitz Red Tower . In 1967 VEB Fettchemie took over part of the lignite works in Hirschfelde near Zittau and built a plant for liquid detergent there. The production, sales and administration of fit was finally completely relocated to Upper Lusatia. In 1983 the company was integrated into the Leuna Kombinat , under whose roof the detergent fit was manufactured until 1992.

In 1990 - in the course of the economic upheaval after the end of the GDR - the company was on the verge of bankruptcy . Numerous well-known corporations were interested in the trademark rights in fit, but showed little interest in taking over the production facilities and the 450 employees. During this time, sales of the detergent tended towards zero. The remaining workforce produced detergent in reserve. The warehouses filled up because many retail chains that operated in the new federal states did not fit into their product range. To avert closure, the employees developed unconventional business ideas. The fit products were sold, for example, from leased trucks in front of the shopping malls. The resulting drop in sales of West German brand detergents was the reason for the first listings. The listings were slow, however, and the financial situation remained in deficit.

In 1992 the Mannheim chemist Wolfgang Groß approached Leuna-Werke AG and the Treuhandanstalt with a new corporate concept . Until then, Groß worked at management level in several large companies - u. a. at Procter & Gamble . Finally he bought the factory in Hirschfelde from the Treuhand and founded today's fit GmbH in 1993.

In the years 2000 and 2009/2010 several well-known West German brands were acquired, which led to an increased listing of Fit in West Germany as well, and in 2011 almost doubled sales compared to 2010. In 2011 the company was awarded the Saxon Environment Prize. In the competition Grand Prize for medium- sized companies fit GmbH was awarded the "Premier" award in 2002 and the "Premier Honor Plaque" in 2018.

Corporate structure

The headquarters of the medium-sized company is in Hirschfelde , where all management, production, product development, quality control and sales activities are focused.

Brands and products

The primary business idea was the use and further development of the fit brand . Ten million green 0.5 liter bottles are produced annually.

To secure and broaden the business basis, the product portfolio was gradually expanded to include dishwasher detergents and household cleaners. In 2000, other brands such as Rei , Rei in der Tube and Sanso, which were previously owned by Procter & Gamble, were acquired. In September 2009 the Kuscheloft brand was taken over from Unilever . In addition, the license for Sunil large containers was acquired. In June 2010, the Sunil brand was completely taken over. Today the range includes around 100 products. "Green power" products are produced on the basis of renewable raw materials .

Since 2013 the company has been making detergent fits! here. This washing powder, which is designed for different water hardnesses, is sold through the washing campaign .

With effect from 1 June 2016, the fit GmbH took over the brand fenjal from the Doetsch Grether AG-Basel. A year earlier, the Gard brand had already been bought by the same company.

The following brands are currently owned by fit GmbH:

  • fit
  • Cuddly soft
  • Sunil
  • Rei
  • Rei in the tube
  • Sanso
  • Trip
  • Primus
  • Seifit
  • Gard
  • fenjal

Except for fenjal, all products are manufactured at the company's headquarters in Hirschfelde. Fenjal has also been produced there since 2017.

mascot

"Fitikus" as a soft toy

Fit GmbH's mascot is a small, green drop of detergent called "fitikus", which has been drawn by Sascha Wüstefeld , a Berlin graphic artist, since 2005 . "Fitikus" appears on stickers, labels and other advertising media of the company (as of 2007). It is also available as a cuddly toy and fit GmbH offers “fitikus” audio games and pictures to color in on its website.

Until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the brand mascot was the so-called "Fit-Johanna", a stylized character with a white drop as a head.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The fit GmbH celebrates its 25th anniversary. Fit GmbH press release, January 23, 2018, accessed on January 29, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Laudatory Premier Plaque of Honor
  3. ↑ fit GmbH takes over the personal care brand fenjal. Fit GmbH press release, May 24, 2016, accessed on May 25, 2016 .
  4. ↑ fit GmbH takes over the Gard brand. Fit GmbH press release, June 24, 2015, accessed on May 25, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Jan Lange: Fit in the fast lane . In: Sächsische Zeitung , local edition Zittau . October 8, 2016, p. 15 ( sz-online.de [accessed December 19, 2016]).
  6. ↑ fitikus' world. fit GmbH, accessed on August 2, 2019 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 56 '32.4 "  N , 14 ° 53' 29.7"  E