Franz Carl Weber

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Franz Carl Weber (short form: FCW) is a company in the Swiss toy trade. The head office is on Bahnhofplatz by the main train station in Zurich . In a heyday there were over 50 branches; In 2020 the company had 18 branches all over Switzerland. In 2017, sales amounted to 52 million francs, and in 2018 the company employed 240 people.

Since September 1, 2006, the former family company has been owned by Ludendo SA. On July 20, 2018, Franz Carl Weber was bought by company boss Yves Burger, Digitec founder and national councilor Marcel Dobler , and the Simba-Dickie-Group . In 2019, Yves Burger sold his shares in Dobler and Simba-Dickie-Group, so that Dobler and the Simba-Dickie-Group each have a 50 percent stake in Franz Carl Weber. Roger Bühler has been the managing director since 2020.

history

FCW house in Advent 2012
Franz Carl Weber around 1910

The company was founded by Franz Philipp Karl Friedrich Weber . He completed a commercial apprenticeship at the toy export company Ullmann & Engelmann. At the age of 24 he emigrated from his hometown of Fürth to Zurich, where he initially worked for the Fisler drugstore for several years.

In 1881 Weber founded his own toy store and named it Franz Carl Weber. The first shop was on Bahnhofstrasse 48, which at that time was not yet a central business location . Despite two established competitors, the company flourished, so that after nine years the property at Bahnhofstrasse 62 was acquired.

Weber died in 1948. His company was initially continued by his son and then by his grandson. In 1984 it was sold to the Denner retail chain . Under the new owner it experienced a process of shrinking, the number of branches was reduced from over 50 to 9.

In 2006 Franz Carl Weber was transferred to the French toy group Ludendo, the market leader in European toy retailers. The market presence is still under the name Franz Carl Weber (as of 2018).

The name Franz Carl Weber is also associated with the Zurich Toy Museum, which was founded by Margrit Weber-Beck in 1956 on the occasion of the company's 75th anniversary.

At the end of 2016, after 126 years, Franz Carl Weber left the traditional property of the main building at Bahnhofstrasse 62 due to the high rent and moved to Bahnhofplatz near Zurich's main train station.

To distinguish himself from other companies of the same name, Weber changed his first name from Karl to Carl for the company name.

The rocking horse was one of the first products Weber sold in his shop. It became an integral part of the logo.

literature

  • Laura M. Knüsli, Ruth Holzer-Weber: 100 years of Swiss toy manufacturing: For the 125th anniversary of the Franz Carl Weber company. Zurich Toy Museum - Franz Carl Weber Collection. Chronos, Zurich 2006, ISBN 978-3-0340-0843-3 .

swell

  1. ↑ a b New boss wants new stores , SRF.ch, January 10, 2020
  2. ^ Franz Carl Weber stands on his own two feet again , July 20, 2018.
  3. ^ Franz Carl Weber: 2019 will be the key year , July 26, 2018
  4. ↑ Yves Burger disembarks at Franz Carl Weber, September 4, 2019
  5. ↑ Flagship store - in Zurich's new Franz Carl Weber. In: Tages-Anzeiger , December 28, 2016.

Web links

Commons : Franz Carl Weber  - Collection of images, videos and audio files