Gerhard Weber (entrepreneur)

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Gerhard Weber (born June 3, 1941 in Halle (Westphalia) ; † September 24, 2020 in Münster ) was a German entrepreneur and founder of the Gerry Weber fashion label .

Life

Gerhard Weber graduated after GCSEs the commercial college and trained as a textile merchant. In 1965 he opened his own retail store for women's clothing. In 1973 he founded the textile company Hatex AG in his hometown Halle together with his befriended clothing engineer Udo Hardieck (1944–2018), which has operated since 1986 as Gerry Weber International AG, or Gerry Weber for short . In the same year he won the then 17-year-old tennis player Steffi Grafas an advertising ambassador, which increased awareness of the Gerry Weber brand, especially because of Graf's subsequent sporting successes. In 1989 he took the company public. In October 2014, he resigned as CEO and moved to the Supervisory Board. As a result of insolvency proceedings in 2019, Weber gave up the remaining 30 percent stake in the company.

He also became known for hosting the largest German tennis turf tournament named after the company, the Gerry Weber Open , which first took place in 1993. The Gerry Weber Stadium, today OWL Arena , was built for this purpose. Since 1985 Weber has been president of the TC Blau-Weiss Halle , which under his leadership rose to one of the leading tennis clubs in Germany and was able to win five German championship titles, among other things. As a sports patron, he supported the then financially badly troubled football club Arminia Bielefeld in 2017 and, with other sponsors, saved it from relegation to the third division . Weber was married and the father of two sons. He died in Münster in September 2020 at the age of 79.

honors and awards

Weber's awards include:

  • 1996: International Fashion Marketing Prize from the Igedo Company
  • 1997: CEO Gerhard Weber named "Entrepreneur of the Year 1996 Ostwestfalen-Lippe"
  • 2002: Marketing award from the "Sales Manager Club Ostwestfalen" OWL
  • 2011: Award Gerhard Weber for his life's work from the magazine " TextilWirtschaft "
  • 2012: Sauren Golden Award as "Entrepreneur of the Year"
  • 2012: Social Oscar from the Gütersloh Foundation
  • 2013: Best fashion retailer in Germany
  • 2018: Award of the DTB for the "outstanding achievements for German tennis"
  • 2018: Honorary membership at Arminia Bielefeld for special services to the association.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Interview with Gerhard Weber: “I want to consolidate the fashion location”. In: RP Online . July 23, 2012, accessed September 24, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Founder of the fashion chain Gerry Weber has died. In: faz.net , September 24, 2020, accessed on September 24, 2020.
  3. ↑ Alexander Kley: Fashion manufacturer Gerry Weber before generation change. In: Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung , February 26, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  4. ↑ Gerry Weber from now on without Gerhard Weber. In: Spiegel Online , November 7, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  5. ↑ a b Gerry Weber: Designer Portrait. In: elle.de . March 2016, accessed September 24, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Gerhard Weber honored by the DTB for life's work. Announcement on the DTB homepage from June 19, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  7. ↑ https://m.westfalen-blatt.de/DSC/3146762- Jahreseshauptversammlung-bei-Arminia-Vorstellung-des-Sanierungskonzepts-Praesidium-wiedergewaehlt-Weber-wird-Ehrenträger-Mitglieder-stimmen-fuer-Stadionverkauf-Wir- druecken -the reset button
personal data
SURNAME Weber, Gerhard
SHORT DESCRIPTION German fashion entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH June 3, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Halle (Westphalia)
DATE OF DEATH September 24, 2020
Place of death Muenster