Herlango
Herlango was an Austrian photo trading company.
history
The company was founded in Vienna in 1917 after the company RA Goldmann der GmbH had been incorporated into the company Vereinigte photographische Industrien Langer & Comp., F. Hrdliczka GmbH . The three founders were Ferdinand Hrdliczka , Langer and Rudolf Anton Goldmann (son of Anton Goldmann ), from whose surname the company name Herlango is derived. In 1922 the company became a public limited company.
The company headquarters and main branch were located in the 1st district of Vienna (Graben 11). Another branch was in the 4th district (Wiedner Hauptstrasse 20). For many years a branch and the head office were in the 6th district (Mariahilfer Straße 51). There were also branches in the 3rd ( Landstraßer Hauptstraße 88), 9th (Alserstraße 20), 10th (Laxenburgerstraße) and 16th district (Lerchenfeldergürtel). In addition to the Vienna branches, there were three more in Austria, one in Graz (Herrengasse 13), one in Linz (Landstrasse 9) and one in Innsbruck (Maria-Theresien-Strasse 10).
Herlango offered cameras, flash units, tripods, film and projection equipment, canvases, films and photo elaborations, repairs, photo albums and photo accessories. In the beginning, plate cameras and roll film cameras were sold, in the course of further development the range shifted to 35 mm cameras and single lens reflex cameras . Also, instant cameras and film packs were offered.
The extensive range was published twice a year in a general catalog. Herlango's slogan, known and memorable for many years, was "Well advised - well bought" .
The turning point
In 1963 Bernhard Goldmann (the 3rd Goldmann) took over the management of the Herlango company. The company, which was growing far too quickly, ran into difficulties and in 1980 was compensated for. The era of the founding family came to an end when, as part of this settlement, the Viennese jewelry dealer Engelbert Teuretzbacher joined the company as a partner.
The Goldmann family continued to run the company in collaboration with Teuretzbacher. This collaboration turned out to be very difficult. So in 1984 there was a big break between the partners and Bernhard Goldmann left the Herlango.
Realignment
Engelbert Teuretzbacher, together with his son Thomas, now had a free hand to run Herlango AG. When the focus no longer shifted to the photo trade, but to the booming computer business with exports to Eastern Europe (brand: Future Technologie), the business was also expanded to other product segments such as jewelry and optics. The rapid expansion was mainly financed by bank loans.
Due to the rapidly increasing interest rates (doubling within a short time) up to the beginning of the 90s and a recessive development of the entire industry in Europe, Herlango had to file for bankruptcy in early 1992.
At the time of bankruptcy in 1992, the chain had 135 branches from Vienna to Saint Petersburg and a debt of 1.8 billion schillings (today, adjusted for inflation, the equivalent of around 220 million euros). Parts of the chain were taken over by the Niedermeyer company. Among them was the branch on Graben where Helmut Niedermeyer completed his photo trading apprenticeship.
literature
- Michaela Kühn: The historical development of Photo Herlango Ges.mbH Nfg. KG. A business analysis. Vienna, University of Economics, Dissertation 1984.
Web links
- Company history
- Herlango on photohistory.at