Herman Gustaf Turitz

Herman Gustav Turitz , for short mostly HG Turitz (born May 25, 1884 in Skön , Västernorrland , † 1957 ) was a Swedish retailer.

The Turitz family belonged to the second wave of Jewish immigration to Sweden, which was triggered by the pogroms that began in Tsarist Russia from 1870 onwards . HG Turitz enjoyed a commercial training in Sweden and found out about the current trends in retail while traveling to Germany, France, Great Britain and the USA. In 1909, at the age of 25, he founded the American Bazaar in Gothenburg, a ”15-Öresbazar” (one-price shop where everything cost 15 ore). Four years later he bought his biggest local competitor, the Grand Bazar and, a little later, the Berghems glasbruk glass factory in Småland. In 1918 the Turitz & Co corporation was founded, with around 400 employees at the end of the 1920s. At this point in time, Turitz and Josef Sachs , the founder of Nordiska Kompaniet, had independent discussions with German partners about the launch of a Swedish chain of department stores based on the Woolworth model . Ultimately, however, they opted for an intra-Swedish partnership. In 1930 the Enhetsprisaktiebolaget, EPA for short, was founded. The first branches opened shortly before Christmas 1930 in Örebro , Stockholm and Västerås . However, the initiative encountered massive resistance from medium-sized competition. The newspaper Köpmannen (Der Kaufmann) agitated against the new cheap shops with anti-Semitic undertones. There were calls to boycott the suppliers, some of which were successful. The Swedish porcelain industry in particular steadfastly refused to supply EPA. Attempts have also been made to outlaw uniform price stores in Sweden. A corresponding government commission was set up. In the years 1939 to 1941 pressure from Nazi Germany also made itself felt. Under this pressure, but also in the face of economic difficulties, Turitz had to resign as Director General of the EPA at the turn of 1940-1941.

Web links

• Peter Stein on Jewish entrepreneurship in Sweden (Om judars insatser i svensk näringsliv) (PDF; 140 kB)