M. Baltz fashion house

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M. Baltz

logo
legal form GmbH
founding 1827
Seat Bochum
management Andor Baltz
Number of employees 300
Website www.baltz.de

The M. Baltz fashion house is a textile department store in Bochum . Baltz is the largest owner-managed fashion house in the Ruhr area and has its main branch in downtown Bochum. The family business has existed for five generations.

history

In 1827, the blue dyer Moritz Baltz rented a house in the then still small country town of Bochum on Oberen Markstrasse (today Bongardstrasse). There he mainly sold blue-print fabrics on an area of ​​25 square meters, for example for peasant smocks. His business grew slowly and in 1843 he was able to set up a larger textile printing and dyeing factory on the Maarbrücke. Around this time, industrialization began in Bochum with the establishment of several civil engineering mines (including President, Carolinenglück) and the first steel works (Meyer & Kühne, later Bochumer Verein) to gain a foothold. The following increase in population also increased the customer base for Baltz and the focus shifted from self-dyed fabrics to merchandise from all over the world. At the same time, the range of products grew wider and wider - from work clothes to tailor-made suits, from bed linen to individual buttons, everything could be found at Baltz. In 1852 heir Conrad Baltz was only 20 years old. His strongest support in this early phase was his sister Dora, who was four years older than him and who had a great sales talent. By 1884 the sales area grew to 70 square meters.

On January 1, 1900 Conrad Baltz resigned from his business. The then 23-year-old son Richard Baltz took over responsibility for the growing company. Bochum already had 65,000 inhabitants this year and has become a lively medium-sized town that developed into a large city with more than 300,000 inhabitants during Richard Baltz's lifetime. “At the same time as Haus Alsberg (Kortum), the Baltz company began to systematically buy up its neighboring properties. Its history can be seen as an example of the development of commercial buildings and of Bochum's business life. ”The great success came in 1924 when Baltz had all of the small plots of land combined into a single new building by the Essen architect Eduard Budde. In 1927, Baltz celebrated the company's 100th anniversary in the new building. The textile department store M. Baltz brought out special anniversary brands and introduced women's clothing. Baltz carried out further construction work, which was completed in 1937. The finished four-storey main building with the rounded corner on the Schützenbahn was a milestone in the company's development. At that time, Baltz had 650 employees, in 1939 there were already 750. An air raid on Pentecost in 1943 destroyed parts of the city. In the night of June 12th to 13th, the fashion house burned down almost completely. The sale took place in provisional rooms in the following years. After the war, the company began clearing away the rubble under the direction of Else Baltz, widow of Richard Baltz, who died in 1941. The company built a 400 square meter sales area that was used from 1946. Bochum slowly recovered from the chaos of war. But only the currency reform in 1948 created the basis for a flourishing business. On November 3rd of this year, Baltz reopened the five-story building. Thousands of people flocked to the city to look at the big fashion house. In 1952, Baltz celebrated its 125th anniversary. Since the death of Richard Baltz (senior), the management of the fashion house has been in the hands of employees familiar with the company and Else Baltz, such as Carl Hütten, Theodor Mühlenhöver, Otto Schütz and Franz Niodusch. For the future, the words of Richard Baltz continued to apply: "On the old ground, building new things every hour". In 1962 Richard Baltz, the son of Else and Richard Baltz, joined the Baltz company.

In 1991, Baltz built an extension between Pariser Strasse and the Schützenbahn. In 1997, Baltz integrated sales areas of the former Fischer fashion house. In 2001, Baltz opened his branch in the Ruhr-Park and thus created a second mainstay. This was followed by the relocation of the sports department as Intersport Baltz to the extension of the savings bank building on the Schützenbahn.

Since 2004, after the death of Richard Baltz, who was in a managerial position at Baltz for over 40 years, Andor Baltz has been the fifth generation to be the sole managing director of the fashion house. In 2009 the company expanded the basement of the main building, where Baltz presents clothing for children and young people. The laundry, hosiery and home textiles department on the fourth floor got a new light dome.

In 2014 a new nine-storey building was erected on the Schützenbahn. The Baltz company celebrated its 190th birthday in 2017.

Branches and sales areas

Baltz carries fashion in numerous styles and price ranges. It sells women's, men's, baby, children's and youth clothing. The company also operates an extensive home textiles, lingerie and stocking department in its parent company. Customers can find sports fashion in their own branch.

Parent company

The parent company is located in downtown Bochum between Bongardstrasse, Schützenbahn and Pariser Strasse. The fashion house has entrances on all three sides. After several renovations and extensions, the historic Baltz building currently has 14,000 square meters of retail space.

Branch in the Ruhr-Park

In 2001, Baltz opened a 3500 square meter branch in the Ruhr-Park shopping center in Bochum-Harpen.

Intersport

In 2001, Baltz relocated his sports department to its own branch at the Schützenbahn next to the main building. The sales area is 800 square meters.

In addition to fitness and running fashion, Baltz also carries outdoor and hiking clothing and swimwear at Intersport.

literature

  • Festschrift for the 100th and 125th anniversary of the M. Baltz fashion house.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Shopping in Bochum - city center. In: bochum-tourismus.de. Bochum Marketing, April 2018, accessed on April 19, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Jürgen Boebers-Süßmann: Future from tradition. In: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. November 7, 2007.
  3. ↑ a b Irmtraud-Dietlinde Wolcke: The development of the Bochum city center (=  writings of the Geographical Institute of the University of Kiel . Volume 28 , issue 1). Kiel University, Institute of Geography, Kiel 1968, p. 103 , urn : nbn: de: hebis: 30-55681 .
  4. ↑ Irmtraud-Dietlinde Wolcke: The development of the Bochum city center . University of Kiel, Institute of Geography, Kiel, p. 186-187 .
  5. ↑ a b Irmtraud-Dietlinde Wolcke: The development of the Bochum city center . University of Kiel, Institute of Geography, Kiel, p. 104 .
  6. ↑ Irmtraud-Dietlinde Wolcke: The development of the Bochum city center . University of Kiel, Institute of Geography, Kiel, p. 119 .
  7. ↑ Goods Honger in Duitsland. Duizenden vrouwen order de ingangen van het Bochumse Warenhuis Baltz. In: Haagsche Courant. November 3, 1948, sheet 1.
  8. ↑ From the smallest beginning to the greatest ascent. In: Westfälische Rundschau. March 7, 1952.
  9. ↑ Baltz takes over Fischer-Moden. In: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. March 4, 1997.
  10. ↑ Baltz will soon also position itself in the Ruhrpark. June 10, 2000. Traditional company invests six million. Modernization in the city - the mainstay of the Ruhrpark. In: Stadtspiegel Bochum. September 30, 2000.
  11. ↑ Fashion house Baltz expanded with a glass dome. In: Ruhr news. July 16, 2009.
  12. ↑ Sabine Vogt: Baltz is expanding. In: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. December 16, 2011.
  13. ↑ Baltz celebrates his 190th birthday. In: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. 9th November 2017.