Olymp Bezner
| Olymp Bezner KG
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Limited partnership |
| founding | 1951 |
| Seat | Bietigheim-Bissingen , Germany |
| management |
|
| Number of employees | 890 |
| sales | EUR 295.9 million |
| Branch | Clothing industry |
| Website | www.olymp.com |
| As of December 31, 2018 | |
The Olymp Bezner KG (proper spelling OLYMPUS ) is a German clothing manufacturer based in Bietigheim-Bissingen , who on shirts specializes. According to the market research institute GfK, the owner-managed family company is the market leader for men's shirts in Germany .
history
Olymp Bezner KG was founded in 1951 by textile entrepreneur Eugen Bezner (1901–1960). After returning home from captivity, he started with six employees in the laundry room of his house in Bietigheim with the production of men's shirts, which were initially made from existing military fabrics and parachute silk. Sales of these shirts were successful, so that the company soon expanded. The number of employees, mostly seamstresses, grew very quickly and the first production facility in Großingersheim (Ludwigsburg district) was continuously expanded.
With the "original Bezner collar", an invention of the company founder, the original Olymp shirt already proved to be very durable. Eugen Bezner chose the brand name " Olymp " based on the Greek mountain massif of the same name and the mythological seat of the gods.
Due to the sudden death of Eugen Bezner in 1960, at the age of 59, his son Eberhard (* 1935) was put in charge of managing the medium-sized company. Eberhard Bezner has since expanded his father's company in Bietigheim regularly.
Mark Bezner (* 1963), the grandson of the company founder Eugen Bezner and son of the co-partner Eberhard Bezner, has been working in the family business since 1990 and has since expanded the product range. At the same time, he subjected the Olymp brand to a complete brand relaunch in 2001. From 1995 to 2010 Eberhard Bezner ran Olymp Bezner KG together with his son and successor Mark Bezner. Eberhard Bezner has been the chairman of the corporate advisory board since 2010.
In the 1990s, Eberhard Bezner, who is a fan of vintage cars , acquired the Maybach brand for the clothing product group for "just a few thousand euros," as he himself said. Since the brand was revived, Daimler-Chrysler has repeatedly shown interest in taking over the trademark rights. However, Olymp retained the rights. Maybach shirts have been available in a few Olymp stores since 2002, but they are not yet being sold on a large scale. According to Mark Bezner, Maybach is an attractive brand, but entering the luxury segment would tie up a lot of know-how and capital.
In May 2010 Olymp Bezner KG took over the knitwear manufacturer Maerz München AG, which is now an independent company within the Olymp group as Maerz München KG.
Products
The company produces shirts, knitwear , ties and polo shirts for business wear , business and casual.
In 1996 the non-iron shirt line "Olymp Luxor" was launched on the market. Due to its success, Olymp 2005 expanded the non-iron shirt segment to include the slimmer line “Olymp Luxor slim line”, which was renamed “Olymp Luxor modern fit” in autumn 2012. There is also the non-iron gala shirt line “Olymp Luxor Soirée”. In order to do justice to the fashionable changes in the shirt market, Olymp Bezner KG added the shirt line "Olymp Level Five" to its product range in 2008, which is characterized by its tailored fit.
After taking over Maerz München AG in May 2010, Olymp produced its own knitwear collection for the autumn / winter 2011 season for the first time, which was expanded a year later to include “Olymp Level Five knitwear”. There are also silk ties in normal and narrow widths. In the casual area, Olymp offers casual shirts, knitwear, polo shirts and t-shirts. Olymp also offers a line of shirts in the lower price range under the brand name “Marvelis”.
Olymp sells its products both through normal clothing stores and through its own mono-label stores , the so-called "Olymp Stores", currently 60 stores in 54 cities. In addition, Olymp also sells uniforms and corporate clothing through direct sales and specialist retailers.
Business figures
Olymp achieved sales of EUR 237.0 million in the 2015 financial year and employed 759 people. The most important sales market is Germany, the export quota in 2015 was around 34.4 percent; the company's products are sold in over 40 countries.
Social and cultural engagement
Olymp has around 85% of its shirts manufactured in Asia, for example in Bangladesh . According to Olympus, the pay there is 20% above the local minimum wage. Managing Director Bezner speaks out against “the certification mania of our industry”. He sees good production conditions as a prerequisite for quality, but emphasizes: "We are not development workers".
Olymp partner companies have the SA8000 : 2001 certificate . In addition, through membership in the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) , the company has committed itself to complying with far-reaching social standards in the manufacture of its products.
In addition, the Olymp-Bezner-Stiftung has been campaigning for children and young people all over the world for the purposes of their upbringing, health and education by providing financial support for day care centers, residential homes and clinics.
Olymp is the main sponsor of the local sports clubs SG BBM Bietigheim (handball 1st division women and 2nd division men) and SC Bietigheim-Bissingen Steelers (ice hockey 2nd division). In the cultural field, Olymp is involved in the form of an annual “Jazz im Olymp” festival on the company's premises, the proceeds of which from the entrance fees go to the Olymp-Bezner Foundation.
Olymp has been the official partner and supplier of Borussia Dortmund since October 2015 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ "The shirt for every situation" , on www.welt.de , accessed on August 15, 2019
- ↑ Olymp and Maerz increase annual sales , at www.fashionunited.de , accessed on August 15, 2019
- ↑ Stefan Merx: This is how the shirt manufacturer Olymp works . In: Creditreform , June 1, 2016, accessed on July 2, 2017.
- ↑ Eberhard Bezner - the man in Olympus for 50 years (press release) (PDF, 344 kB) Olymp Bezner. February 1, 2010. Retrieved on December 27, 2010. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Olymp: From an idea to an international brand in just 60 years . Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
- ↑ The company has an ace up its sleeve: “The shirt is our hero”. Retrieved October 2, 2016 .
- ↑ Olymp takes over knitting specialists in March . Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
- ↑ Now also in rope . Textile Network. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
- ↑ Olymp Stores . Retrieved October 16, 2012.
- ↑ Olymp holds its own in 2015 in a difficult market environment. In: Familienunternehmer-news.de. Retrieved June 6, 2016 .
- ↑ a b By Johannes Schweikle: Mark Bezner: He doesn’t burst a collar. Retrieved January 1, 2019 .
- ↑ Social skills . Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
- ^ Olymp-Bezner-Foundation . Retrieved October 16, 2012.
- ^ Olymp - sponsorship . Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
