Otto Kern (entrepreneur)

Otto Kern (born August 9, 1914 in Freiburg im Breisgau ; † September 17, 2009 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe ) was a German textile entrepreneur, consul and president of the Central Association of German Commercial Representatives and Broker Associations

Life

Otto Kern was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1914. From 1929 to 1932 he completed an apprenticeship as a textile merchant in the silk house Bollag, Freiburg. At the beginning of his professional life he was a commercial clerk in the clothing division.

Later, in the young Federal Republic , he went into business for himself and founded a commercial agency in the Palatinate , which was soon followed by a branch in Frankfurt's station district . He joined the Central Association of German Commercial Representatives and Broker Associations (CDH) and in 1958 became a member of the board of the CDH regional association Hessen-Thuringia. He took over its chairmanship in 1960 and only gave it up in 1985. In addition, he set up the CDH clothing trade association and the CDH main association of German textile trade representatives; he presided over both. In 1959, Kern went on a study trip to America. In technical articles and lectures he reported on the mechanisms of the US market, which was far ahead of the German market. The ideas they brought with them were implemented in the form of the “House of Confectionery” in Sindelfingen . So from 1960 Otto Kern was personally liable partner ( general partner ) of a fashion company. Another “House of Ready-Made Assemblies” was to be opened in Frankfurt am Main. Kern suspected that the situation in the station area was not ideal, but he could not persuade his colleagues to move. As a consequence, in 1972, with new partners, he set up the first wholesaler under the name “House of Fashion” for buyers from fashion stores, not for end customers, in Eschborn at the gates of Frankfurt. He worked as an importer . Further “houses of fashion” were built in 1976, 1981, 1986 and 1989.

Otto Kern was President of the CDH from 1968 to 1980 and Honorary President until his death on September 17, 2009 . In addition, Otto Kern had taken on many honorary positions , including a member of the supervisory board of Messe Frankfurt GmbH and from 1964 to 1976 was a commercial judge at the fifth chamber for commercial matters in Frankfurt am Main. He was also a member of the plenary assembly of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Frankfurt am Main from 1959 to 1986 and was vice-president of the chamber for many years. He was also a member of the economic advisory board of the Hessian state government and a member of the presidium of the Association of Hessian Entrepreneurs' Associations (VhU) as well as consul in commercial matters. He has published a large number of specialist articles.

Awards

Federal Cross of Merit 1st class
1974: Great Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Great Golden Decoration of the Republic of Austria
Badge of honor in gold from the CDH
Honor plaque of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Frankfurt am Main
Forum Prize from the textile industry journal (1986)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Peter Paul Polte: Consul Otto Kern is 95 years old. In: www.genios.de. August 6, 2009, accessed on October 18, 2018 (from Textilwirtschaft issue 32/2009, p. 74; full access subject to charge).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Redaktionsbüro Harenberg: Knaurs Prominentenlexikon 1980. The personal data of celebrities from politics, economy, culture and society . With over 400 photos. Droemer Knaur, Munich / Zurich 1979, ISBN 3-426-07604-7 , Kern, Otto, p. 221 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c (dvf, el): CDH Honorary President Consul ad Otto Kern has passed away. In: verbaende.com. German Associations Forum, September 24, 2009, accessed on October 18, 2018 .

personal data
SURNAME	Kern, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German textile entrepreneur, consul and association president
DATE OF BIRTH	August 9, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH	Freiburg in Breisgau
DATE OF DEATH	17th September 2009
Place of death	Bad Homburg vor der Höhe

[Polte-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Peter Paul Polte: Consul Otto Kern is 95 years old. In: www.genios.de. August 6, 2009, accessed on October 18, 2018 (from Textilwirtschaft issue 32/2009, p. 74; full access subject to charge).

[PromiLex-2] Redaktionsbüro Harenberg: Knaurs Prominentenlexikon 1980. The personal data of celebrities from politics, economy, culture and society . With over 400 photos. Droemer Knaur, Munich / Zurich 1979, ISBN 3-426-07604-7 , Kern, Otto, p. 221 .

[dvf-3] (dvf, el): CDH Honorary President Consul ad Otto Kern has passed away. In: verbaende.com. German Associations Forum, September 24, 2009, accessed on October 18, 2018 .