Pfannkuch GmbH & Co. Supermarket KG
| Pfannkuch GmbH & Co supermarket KG
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1896 |
| resolution | 1998 |
| Reason for dissolution | Sale to Spar |
| Seat | Karlsruhe |
| management | Günter Lehmann |
| Number of employees | 4500 (1996) |
| sales | 1.1 billion DM (1996) |
| Branch | Grocery retail |
The Pfannkuch GmbH & Co. KG supermarket was a subsidiary of Pfannkuch group of companies in Karlsruhe with more than 200 stores in southern Germany and Saxony. It was founded in Pforzheim in 1896 and sold to Spar Handelsgesellschaft in 1998 .
history
The namesake of the company, Pfannkuch, was the general partner of a limited partnership whose limited partner was the Latscha company . On February 8, 1896, the first pancake market was opened in Pforzheim-Brötzingen . This was still a small " mom and pop shop ". Just a few years later, other branches followed, e.g. B. also in Karlsruhe (1907).
Pfannkuch left the company as a partner in 1906. Walter Heymann († 1938), a nephew of Jakob Latscha, took over the management. In 1921 the Latscha company retired as a limited partner, but Walter Heymann continued to be a member of the management. Alongside him, Gerhard Lehmann joined the management in 1933 and gradually acquired over 50% of the company's shares. During the Second World War, the headquarters and central warehouse in Karlsruhe were completely destroyed in 1942 and 1945. At the end of the war there were still 60 of 155 branches. In the years that followed, the branch network was gradually expanded again. In 1952 the first self-service shop was opened on Kaiserstraße in Karlsruhe. In 1960 the partner Günter Lehmann took over the absolute majority of the shares in the company. The company continued to grow in the years that followed. In the 1960s and 1970s, new branches of business were founded, including the KaufPark self-service department stores (1969 in Sindelfingen), which was later renamed Kolossa, the disco supermarkets (first market in 1967 in Bruchsal) and bon appetit - Markets. In 1980 the new company headquarters of the Pfannkuch group of companies was opened at Pfannkuchstrasse 14 in Karlsruhe . In 1990 there were already over 200 branches and over 4,000 employees.
crisis
Shortly after the opening of the new headquarters in Karlsruhe, the competitive pressure grew stronger. The owner Günter Lehmann had to invest heavily in order to make the company and its branches up-to-date and thus competitive. Even then, this led to the first considerations for a sale. After the reunification, attempts were made to establish themselves in the new federal states. For this purpose, a separate sales company, Pfannkuch Ost Supermarket GmbH & Co. KG, was founded. Most branches were opened in Saxony. But here too the competition was very strong. Again and again the entrepreneur Günter Lehmann was accused of investing too little in his company and of accepting an early insolvency. The union also repeatedly criticized the Karlsruhe entrepreneur.
sale
As a result, the first sales talks had to be held in 1997. Initially, negotiations were conducted with the EDEKA group . But at the end of 1997 it became known that Spar Handelsgesellschaft would take over the Pfannkuch group of companies. Spar had agreed to also take over the locations in Saxony, which the EDEKA group refused. In the following months, 45 larger markets, Pfannkuch and Kolossa, were changed to Interspar and Eurospar respectively. In 1998, however, five locations were closed and another 65 locations were threatened with closure, although a spokesman ruled out closings after the takeover. The Pfannkuch headquarters in Karlsruhe was also completely closed and 400 employees were laid off. In the same year it became known that Spar had planned to sell 49 branches, but was only able to sell nine to competitors or independent merchants. The remaining branches were closed after the lease expired.
The conversion of the stores to Spar Handelsgesellschaft repeatedly led to problems with deliveries. In some cases, this resulted in considerable stock gaps in the markets. Spar Handelsgesellschaft's new payroll system also caused problems and criticism. Some of the employees could no longer understand their pay slips. In 1999, the EDEKA Group then acquired 24 former pancake stores, which were threatened with closure by Spar Handelsgesellschaft. In the same year, all pancake branches were integrated into Spar Handelsgesellschaft and the company was deleted from the commercial register.
literature
- 75 years Pfannkuch + Co , brochure, [1971]
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Stattzeitung für Südbaden Issue 36, 1998-07 ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c LebensmittelZeitung from November 5, 1997
- ↑ Stadtwiki Karlsruhe
- ↑ LebensmittelZeitung from April 16, 1998
- ↑ LebensmittelZeitung from August 12, 1999
