Rimowa

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RIMOWA GmbH

logo
legal form GmbH
founding 1898
Seat Cologne , North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia 
management Jérôme Dandrieux ( Managing Director )

Rochus Jacob ( chief designer )

Number of employees 1578 (2015)
sales € 350 million (2015)
Branch Baggage production
Website www.rimowa.com

The Ju 52 from the online commercial
Founding plaque: "Paul Morszeck suitcase factory founded in 1898 in Cöln "
Rimowa Topas suitcase set
TSA lock

The Kofferfabrik Rimowa GmbH ( " Ri chard Mo rszeck Wa Conference calibrate" own spelling RIMOWA ) based in Cologne is a manufacturer of suitcases of aluminum and polycarbonate . At the end of 2016, the French luxury goods group LVMH took over 80 percent of the company's shares. A characteristic feature of the Rimowa luggage is the parallel folded groove structure of the case shells, which is reminiscent of the aluminum outer skin of Junkers aircraft.

history

Since 1898, Paul Morszeck ran the Görtz & Morszeck saddlery together with Heinrich Görtz in Bechergasse and later in Filzengraben 18 in Cologne . Since 1900 Morszeck was the sole owner of a sample case factory at Röhrergasse 30 in Cologne. In addition to suitcases and hat boxes, he also made suitcases for automobiles, mostly from plywood , cardboard and leather . In 1904, production was relocated to Gilbachstrasse, and the company's warehouse and repair shop remained in Röhrergasse until 1913. In 1908, Paul Morszeck converted his company into a GmbH and acquired a company building including a residential building on Aachener Strasse in Cologne-Junkersdorf from the engine manufacturer Karl Eberhard Hagen .

In 1931 the son of the company founder, Richard Morszeck, registered the RIMOWA brand with the Reich Patent Office in Berlin . Richard Morszeck experimented with different materials in the 1930s with the aim of making the case lighter and more stable. In 1937 he developed an aluminum trunk. During the Second World War , the factory buildings on Aachener Strasse were destroyed and all combustible materials were destroyed - only the aluminum remained. From then on, Rimowa only produced cases made of light metal . The company buildings were rebuilt in 1946 and remained the company headquarters until the move to Cologne-Ossendorf in 1986, to Mathias-Brüggen-Straße.

In 1950, the "groove design" known today was introduced for the first time. The aluminum structure, folded in parallel, originally served to stabilize the thin aluminum outer skin of Junkers aircraft and is now a trademarked recognition feature .

In 1972 Richard Morszeck's son Dieter joined the company at the age of 19. Dieter Morszeck, himself a hobby photographer, developed the first waterproof and dustproof photo case in 1976 , which was suitable for both the desert and the tropics. In 1981 Dieter Morszeck took over the management of the company. At the end of the 1990s, he successfully used polycarbonate in box construction. Polycarbonate increased the stability of the suitcase and saved around a quarter of the weight compared to aluminum. The first Rimowa suitcases made of polycarbonate were presented in 2000. In terms of quality , cases from the Salsa series made of polycarbonate tested by Stiftung Warentest in 2016 scored “good” (1.8) better than those from the aluminum series Topas (grade: “sufficient”, 3.8). The latter model was criticized for its weight, rain tightness, loud rattling and vibrations as well as severe sheet metal damage and deeply indented roller suspensions after a drop test.

In 2008 Rimowa sold around 400,000 suitcases, around two thirds of which were made of polycarbonate, also with the typical groove structure and a TSA lock . In recent years, the demand for luggage made of aluminum has increased again. In 2013, aluminum cases accounted for around 45 percent of total sales. Rimowa produces in its own factories in Cologne (Germany), Pelhřimov (Czech Republic), Cambridge (Canada) and Indaiatuba (Brazil). In 2013, 5800 suitcases were made every day. In order to meet the increasing demand and to reduce the waiting times to ten to twelve weeks, from 2013 production was temporarily carried out in three shifts , six days a week.

Jacob Rochus, a graduate of the Offenbach University of Design , has been chief designer since 2017 . In 2018, on the occasion of the company's 120th anniversary, the characteristic Rimowa lettering and the company logo - once designed by the Cologne graphic office Schaller - were redesigned by the Munich graphic office Mirko Borsche in cooperation with the British Commission Studio under the direction of Hector Muelas. The redesign was rated as differently successful in the trade press.

Group structure and ownership

In 2013, in addition to Rimowa GmbH as the parent company, there were another six foreign and one domestic subsidiaries. In 2013, the company achieved most sales in Asia with 87 million euros, followed by Germany with almost 75 million euros and Europe (excluding Germany) with almost 56 million euros.

In October 2016 it was announced that the French luxury goods group LVMH will take over Rimowa in January 2017. LVMH acquired an 80 percent stake for 640 million euros. A substantial part of the proceeds from the sale is to flow into a charitable foundation. With the takeover, management passed into the hands of Dieter Morszeck and Alexandre Arnault, a son of LVMH CEO Bernhard Arnault . As part of the realignment of the sales concept, Alexandre Arnault gave notice to all Rimowa dealers across Europe in March 2018. The sales concessions should then be reassigned on the basis of changed criteria, in which dealers guarantee a minimum turnover of 200,000 euros per year, install a new shop-in-shop system on at least 20 square meters, keep prominent shop window spaces free, brands such as Gucci or Prada in the range and had to accept an average of 25 percent higher prices for the new collection. The trade association leather goods in Cologne had the contract terminations examined under antitrust law , but unsuccessfully, since most medium-sized specialist dealers would not achieve this turnover. Dieter Morszeck left the Rimowa management team in mid-May 2018 .

Cooperations

For both Lufthansa and Porsche , Rimowa regularly produces special series on request in the color of the car, which primarily stand out from the other products in their design. In 2008, a special edition based on the Topas series, which has been manufactured since 1950, was launched for the retail company Manufactum , which was supplemented by elements from the Classic Flight series. Further collaborations took place under the LVMH aegis with Supreme , Fendi and the US fashion designer Virgil Abloh.

advertising

Together with Lufthansa, Rimowa developed the Bag2Go case system, which can significantly speed up check-in at the airport. The system, in which an e-ink display replaces the paper luggage tag, had been available under the name Rimowa Electronic Tag since March 2016 , but was discontinued in 2019 as part of the takeover by LVMH.

The Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa designed a chair made of Rimowa aluminum for Vitra in 2007 .

Sales strategy

Rimowa mainly relies on product placement as its advertising strategy . The grooved suitcases from Cologne could be seen in around 250 television and screen productions. In addition, the company equips athletes such as the soccer players of 1. FC Köln or the German national soccer team (2014 series: Victory red ) as well as artists such as David Garrett (custom-made for a Stradivarius violin).

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the introduction of the aluminum suitcase , Rimowa launched a special edition with the Italian fashion label Fendi in November 2017 and staged a PR campaign at which numerous prominent Rimowa luggage owners presented their suitcases. For the 140th anniversary of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok , Rimowa designed a special luggage edition for the hotel in 2018.

For some years now, Rimowa has also been investing in mono-brand stores, pop-up stores and its own flagship stores in 65 countries, in addition to the main store in Cologne and the flagship store in Paris, which was opened immediately after the takeover, for example in the top locations in Hamburg , Munich, Rome, Beijing, Macau, Shanghai, New York City or Seoul. After the takeover by the French luxury group, Rimowa modified its sales strategy and has also been offering its products in an online shop since March 2017. Rimowa has since increased prices and limited sales to exclusive dealer networks in well-located luxury boutiques.

On the 1st floor of the former flagship store in Cologne, Rimowa operated its own museum until 2018, with the move to the new business premises on Hohe Straße , the museum was closed.

Former flagship store in Cologne with a museum

  • Former Rimowa flagship store in Cologne, Am Hof ​​3

  • A museum was located on the first floor of the former flagship store in Cologne

  • Former museum in the Cologne flagship store (1st floor)

  • Early leather suitcase around 1900

  • Formerly aluminum steamer trunk

  • Early aluminum cases with "groove design"

Rimowa F13

The Rimowa F13 at Geneva Airport

Since 2013 Rimowa has been pursuing the goal of producing the Junkers F 13 , which made its maiden flight in 1919, again in series. The single-engine aircraft, originally made of duralumin, was manufactured by Hugo Junkers at the aerospace construction company Kaelin Aero Technologies GmbH in Oberndorf am Neckar according to original plans . The aircraft is equipped with a 331 kW (450 hp) radial engine from Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior. The Rimowa F 13 Anneliese 2 will go into series production in 2016 and will be manufactured at JUNKERS Flugzeugwerke AG in Dübendorf . At the end of March 2018, the Junkers F13 2.0 received traffic approval in the aircraft category "Historic" from the Swiss supervisory authority, the Federal Office for Civil Aviation .

Awards

  • 2014: Red Dot Design Award - Communication Design category for the website
  • 2015: Top 100 ranking of medium-sized companies by the Munich Strategy Group
  • 2016: Innovation Champions 2016 : Ranking of the most innovative medium-sized companies in Germany, Munich Strategy Group

The company headquarters in Cologne-Ossendorf, built in 1986, was given a characteristic outer facade in a grooved look based on plans by Gatermann & Schossig and the Dahlbender architectural office. The company building, planned as a modular train with expandable “ wagons ”, has been awarded numerous architecture prizes.

Storage, administration and production buildings

  • Administration building Richard-Byrd-Str.

  • Administration building Richard-Byrd-Str. (Entrance area)

  • Storage and production building Mathias-Brüggen-Str. (Entrance area)

  • Storage and production building Mathias-Brüggen-Str. (Back)

  • Storage and production building Mathias-Brüggen-Str. (Wagon construction)

  • Storage and production building at Mathias-Brüggen-Strasse

Web links

Commons : Rimowa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Electronic Federal Gazette, March 9, 2018, consolidated financial statements for the financial year from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 .
  2. ^ A b Alexandre Arnault: Rimowa owner terminates all dealers in Europe . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed March 30, 2018]).
  3. ↑ Kupetz, Andrej / Dietzhold, Lutz / Rat für Formgebung (ed.): The major German brands 2019 . Frankfurt am Main 2018, p. 215 .
  4. ↑ Interview with the Rimowa boss: D. Morszeck: "I've already received a thousand slaps" " ( handelsblatt.com [accessed on March 30, 2018]).
  5. ↑ Test case: 3 x poison under control / Rimowa aluminum case disappointed. Retrieved September 30, 2019 .
  6. ↑ a b Stiftung Warentest: Suitcase - Are they packing it? Suitcases for hand luggage in the endurance test - Stiftung Warentest. Retrieved September 30, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Rimowa-incredible development. , In: Lederwarenreport. January 7, 2014 ( lederwarenreport.de ( memento from October 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on August 6, 2015)
  8. ^ HfG Offenbach - Rochus Jacob. Retrieved September 26, 2019 .
  9. ↑ a b Design: RIMOWA - or how to erase the identity of a brand with a redesign . In: HORIZONT . ( horizont.net [accessed March 7, 2018]).
  10. ↑ a b Wallpaper * Magazine: Rimowa celebrates its 120th anniversary with a new visual identity. January 18, 2018, accessed September 26, 2019 .
  11. ↑ a b Rimowa reinvents itself. Retrieved September 26, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Sebastian Balzter: Rimowa boss donates: suitcase millionaire becomes benefactor . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed September 26, 2019]).
  13. ^ Rimowa becomes French. Retrieved March 9, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Inga Griese: Interview with Rimowa boss Alexandre Arnault . In: THE WORLD . April 3, 2017 ( welt.de [accessed March 9, 2018]).
  15. ↑ Luxury market: wave of layoffs - suitcase manufacturer Rimowa shocks dealers. Retrieved September 26, 2019 .
  16. ↑ a b c By Dietmar H. Lamparter: Rimowa suitcase: little ones can pack. Retrieved September 26, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Cult suitcase manufacturer: How the luxury company LVMH is turning Rimowa inside out. Retrieved September 30, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Rimowa: Cologne-based company with a long tradition places high demands on salespeople. In: Kölnische Rundschau. , 23 August 2018 (rundschau-online.de , accessed on 6 April 2019)
  19. ↑ welt.de: Why the Rimowa is the Porsche among suitcases , October 19, 2010 , accessed on August 6, 2015.
  20. ↑ faz.net: From aluminum cases to status symbols , April 12, 2015 , accessed on August 6, 2015.
  21. ↑ Rimowa's Electronic Luggage Tag is over. Retrieved September 26, 2019 .
  22. ↑ altcateianews.com architonic-newsletter 0607 , accessed on August 6, 2015.
  23. ↑ rimowa.com: News , accessed on August 6, 2015.
  24. ↑ Sebastian A. Reichert: 111 Cologne shops that you have to see . emons, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-95451-002-3 , p. 184.
  25. ↑ rimowa.com: Fendi x Rimowa | RIMOWA. Accessed March 9, 2018 (German).
  26. ↑ Barry Samaha: Rimowa Displays the Lasting Power of Its Iconic Aluminum Suitcases . In: Forbes . ( forbes.com [accessed March 16, 2018]).
  27. ↑ John Oseid: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok: A Landmark Hotel Anchors A New Creative District . In: Forbes . ( forbes.com [accessed March 30, 2018]).
  28. ↑ RIMOWA opens first flagship store in Paris - LVMH . In: LVMH . ( lvmh.com [accessed March 30, 2018]).
  29. ↑ The Secret of the Grooves. In: BrandEins. 07/2008. ( brandeins.de ( Memento from August 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on August 6, 2015)
  30. ↑ Jürgen Weise: RIMOWA The suitcase with the grooves. In: Mario Kramp, Ulrich Soénius (Hrsg.): Made in Cologne - Brands for the world. JP Bachem-Verlag, Cologne 2nd edition 2015, ISBN 978-3-7616-2750-1 , pp. 159-161.
  31. ^ Rimowa: opening of the online shop. Accessed March 30, 2018 (German).
  32. ^ Return: Rimowa builds Junkers F 13. In: Aviation classics. Retrieved May 1, 2016 .
  33. ↑ RIMOWA F13. In: www.rimowa-f13.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016 .
  34. ↑ Flugrevue.de: Rimowa is building the Junkers F13 again in series , accessed on May 1, 2016.
  35. ↑ faz.net: Replica of the Junkers F13 daughter Ju , accessed on May 1, 2016.
  36. ↑ Replica of the first all-metal passenger aircraft: Junkers F 13 is again approved for traffic . In: FLIGHT REVIEW . ( Flugrevue.de [accessed on March 30, 2018]).
  37. ↑ red-dot.de Winner Red Dot Award 2014 , accessed on August 6, 2015.
  38. ↑ Carsten Dierig: These are the real stars of the German economy. In: welt.de. Axel Springer SE, December 13, 2015, accessed on March 22, 2018 .
  39. ↑ Innovation Champions 2016: Exclusive ranking of the most innovative medium-sized companies in Germany. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 20, 2016 ; Retrieved December 8, 2016 .
  40. ↑ gatermann-schossig.de: Rimowa-Kofferfabrik, Cologne , accessed on August 6, 2015.
  41. ↑ baukunst-nrw.de: Rimowa-Kofferfabrik , accessed on August 6, 2015.

Coordinates: 50 ° 59 ′ 5 ″  N , 6 ° 53 ′ 3 ″  E