Vorwerk (company)

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Vorwerk & Co. KG

logo
legal form Limited partnership
founding 1883
Seat Wuppertal , Germany
management Pure Strecker
Number of employees 12,319 (2019)
sales € 2.93 billion (2019)
Branch Trade, electronics, textiles, cosmetics, services
Website www.vorwerk.de

The Vorwerk & Co. KG , in short Vorwerk , is a diversified international company with headquarters in Wuppertal . The direct sales , ie sales by the producer to the consumer without the intervention of the trade , is the business focus. Facilities include household appliances , in particular the multi-function food processor Thermomix and vacuum cleaner of the brand puck and cosmetics , carpets and floor coverings .

For a limited wrote family worldwide are more than 611,000 people in over 60 countries involved, including more than 12,300 as full-time employees and more than 603,000 independent sales representatives as a consultant (as of 2019).

Vorwerk achieved sales of 2.93 billion euros in 2019 . The company , which was founded in 1883 and is regularly ranked among the ten largest direct sales companies in the world, traditionally does not publish the amount of its profits.

Company history

Company development timeline
1883 Founding of the Barmer carpet factory Vorwerk & Co. by
Carl and Adolf Vorwerk
1907 August Mittelsten Scheid takes over the sole
management
1929 Invention of the goblin
1930 Beginning of Kobold direct sales
1938 Foundation of the first foreign company in Italy
1949 The millionth goblin is sold
1953 Erich Mittelsten Scheid takes over the management of the
company
1966 Jörg Mitt Scheid joins the company's management
a
1968 Founding of the akf Bank
1971 Launch of the Thermomix
1974 Establishment of Hygienic Service Gebäudereinigung und
Umweltpflege GmbH , later Hectas
2004 Takeover of Jafra Cosmetics
2006 Jörg Mittelsten Scheid is moving to the corporate advisory board
and will be its chairman until the end of 2012
2011 Opening of the first Vorwerk store in Hamburg
2017 Acquisition of Neato Robotics

Beginnings

In 1883 the brothers Carl (1847–1907) and Adolf Vorwerk (1853–1925) founded the company as Barmer Teppichfabrik Vorwerk & Co. In the same year they separated again and Carl Vorwerk managed the company on his own. First carpets and upholstery fabrics were manufactured, later also the necessary looms - first under a British patent , then under an improved patent .

Carl Vorwerk's successor should be his son Carl Vorwerk jr. (1877-1904). However, he died just a few months after taking over the business in 1903. After the company's founder died in 1907, his son-in-law August Mittelsten Scheid (1871–1955) became the sole personally liable partner . Under his leadership the production of gears , gears , automobile axles and electric motors for gramophones began . During the First World War , the company manufactured military equipment, including machine guns and grenades .

Kobold and direct sales

A Kobold vacuum cleaner around 1950

The advent of radio in the 1920s led to a slump in sales of gramophones, which also affected Vorwerk as a manufacturer of the corresponding motors. In this situation, Vorwerk chief engineer Engelbert Gorissen developed an electric handheld vacuum cleaner, the Kobold, from the gramophone motor . In May 1930 the patent for the Kobold "Model 30" was granted. Sales remained unsatisfactory at first, because the relatively low price of the device did not motivate retailers to demonstrate the advantages of the new device in practice. It was not until the introduction of direct sales - Werner Mittelsten Scheid (1904–1953), a son of the company owner, imported this sales concept from the United States - that the product in need of explanation broke out on the domestic market. From 1930 to 1935 100,000 copies of the Kobold had been sold in this way , and by 1937 half a million. In 1938 Vorwerk founded the first foreign company: Vorwerk Folletto in Italy. Already in the 1930s added Vorwerk the puck to Accessories , for example, devices for drying hair or care of the skin of horses.

Second World War and the use of forced labor

Vorwerk also manufactured armaments during the Second World War . In production were civilian workers , Eastern workers and forced laborers used. This applied both to the main plant in Wuppertal and the plant in Wipperfürth , as well as to the branch in Litzmannstadt . A total of 580 forced laborers worked at Vorwerk in 1944. At the end of May 1943, bombing raids severely damaged the main plant in Wuppertal-Barmen. Soon afterwards, August Mittelsten Scheid's sons, Werner and Erich Mittelsten Scheid , took over management of the company. From 1943, direct sales paused.

Post-war era, diversification and internationalization

After the end of the war, the company rebuilt production and sales, first in Germany, then in Europe and overseas. In 1949 the millionth goblin was sold. In the 1950s, refrigerators , washing machines , spin dryers and carpet brushes added to the product range. After the death of his brother, Erich Mittelsten Scheid acted as the sole personally liable partner from 1953.

In 1961, Vorwerk established the foreign holding company Vorwerk & Co. to manage its foreign companies. In 1971, this subsidiary renamed Vorwerk International . In 1968, Vorwerk founded the akf Bank to finance sales . 1969 - the turnover approached the mark of 400 million DM - Jörg Mittelsten Scheid , who systematically adhered to direct sales in the following decades and at the same time ensured diversification and internationalization , took over the helm of the company. In founded on Vorwerk ZEDA Society for Computer and IT consultancy and 1974, the Hygienic Service building cleaning and environmental management GmbH , from 1997 Hectas Gebäudedienste Stiftung & Co. KG for Facilities Management emerged from 2011 then Vorwerk Facility Management Holding KG .

In 1971 the Vorwerk Thermomix kitchen machine came onto the market; it was part of the “Household” product range, which in 1973 comprised a total of 23 devices. From 1974 the company also offered fitted kitchens . In 1979 Vorwerk took over a 98.65% stake in Fischer- Fertighaus and Clift-Haus.

Total sales for the company and its divisions electric , textile , prefabricated housing and services was in 1979 at just over 1 billion. For the anniversary year 1983, the annual report showed record sales of 1.211 billion DM. At the end of 1986 the company sold the minority stake it had acquired in 1979 in Ranco , an American company for measurement and control technology . In the same year Vorwerk participated in the founding of Plaxicon , an American manufacturer of alcohol - resistant plastic bottles ; For strategic reasons, Vorwerk sold this stake ten years later. In the 1980s, Vorwerk increased its international business significantly: in 1980, 25 percent of sales were achieved outside Germany; in 1987 this figure was 40 percent. At the end of 1987 Vorwerk ended its involvement in the prefabricated house market.

In 1992 sales exceeded the two billion mark for the first time (DM 2.082 billion). This turnover was increased in the last decade of the 20th century and in 1999 was 2.48 billion DM. Business in Western and especially Eastern European countries contributed to this, as did increasing activities in Asian countries. At the same time, the company's production and administration were streamlined with the help of Japanese experts .

At the beginning of 2000 Vorwerk got involved in Tupperware and in the summer of 2000 held 10.2 percent of the shares. The block of shares was sold again in 2005, however, because Vorwerk was unsuccessful in its attempts to take over Tupperware's cosmetics division. A year earlier, in 2004, however, the takeover of Jafra Cosmetics and thus entry into the cosmetics market succeeded. This acquisition was the largest in the company's entire history. Vorwerk's positions in the United States and Mexico benefited from this purchase. The position in the Far East improved in 2001 with the purchase of Lux Asia Pacific , formerly the direct sales of Electrolux in Asia. Vorwerk began producing vacuum cleaners in Shanghai as early as the spring of 2000 . In 2003, the company outsourced its ZEDA IT division to T-Systems .

At the beginning of 2006, Jörg Mittelsten Scheid handed over management to Achim Schwanitz and Markus von Blomberg after three and a half decades. For the first time in the company's history, only personally liable partners from outside the family determined the fortunes of Vorwerk. In mid-2007, Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures GmbH , or Vorwerk Ventures for short , was founded; this subsidiary has since acted as an investment company . At the end of 2007 Vorwerk decided to discontinue the production and sale of fitted kitchens in Germany after around three decades. Two years later, Vorwerk stopped manufacturing and selling its ironing system ( Feelina ), a product line that it launched in 2002. From 2000 to 2010 Vorwerk increased its sales from 1.24 billion euros (2000) to 2.37 billion euros (2010), a record result up to then.

Developments since 2010

In 2011 Vorwerk made a change in its sales strategy: In December the first flagship store opened on Jungfernstieg in Hamburg , and many shops were to follow suit in the years that followed. At the end of 2011, Vorwerk also expanded its concept with an online shop . The distribution of the Kobold was also switched from rotation to fixed areas in 2010.

With effect from June 30, 2011, all Hectas companies were transferred to Vorwerk Facility Management Holding KG . With this step, Vorwerk aimed for better brand positioning .

In 2014, sales of the Thermomix exceeded those of the Kobold (EUR 898 million including VAT ) for the first time at EUR 920 million (including VAT). In the following year, Vorwerk increased its Thermomix sales by almost 50 percent to 1.375 billion euros (including VAT). The company launched Twercs in mid-2015 . This is a set of cordless tools that is primarily intended to appeal to women. Vorwerk achieved another record result in 2016: total sales amounted to EUR 3.058 billion.

In 2017, Vorwerk took over the US manufacturer of vacuum cleaner robots Neato Robotics , based in Newark (California) . In the following year, the company established the new Temial business area , a digital tea device and accessories.

The group separated from Lux Asia Pacific on November 30, 2018. Thermomix production in Germany ended at the end of 2019, and from 2020 kitchen appliances will only be manufactured in France and China . Sales of Twercs products were also discontinued on August 31, 2019.

The company today

Business areas

Group headquarters in Wuppertal - Barmen (2008)

The Vorwerk Group is active in the following business areas (as of 2019):

  • Thermomix : It is a food processor with a multitude of functions.
  • Kobold : Vacuum cleaners, cordless vacuum cleaners, vacuum robots and window cleaners are offered here.
  • Jafra Cosmetics : The products of this division are cosmetics, face and body care products.
  • Vorwerk flooring : This area is dedicated to textile floor coverings.
  • Neato Robotics : The division develops and produces vacuum robots.
  • akf group : The financial institute supports medium-sized companies and offers investment loans , leasing , hire purchase and factoring as well as financial products for private investors. Bankhaus Lampe owns 9.9 percent of the shares .
  • Further activities are recorded as other .

The first three of the above-mentioned business areas are mainly organized in direct sales. Vorwerk makes investments in young companies through the venture capital company Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures .

Distribution companies and sales

Vorwerk is active in more than 60 countries with its own sales companies or through trading partners - known as distributors (as of the end of 2019).

Vorwerk subsidiaries exist in China, Germany, France, Great Britain , Indonesia , Italy , Japan , Canada , Mexico, the Netherlands , Austria , Poland , Portugal , Sweden , Switzerland , Spain , Taiwan , Thailand , the Czech Republic , in of Turkey and the United States.

Vorwerk traditionally regards direct sales as the most important pillar of the business, but supplements it with its own online shops and shops in city centers.

Key figures

Key figures of the Vorwerk group of companies (values ​​in € million)
Positions 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Group sales (net values) 2,248 2,376 2,938 3,058 2,906 2,791 2,928
Total assets 3,633 4.159 4,509 4,924 5,060 5,226 5,332
Equity 1,445 1,575 1,747 1,840 1,702 1,448 1,378
Equity ratio in% (akf at equity) 66 65 64 63 59 50 48
Equity ratio in% (akf fully consolidated) 40 38 39 37 34 28 26th
Financial assets 987 1,147 1,298 1,440 1,409 1,271 1,213
Other fixed assets 994 1,066 1,196 1,293 1,383 1,480 1,508
Current assets 1,593 1,841 1.936 2,107 2,207 2,402 2,546
Liquid funds a 929 1.003 1,113 1,184 1,178 1,031 902
Investments b 364 383 483 476 460 521 472
Depreciation b 194 205 225 248 270 286 304
Personnel expenses 419 454 517 540 574 615 633
Employee 12,536 12,771 12,612 11,949 12,333 12,972 12,319
Independent consultants 609.721 591.156 612,884 637.126 633.128 610.919 599,072
aIncl. Assets that can be liquidated at short notice
b Without financial investments

In 2019, the company generated around 63 percent of its total sales outside Germany.

Management and organs

Since the end of 2005, Vorwerk has no longer been run by a member of the Vorwerk family or the Mittelsten Scheid family, but by managers from outside the family. They are bound to the company as personally liable partners. Reiner Strecker has been working in this role since January 2010.

At the end of 2019, eight people made up Vorwerk's advisory board. The committee set up in 1955 assumes a function comparable to that of the supervisory board of stock corporations : The advisory board is involved in key strategic decisions of the company, as well as in the appointment of personally liable partners. From the beginning of 2006 until the end of 2012, Jörg Mittelsten Scheid was Chairman of the Advisory Board. Since then he has been an honorary chairman. The advisory board has been headed by Rainer Hillebrand since June 2019.

staff

Annual average employees
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
* Thermomix a 1,734 1,944 2,264 2,762 3,481 4,694 5,665
* Kobold a 2,902 3.115 3,336 2,238 1,964 1,808 1.963
Vorwerk flooring 328 400 422 414 381 366 313
Vorwerk engineering 1,227 1,307 1,519 1,699 1,596 1,602 1,615
* Neato Robotics - - - - 106 129 115
* Jafra Cosmetics 2.119 2,251 2,103 2.153 2,046 1,955 1,806
akf group 362 386 418 430 451 485 499
Others 3,864 3,368 2,550 2,253 2,308 1.933 343
Total employees a 12,536 12,771 12,612 11,949 12,333 12,972 12,319
aIncl. employed consultants
Self-employed consultants on an annual average
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
* Thermomix 30,330 34,417 41,884 45,672 45,047 44,574 48.231
* Leprechaun 9,552 9,900 10,739 13,712 14,734 12.004 9,623
* Others 146 259 324 422 740 593 180
Independent consultant "Home" 40,028 44,576 52,947 59,806 60,521 57,171 58.034
Independent consultant Jafra Cosmetics 569,693 546,580 559.937 577,320 572,607 553.748 541.038
Self-employed consultants overall 609.721 591.156 612,884 637.126 633.128 610.919 599,072
For all Vorwerk employees 622.257 603.927 625.496 649.075 645.461 623.891 611.391
* Of which consultants b 614,638 596.014 617.514 640.615 637.044 615.219 603,977
a “Home” is: Thermomix, Kobold, Vorwerk flooring, Vorwerk Engineering, Neato Robotics
bIncl. employed consultants

social commitment

In addition to its local commitment at Vorwerk locations, the company supports SOS Children's Villages in India , Costa Rica and Vietnam through the Vorwerk Family Fund founded in 2002 .

Self-presentation and reception

Own representation

With the exception of carpets, Vorwerk did not use traditional advertising until 2003 . In 2003 Vorwerk started a broad-based image campaign for the first time with the slogan “Vorwerk - Our best for your family” . The aim was to increase awareness of Vorwerk and to make Vorwerk products more emotional. The advertising spot “I run a very successful small family business” was the focus of the campaign. For several years from 2004, Vorwerk and the magazine Hörzu also announced the competition for “Family Manager of the Year”. Annual Vorwerk family studies accompanied the campaign.

Sports sponsorship

From 2016 to 2019, Vorwerk was the main and shirt sponsor of the Italian football first division -Vereins Fiorentina . According to the Italian media, the contract had a volume of around eleven million euros, according to the company it was lower.

Cultural reception of products and controversies

“ In the 1970s, Loriot created a cinematic memorial to Vorwerk with the sketch for a representative visit.” The field service employee and the “Heinzelmann” vacuum cleaner model are synonymous with Vorwerk and its product.

In 1978 a dissertation was published on " Penis injuries during masturbation with vacuum cleaners ", in which explicit reference was made to the Kobold of the time . In 1985 Vorwerk litigated the Chaos Computer Club (CCC). He had published excerpts from this dissertation on his Btx page. Vorwerk feared for his reputation and filed an injunction. However, the company was able to be convinced of the seriousness of the academic writing and withdrew the lawsuit. From 2004 , Charlotte Roche and Christoph Maria Herbst recited the academic script in readings. Roche also made some appearances together with Heinz Strunk . In October 2011 the text was published in an edited version as an audio book , read by Ulrike Sophie Kapfer .

Kobold direct sales, which have been practiced since 1930, are the subject of the 1998 documentary The Housewife's Flower . This production ran among other things in German art house cinemas .

The sales success of the Thermomix prompted some journalists to compare the food processor with the iPhone , which is understood as an icon .

criticism

The Austrian Supreme Court sentenced Vorwerk Austria in 2008 to refrain from using unfair sales methods. Vorwerk consultants had provided false information about the necessities, possibilities and costs of repairing used vacuum cleaners in order to be able to sell new Kobold appliances. They claimed that a repair was necessary even though the device was still working properly, or they recommended a new purchase even though it was proven possible to repair it at low cost. Vorwerk emphasized that these practices were individual cases.

literature

  • Jörg Mittelsten Scheid: The diversified family holding company: Family businesses are changing - and with them the advisory boards. In: Christoph Achenbach , Frederik Gottschalck (Hrsg.): The advisory board in the middle class. Experience reports from practice. Specialized publisher of the Handelsblatt publishing group, Düsseldorf 2012, ISBN 978-3-942543-28-6 , pp. 39–48.
  • Markus Plate: Vorwerk & Co. KG. In: Markus Plate, Torsten Groth, Volker Ackermann, Arist von Schlippe: Large German family businesses. Generational succession, family strategy and corporate development. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-525-40338-9 , pp. 423-434,.
  • ML Cohen, updated by Helga Schier: Vorwerk & Co. KG. In: International Directory of Company Histories , Vol. 112. St. James Press, Detroit / New York [et al.] 2010, pp. 475–479.
  • Helge Pross : The spirit of the entrepreneur. 100 years Vorwerk & Co. Claassen, Düsseldorf 1983, ISBN 3-546-47589-5 .

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Vorwerk Annual Report 2019
  2. ↑ Vorwerk Annual Report 2019 , p. 8, p. 15 and p. 29.
  3. ↑ Nikos Späth: The Phantom of the Wupper. In: Welt am Sonntag . June 27, 2004, accessed December 22, 2016 . (Place 3); Hans-Willy Bein: At home with the customers . Süddeutsche Zeitung , April 4, 2005 (3rd place); A clear commitment to continuity. For the first time in 120 years, external people are in charge of the Vorwerk family business . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 27, 2005 (3rd place); Dieter Fockenbrock: Forward with Vorwerk . In: Handelsblatt dated May 12, 2014 (3rd place); Katrin Terpitz: Party as a business model , Handelsblatt July 20, 2015 (5th place). Thomas Tuma, Claudia Panster: Thermomix. The recipe for success , Handelsblatt Magazin , No. 6 from December 4, 2015 (3rd place); Katrin Terpitz, Thomas Tuma: “The Thermomix will soon be ordering its own food” , Handelsblatt , May 20, 2016 (4th place).
  4. ↑ Thermomix brings Vorwerk forward , Darmstädter Echo , May 22, 2015.
  5. ^ Based on ML Cohen, updated by Helga Schier: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 477.
  6. ↑ a b Volkmar Wittmütz: Carl Vorwerk (1847-1907), carpet manufacturer . On: www.rheinische-geschichte.lvr.de , accessed on December 12, 2016.
  7. ^ Plate: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 425.
  8. ↑ Plate: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 426. For the history of the company, see also the corporate font Vorwerk & Co. KG , Eckstein's Biographischer Verlag, Berlin [around 1921] and Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , pp. 16-24.
  9. ^ Mittelsten Scheid, August (Carl), manufacturer . In: Rudolf Vierhaus (Ed.): Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie , Vol. 7: Menghin - Pötel , 2nd, revised and expanded edition, Saur, Munich 2007, p. 127 ISBN 978-3-598-25037-8 .
  10. ↑ Detlef Vonde : The turnip winter. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung . October 23, 2016, accessed June 16, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Robert Matthies: Rhetorik der Hygiene , Die Tageszeitung from October 16, 2008.
  12. ↑ Plate: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 428. For the background to the Kobold invention and its distribution, see also Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , pp. 37–41
  13. ↑ a b c d e M. L. Cohen, updated by Helga Schier: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 476.
  14. ↑ Pross, The Spirit of Entrepreneurs , p. 32 f.
  15. ↑ Beate Battenfeld and Florian Speer: The greatest agony of the forced laborers at Vorwerk in Litzmannstadt was the constant hunger. Grocery cards and compulsory allocation made the supply more difficult. A study of the company and its workers during World War II . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of March 7, 2000. See also Christian Schott: Family business and “global player”: Vorwerk & Co. and dealing with one's own past. Interview with Petra Mertins, company spokeswoman for Vorwerk & Co. In: Accumulation. Information from the Working Group for Critical Company and Industrial History, No. 12/1999, pp. 6-8. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016 ; accessed on June 17, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Dealing with forced laborers at Vorwerk , Remscheider General-Anzeiger , December 28, 2014.
  17. ↑ Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , p. 33.
  18. ↑ Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , p. 43.
  19. ^ Klaus Koch: One million goblins until 1949 , Westdeutsche Zeitung , Wuppertal edition, May 18, 2009.
  20. ↑ Vorwerk - Success through continuity and willingness to change . Information about Vorwerk on the website www.deutsche-unternehmer-familien.de , accessed on December 12, 2016.
  21. ↑ Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , p. 45.
  22. ↑ Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , pp. 61–65 f. Lothar Leuschen: Direct selling is his secret of success . In: Westdeutsche Zeitung (complete edition) of May 7, 2016. Stefanie Scharbau: Committed to tradition . In: Handelsblatt from November 28, 2002. Online as Stefanie Scharbau: Jörg Mittelsten Scheid: Committed to tradition. In: karriere.de. November 28, 2002, archived from the original on May 25, 2018 ; accessed on December 13, 2016 .
  23. ↑ a b c d Tanja Kewes: On the suction track. In: Handelsblatt. October 4, 2005, accessed December 12, 2016 .
  24. ↑ a b c M. L. Cohen, updated by Helga Schier: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 477.
  25. ↑ Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , p. 52 f. Vorwerk is growing strongly . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , August 25, 1997. Vorwerk subsidiary changes its name . In: Building Management No. 6 of September 5, 1997, p. 10.
  26. ↑ Brief company profile at www.bloomberg.com , accessed on December 22, 2016.
  27. ↑ Information from Vorwerk in connection with the company's business areas , accessed on December 9, 2016. Also, ML Cohen, updated by Helga Schier: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 477 and Plate: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 429. See also: Peter Wagner: Professional devices in the test: Colossi of the kitchen (Part 3) . In: Manager Magazin , February 17, 2011, accessed December 9, 2016. Claudia Panster: Hype of the year Thermomix. Suddenly a princess . In: Handelsblatt print, December 11, 2015. Paz Álvarez: El clan del robot de cocina alemán . In: Cinco Dias (online), December 31, 2015, accessed December 9, 2016. Alexandra Genova: Is the $ 2,000 Thermomix a must-have kitchen appliance or just an expensive disaster waiting to happen? Owners suffer horrific burns after gadgets explode . In: Mail online March 16, 2016, accessed December 9, 2016). Raechal Johns: Increasing Value of a Tangible Product through Intangible Attributes: Value Co-Creation and Brand Building within Online Communities - Virtual Communities and Value . In: Rebecca English; Raechel Johns (Ed.): Gender Considerations in Online Consumption Behavior and Internet Use , IGI Global, Hershey 2016, pp. 112–124, here p. 117, ISBN 978-1-5225-0010-0 .
  28. ↑ Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , p. 53.
  29. ^ Arno Vangerow-Kühn and Monika Vangerow-Kühn (collaboration): The prefabricated house construction industry in the Federal Republic as a model for rationalization through industrialization in construction , Fraunhofer IRB Verlag, Stuttgart 1984, p. 44.
  30. ^ Stable development "around the house" , Handelsblatt , June 25, 1981.
  31. ↑ Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , p. 54. Stable development “around the house” , Handelsblatt , June 25, 1981. Vorwerk sees opportunities in traditional markets , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , June 25, 1981. Vorwerk is successful with direct sales , Süddeutsche Zeitung , June 27, 1981. Vorwerk confident about the anniversary year , Süddeutsche Zeitung , June 23, 1983.
  32. ↑ In 1983, enormous growth rates were achieved in saturated markets , Handelsblatt , July 2, 1984. Vorwerk has reason to cheer , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , July 3, 1984.
  33. ^ Vorwerk would like to hand over Ranco , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 22, 1983. Vorwerk uses merger wave in America , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 27, 1986.
  34. ^ After a good few years, Vorwerk takes a break , Süddeutsche Zeitung , June 20, 1986. Direct sales will be maintained , Handelsblatt , June 20, 1986. Vorwerk sells Plaxicon , Handelsblatt , July 17, 1996.
  35. ↑ Hausputz an der Wupper , Industriemagazin , 8-1987.
  36. ^ Vorwerk separates from the prefabricated house , Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 14, 1987. Vorwerk separates from the prefabricated houses , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , November 14, 1987. Vorwerk stays with its strips , Süddeutsche Zeitung , July 7, 1988.
  37. ↑ Vorwerk wants to promote the kitchen business , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , June 29, 1993. Vorwerk on Nippon's footsteps , Süddeutsche Zeitung , June 29, 1993. Vacuum cleaners get company . Frankfurter Rundschau , June 29, 1993.
  38. ↑ Vorwerk remains true to itself , Handelsblatt , May 16, 2000. Vorwerk continues to rely on direct sales , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , May 16, 2000.
  39. ↑ Japanese turn Vorwerk inside out , Die Welt , June 29, 1992. Between Muda and Kaizen , Süddeutsche Zeitung , July 31, 1993. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid: Success through quality and flexibility. Family company from Wuppertal asserts itself on difficult foreign markets , Börsen-Zeitung , March 22, 1997.
  40. ↑ Vorwerk remains true to itself , Handelsblatt , May 16, 2000. Vorwerk continues to rely on direct sales , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , May 16, 2000.
  41. ↑ Vorwerk leaves Tupperware. Handelsblatt, May 19, 2005.
  42. ↑ Walther Becker: Vorwerk absorbs cosmetics direct sales. Family Company braces purchase for estimated 400 million euro from available materials -. Lucrative Exit for CD & R . Börsen-Zeitung , April 1, 2004. Maike Telgheder: Vorwerk wants to grow faster with cosmetics. In: Handelsblatt. April 30, 2004, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  43. ↑ Vorwerk continues to rely on direct sales , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , May 16, 2000.
  44. ↑ Vorwerk is outsourcing its IT operations to T-Systems. In: Computerwoche . September 26, 2003, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  45. ↑ Portrait: A partner leaves. In: Manager Magazin. June 24, 2008, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  46. ^ Plate: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 430. Georg Weishaupt: Time for a revolution. In: Handelsblatt. November 1, 2005, accessed December 14, 2016 . A clear commitment to continuity. For the first time in 120 years, external people are in charge of the Vorwerk family business . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 27, 2005.
  47. ↑ Soak up innovations. Part 88: Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures , VentureCapital Magazin , issue 10-2008, p. 32 f.
  48. ↑ Klaus Koch: Vorwerk parted ways with the kitchen business. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung. December 3, 2007, accessed December 14, 2016 . Vorwerk will soon stop building kitchens , Handelsblatt , December 4, 2007.
  49. ^ Vorwerk adds iron to its range , Handelsblatt , June 13, 2002. ML Cohen, updated by Helga Schier: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 478.
  50. ^ Vorwerk is sticking to direct sales , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , May 18, 2001.
  51. ↑ Wolfgang Gillmann: Vorwerk achieves record results , Handelsblatt , June 8, 2011. Walter Muyres: The Vorwerk boss wants to rejuvenate the brand , Handelsblatt , December 5, 2011.
  52. ↑ Walter Muyres: The Vorwerk boss wants to rejuvenate the brand , Handelsblatt , December 5, 2011. Store opened , Handelsjournal , issue 1-2012, p. 11.
  53. ↑ Axel Granzow: Kobold is a problem child in Germany. In: Handelsblatt. June 1, 2010, accessed December 14, 2016 . Maria Marquart: upheaval at Vorwerk. The "Kobold" lets the customers dance. In: Spiegel Online . December 5, 2011, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  54. ↑ Vorwerk Annual Report 2011 , p. 11.
  55. ↑ Vorwerk Annual Report 2014 p. 9. Katrin Terpitz: Thermomix overtakes the Kobold. In: Handelsblatt. May 21, 2015, accessed December 14, 2016 .
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  65. ↑ We thank our customers for the trust they have placed in us. In: Customer Service. Vorwerk, accessed on March 14, 2020 .
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  73. ↑ Vorwerk is a prime example of this form of distribution. See the entry: "Direct sales" in: Kai Hudetz, Andreas Kaapke: Lexikon Handelsmanagement. Controlling - leadership - marketing . Deutscher Fachverlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, p. 82 f. ISBN 978-3-86641-103-6 . Also the entry “direct sales” in: Susanne Czech-Winkelmann : Lexicon product range policy. Design - interfaces - management - key figures . Deutscher Fachverlag, Frankfurt am Main, p. 50, ISBN 978-3-86641-040-4 .
  74. ↑ Vorwerk Annual Report 2019 , p. 15.
  75. ↑ a b c Figures according to the respective annual reports , see the overview of these publications.
  76. ↑ Vorwerk Annual Report 2019 , p. 45.
  77. ↑ Reiner Strecker new personally liable partner of Vorwerk from January 1st, 2010. In: www.presseportal.de (press release of the Vorwerk Group). December 8, 2009, accessed December 20, 2016 .
  78. ↑ a b Vorwerk Annual Report 2019 , p. 6.
  79. ↑ Pross, Der Geist der Unternehmer , p. 56. For the composition of the first advisory board, see Mittelsten Scheid: Die diversierter Familien-Holding , p. 42
  80. ↑ Information on the Vorwerk website about the advisory board. Archived from the original on January 5, 2017 ; accessed on February 15, 2017 .
  81. ↑ Plate: Vorwerk & Co. KG , p. 431 f.
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  94. ↑ File number : 38 Cg 102/07 h, 4 Ob 142/08 y.
  95. ↑ Unfair methods: OGH condemns Vorwerk , report on ORF.at , December 5, 2008, accessed on December 22, 2016.

Coordinates: 51 ° 16 ′ 26 ″  N , 7 ° 12 ′ 1 ″  E