Wolford

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Wolford AG

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN AT0000834007
founding 1950
Seat Bregenz , AustriaAustriaAustria 
management
  • Silvia Azzali ( CCO )
    Andrew Thorndike ( COO )
  • Junyang Shao (Chairman of the Board of Directors)
Number of employees 1347
sales 137.22 million euros (FY 2018/19)
Branch Textile
Website www.wolford.com
As of April 30, 2019

The Wolford AG with headquarters in Bregenz is an Austrian manufacturer of textiles in the top price segment focusing on tights , bodysuits , and laundry and also women's clothing and accessories ago.

Bodysuit with detachable blouse collar and tights from the Cosmopolitan collection for fall / winter 2004

Wolford has 16 subsidiaries and sells its products in around 60 countries through more than 260 own and partner-managed brand boutiques, 3,000 trading partners and 17 online shops. The company, which has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995, generated sales of EUR 137.22 million in the 2018/19 financial year (May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019) with around 1,347 employees.

The manufacturer is known for its seamless products such as tights, but also for its collaboration with photographers such as Helmut Newton or Ellen von Unwerth and designers such as Karl Lagerfeld or Vivienne Westwood .

history

The industrialist Reinhold Wolff from Vorarlberg and the retailer Walter Palmers (* 1903; † 1983) from Vienna founded in 1949 in Bregenz on Lake Constance , a city with a historically grown textile tradition, under the company name Wolff & Co. KG, a company for the production of art and art pure silk women's stockings. For the first time, the polyamide fiber was processed into stockings with used American cotton machines , which they converted especially for their purposes . The Wolford brand was registered the following year. The brand name is an acronym from the name of the founder Reinhold Wolff and the city of Oxford and should be internationally applicable. Wolford began to expand internationally from Bregenz in the 1970s. In 1988 the company undertook a strategic realignment and positioned its products in the luxury segment. In addition, in April 1988 the company was converted into a stock corporation. February 14, 1995 Wolford went with the "Lady share" in Vienna and Paris to the stock market . Over the years, Wolford became known primarily for innovative seamless products such as tights and bodies, but also for collaborations with designers such as Karl Lagerfeld , Emilio Pucci , Zac Posen , Kenzō Takada , Valentino Garavani and Vivienne Westwood . The collaboration with photographers such as Helmut Newton , Ellen von Unwerth and Mario Testino also contributed to the brand's awareness.

The German Ralph Bartel, who lives in Switzerland, has been an investor in Wolford AG since 2012 and held over 30% in mid-2018.

In the 2018/19 financial year, sales amounted to € 137.22 million, 8% below the previous year's figure (€ 149.07 million).

In March 2018 it was announced that the Chinese investor Fosun intends to take over the 50.87% stake in Wolford from the founding families Wilhelm and Palmers. The so-called closing of the transaction took place on May 4, 2018 and the process of selling the majority of shares in Wolford AG was successfully completed. Fosun Industrial Holdings Limited now holds around 58% of Wolford AG.

In order to repay all bank loans, Wolford has announced a sale-and-lease-back of its company premises at its headquarters in Bregenz. The property is to go to the fittings manufacturer Blum for € 72 million .

Corporate management

The board consists of Silvia Azzali (CCO) and Andrew Thorndike (COO).

The Supervisory Board is composed as follows:

  • Junyang Shao (Chairwoman, appointed until the end of the 35th Annual General Meeting for the 2021/22 financial year)
  • Thomas Dressendörfer (Deputy Chairman, appointed until the end of the 36th Annual General Meeting for the 2022/23 financial year)
  • Yun Cheng (member, appointed until the end of the 36th Annual General Meeting for the 2022/23 financial year)
  • Matthias Freise (member, appointed until the end of the 37th Annual General Meeting for the 2023/24 financial year)

The works council also delegated: Anton Mathis and Christian Medwed

Products and manufacture

The focus of production is on body-hugging circular knitted products such as legwear and bodies, so-called skinwear. Wolford generates more than half of its sales with its core product group, legwear. Lingerie and ready-to-wear are closely coordinated with the core product - decorative and, in some cases, body-shaping lingerie as well as body-hugging products such as bodysuits and shirts (bodywear) alongside corresponding dresses and sweaters. These products are complemented by a small selection of accessories such as scarves and belts. Every product is "made in Europe": In Bregenz, hosiery and bodysuits are knitted on around 400 individually converted circular knitting machines in rooms with an optimized microclimate. In addition to the research and development department, the headquarters also has a twisting, steaming, dyeing and molding shop as well as its own dye laboratory. Manufacture takes place at Wolford's own location in Murska Sobota (Slovenia), where textile production also has a long tradition.

In September 2018, Wolford launched the first bio-recyclable sweaters, T-shirts and leggings. These products, developed as part of the Austrian Smart Textiles Initiative, are completely compostable. In April 2019, the company received the “Cradle to Cradle Certified ™ (Gold)” award for the development of technically recyclable (i.e. completely recyclable) products - Wolford will be presenting the first corresponding legwear products as early as 2020. Wolford is the first and so far only company in the clothing and textile industry to have been certified by “Cradle to Cradle” with “Gold” for the development of environmentally neutral products in both categories (“biodegradable” and “technically recyclable”).

Web links

Commons : Wolford  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Wolford AG German - Change in the Wolford Management Board / Global Sales & Merchandising Director Silvia Azzali appointed as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). In: company.wolford.com. Retrieved November 4, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Wolford Annual Report 2018/19. (PDF) Wolford AG, accessed on August 13, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Wolford starts new market presence. Wolford AG, November 15, 2018, accessed on August 13, 2019 .
  4. ↑ PA_FOC: Money market: Wolford stockings goes public. In: Focus Online . February 6, 1995, accessed October 14, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Ralph Bartel becomes largest Wolford shareholder (September 19, 2013)
  6. ↑ Dotcom-Schwabe sticks to stocking company (June 12, 2017)
  7. ↑ German millionaire career - The Dot-Com-Schwabe (May 24, 2007)
  8. ^ Participation in voting rights by Ralph Bartel. (PDF) Retrieved September 18, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Wolford writes another 11.1 million euros loss. July 23, 2019, accessed August 13, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Wolford - Wolford continued to be in the red in the 2018/19 financial year. Retrieved August 13, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Wolford goes Chinese: Owner families Wilhelm and Palmers sell 51 percent to Fosun industriemagazin.at, March 1, 2018, accessed March 1, 2018.
  12. ↑ Wolford AG German - Shareholders tendered 7 percent of the shares to Fosun after the end of the first offer period of the takeover offer. Retrieved September 17, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Wolford headquarters go to Blum orf.at, April 9, 2020, accessed April 9, 2020.
  14. ↑ Eco-underwear: Green down to the last fiber - derStandard.at. Retrieved August 13, 2019 (Austrian German).
  15. ↑ Wolford AG German - CRADLE TO CRADLE®-KOLLEKTION - For a world beyond next season. Retrieved August 13, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Sustainable underwear: Wolford honored for biological and technical cycle. Retrieved August 13, 2019 .

Coordinates: 47 ° 29 '48.2 "  N , 9 ° 42' 57.8"  E