Woolworth Germany
| Woolworth GmbH
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|---|---|
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | November 2, 1926 |
| Seat | Unna , Germany |
| management | Mechthild Gottkehaskamp (Chairman) Dirk Landwehr Thomas Leege Oliver Penner Lennart Wehrmeier |
| Number of employees | 4569 (2013/14) |
| sales | 293.3 million euros (2013/14) |
| Website | www.woolworth.de |
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The Woolworth GmbH is a retail chain with 400 stores in Germany . Since July 1, 2010, the main owner has been HH Holding (58.5 percent) and the Tengelmann Group ( 30 percent) . After Tengelmann left in the summer of 2012, Woolworth is now 53.67 percent owned by HH License GmbH and 46.33 percent by BH Holding GmbH (around KiK founder Stefan Heinig ). With its range, which mainly covers the non-food and drugstore sectors, mainly textiles, household items, stationery, toys, shoes, leather goods and confectionery, the company primarily aims to appeal to price-sensitive buyers.
history
On November 2, 1926, the German subsidiary of the US FW Woolworth Company was founded in the Hotel Adlon in Berlin . On July 30, 1927, the first Woolworth department store in Germany opened in Bremen , with fixed prices of 25 and 50 pfennigs and a public display of goods.
In March 1932 it became known that the Woolworth Group had supported the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) with several donations.
For a long time Woolworth operated various subsidiaries in Germany. In addition, there were jewelry shops that went under the name Rubin . Today the existing subsidiaries operate partly independently, partly as part of the former American parent company, such as Foot Locker .
In 1998 the German subsidiary separated from the American parent company, which no longer exists. “DWW Deutsche Woolworth GmbH & Co. OHG” with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main was founded in a management buy-out . This was supported by the British investor group Electra Private Equity (now Cognetas ). From January to October 2004, the cash register system and the IT infrastructure were converted. This should enable more efficient and improved ordering of goods and better service. For example, touchscreen solutions based on Linux are used at the cash registers .
In 2005 Woolworth owned 330 stores in Germany and nine in Austria. These were divided into 202 department stores and 128 “minis” with smaller sales areas . The total sales area was around 400,000 square meters.
From March 2006 onwards, the company tested a new, modernized concept. So-called concept stores were opened in Koblenz and Frankfurt am Main , which were characterized by a completely new facility. The central element of this concept were the "marketplaces", i. H. Special areas that visually stood out from the rest of the shop with a separate ceiling and floor design and on which special offers and advertising items were offered. Selected branches were converted into "marketplace branches". As a consequent further development of the concept, ten stores converted into marketplace branches were reopened in Berlin at the end of October 2006. In order to ensure a uniform advertising presence in all Berlin branches, special areas were also designated as “marketplaces” in the remaining branches.
In October 2007 the US financial investor Cerberus Capital Management took over the business of Woolworth Germany together with Argyll Partners. Cerberus became the property owner and took over about 100 privately owned Woolworth properties that Cerberus was to rent to Argyll Partners; the operative business was taken over by Argyll.
From March 2008, the branches were adjusted again with the aim of increasing sales. In addition to the adjustment of the range (drastic reduction) and the broadening of the walking routes, all branches were equipped with checkout tills (tills with automatic treadmills).
On April 11, 2009, the British company Argyll Partners filed for insolvency at the Frankfurt am Main local court for its German operations . 23 former Woolworth branches were then taken over by the textile discounter NKD . The Schlecker drugstore chain was also planning to take over several branches. The Federal Cartel Office approved the end of August 2009, however, the acquisition of a maximum of 71 Woolworth stores.
In September 2009 the press spokesman for the insolvency administrator stated that the operative business with 160 of the original 310 branches in a newly founded Deutsche Woolworth GmbH should be continued.
In May 2010, HH-Holding took over parts of Deutsche Woolworth GmbH as part of an asset deal. 158 locations were continued. The Federal Cartel Office approved the takeover in June 2010. The company headquarters was relocated from Frankfurt to Unna on July 1, 2010 . Tengelmann has completely withdrawn since summer 2012. The main owner is now 53.67 percent of the BH Holding.
In the course of the bankruptcy, the Austrian branches were separated from Deutsche Woolworth GmbH (DWW) and sold to the financial investor bluO . The shops were closed and reopened as Adler-Modewelt . Adler Modemärkte GmbH was also part of bluO for a time.
Branches
Woolworth GmbH took over 158 branches from the old company. The trading company plans to spend 40 million euros on the renovation. The changed logo will be attached to all of the old branches, and the existing areas and the shop fitting will be modernized. Since the takeover, the number of branches has risen to 300 in spring 2016. In the medium term, the branch network is to be increased to 800 department stores. The target locations are cities with more than 30,000 inhabitants. Woolworth wants to be the local supplier there with its wide range. The sales area of a Woolworth branch will in future be between 700 and 2000 square meters. Expansion abroad is currently not planned.
range
Woolworth offers around 6000 items in the lower and middle price segment. Before the bankruptcy in spring 2009, the press described the range as a “hodgepodge of more than 25,000 articles”. Hard goods such as decorative items, accessories, toys, stationery, household goods and pet accessories account for 65 percent of the new range of goods. 35 percent of the product range consists of textiles. According to the pricing strategy, Woolworth offers products from well-known and less well-known brands. Among the well-known brands, Woolworth relies on Ravensburger, Lego, Panasonic, Coca-Cola and Haribo, for example. In addition, the company offers a variety of licensed goods, such as Hello Kitty, and ten own brands. The offer is rounded off by articles at an entry-level price. In the own brands, Infinity Man, Woman, Kids and Sports cover the area of outerwear for all age groups. The Scent of the Rose stands for hosiery, Marvital for cosmetics, Belday Home for decorative items and Basic Concept for hardware.
Real estate owner
The US financial investor Cerberus Capital Management has been the owner of the approximately 100 former Woolworth properties since 2007 and is only indirectly affected by the change in operational business partners. In Germany, the real estate portfolio is managed by Promontoria, which has now partially commissioned the Acrest Property Group with realigning the real estate portfolio.
Web links
- Internet site of Woolworth GmbH
- Promontoria purchases for US Cerberus Capital Management
- Acrest Property Group Berlin real estate preparer
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Woolworth GmbH. Annual and consolidated financial statements for the business year from May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014. In: Federal Gazette . Retrieved on July 10, 2016 ( enter Woolworth GmbH in the search mask).
- ↑ Hagen Seidel: Woolworth wants to cover the country with branches. In: The world . November 25, 2010, accessed July 16, 2016 .
- ↑ About us. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 29, 2017 ; Retrieved April 7, 2017 . 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.
- ^ Woolworth donation for Hitler. In: Vossische Zeitung. No. 144-145 of March 25, 1932.
- ↑ Argyll Partners takes over Woolworth in Germany ( Memento from December 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ German department store chain: Woolworth files for bankruptcy. In: Manager Magazin . April 14, 2009, accessed July 10, 2016 .
- ↑ NKD takes over 23 Woolworth branches. Nordbayerischer Kurier , August 31, 2009, archived from the original on June 6, 2012 ; Retrieved April 6, 2017 .
- ↑ New concept for Woolworth. Rheinische Post , September 3, 2009, accessed on April 6, 2017 .
- ^ Cartel office approves takeover of Woolworth. Rheinische Post, June 2, 2010, accessed on April 6, 2017 .
- ↑ Woolworth is now part of Tengelmann Focus online, July 1, 2010.
- ↑ Sales Woolworth Austria. Retrieved November 26, 2010 .
- ↑ Woolworth Austria becomes the Adler fashion world. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 4, 2010 .
- ^ "A new branch every week", TextilWirtschaft, December 2, 2010.
- ^ "Woolworth wants to be the counter-Karstadt", Der Handel, November 25, 2010.
- ^ "Woolworth department store chain demonstrates new strength", Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, November 26, 2010.
- ↑ Woolworth Expansion
- ↑ Stefan Weber: No frills: Woolworth recalls virtues that once made the German branch of the US department store chain strong - cheap offers and a clear concept. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung November 15, 2011, p. 22.
- ^ "A new branch every week", TextilWirtschaft, December 2, 2010.
