The family-run fashion house Henschel is continuing to expand its branch network.
The Darmstadt-based fashion house group is taking over two branches of the Köhler fashion house, as Henschel confirmed on Friday at the request of FashionUnited. By taking over the Köhler branches in Gießen and Fulda, the group’s branch network grows to a total of seven fashion stores at six locations.
The five existing branches in Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Michelstadt and Lübeck are recording continuous sales growth despite the challenges in retail, as the company announced. Nevertheless, the takeover of the two Köhler branches was carefully considered, emphasized Moritz Koch, managing partner of the group. The bottom line is that the integration of the two stores, which will initially continue to be operated under the well-known Köhler name, is a “strong sign of growth and future investments in stationary retail.”
Both Henschel and Köhler are traditional family businesses. Henschel was founded around 90 years ago, while Köhler was founded in 1924 and has been owned by the Vordemfelde family since 1971. Both share similar values. For Ludwig Vordemfelde, owner of the Köhler fashion stores, the priority was to maintain the locations and jobs: “It’s not like buyers are lining up for a big fashion store in the city center,” says Vordemfelde. “It was important to me that my employees and the quality of the advice were retained. With Henschel I have found the ideal and absolutely competent partner.”
Meanwhile, Kai Brune, also managing partner of the Henschel Group, emphasized that it was a pleasure to integrate the already established Köhler companies and the team into Henschel.
As a result of the takeover, Henschel will be represented in Gießen, Fulda, Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Michelstadt and Lübeck in the future, thereby strengthening its presence in the region.