Hertie and Karstadt go their separate ways

[deco 23]

 

A shop assistant told me the other day that Hertie near Munich's Hauptbahnhof will be re-named Karstadt in September - Hertie has been there since 1905, so its re-naming will mark the end of an era for some older Bavarians, although it's not the end of Hertie as such. As I'd recently seen a small Karstadt in the Munich sticks transform into a Hertie, complete with new Hertie logo, it made me wonder what was behind it all, so I had a google and thought I'd pass it on as I found some of the history interesting.

 

Karstadt, which also owns KaDeWe & Wertheim in Berlin, and Alsterhaus in Hamburg, acquired Hertie in 1994. In 2005, British companies Dawnay Day and Hilco took over 74 smaller branches from the Karstadt-Quelle group and up till now have continued selling under the "Karstadt Kompakt" name.

 

As part of the deal they also bought the rights to the name "Hertie". To avoid any confusion with the Karstadt stores, and to simplify future TV advertising and company websites, it was agreed that the current Karstadt Kompakt branches would change their name to Hertie by 2008.

 

 

The new Hertie logo was unveiled in March in Berlin, partly as an historical nod to Jewish businessman Oskar Tietz, who founded the first store there in 1882. The name Hertie was later formed from his uncle's name, Hermann Tietz, at a time when Jewish names and businesses were not considered acceptable in Germany - the stores eventually had to be handed over during the Nazi era as part of the "Arianisation" programme (the family fled the country).

 

Dawnay Day plans to buy further smaller stores in Germany, so it looks as though more Herties will appear around the country, and the good news for some is that they'll have a different range of products to Karstadt, so there'll be more choice for consumers.

 

In case you're wondering, the traditional stores KaDeWe, Wertheim, Alsterhaus & Karstadt Oberpollinger won't be turned into humble Karstadts (the store Oberpollinger in Munich was taken over by Karstadt in 1927, but managed to keep its original name, albeit tagged onto Karstadt).

[fruitlassie 8]

I was pleasantly surprised visiting Hertie in Berlin recently. They seem to carry mainly clothing brands from the Debenhams range. Much more up to date styles and better quality than what one finds in most of the other local dept stores who all carry the same stuff (most of it deathly boring). Prices didn't seem much different to Karstadt, Kaufhof et al where even the dull crap is sold at silly prices.

[The Beaver 30]

Appreciate the history. Seriously - I was interested in what happened.

 

I live right next door to a Karstadt/Herties. It changed from the K to the H about a month ago. It looks a bit different outside, but everything inside is exactly the same. Whoopee. Very overpriced compared to other stores in the area.

 

It's like K-mart going to Target. Same standardized shit for too much money. Karstadt was notorious for overpricing goods in my town - Hertie hasn't changed a thing. Well, maybe I can get some uber-cool Jack Woolfskin fleece on sale at Summer prices...

 

Any male who is over 90 kilos - don't shop here. It's only for little skinny Euro guys. Shit, Where do the big Germans shop? I hate the clothes out here as they just don't fit me. I'm just...big...and not fat. 6' 215 is rugby size, but apparently this country only appeals to soccer guys. No biggy as it's all cool, but I've seen some big Deutsch dudes.

[t_maia 11]

Try Adler. I got German womens sizes 104/108 - they are otherwise impossible to get, but Adler has them for very low prices. My last pants from them were 10 Eggs - for the ones out of the specialised mail order catalogue I always paid 60 and up just because they were my size.

 

http://www.adler.de/

[Elfenstar 1,676]

i loved Karstadt Sport at Stachus (Munich). i would always get sucked in. nothing quite like that here in Mannheim, sadly. also, the Karstadt is on the other side of the pedestrian area, so I never go there anymore. but I only ever went to Karstadt or Hertie for socks or scarves or a new toothbrush. The Hertie at Bahnhof (Munich) had a great selection of sewing materials, for curtains, etc.

 

Here in Mannheim, Kaufhof is more established.

[Small Town Boy 6,672]

The change seems to be all complete; as I wrote in the wiki page:

 

 

In October 2007, Karstadt Oberpollinger reverted to its old name of "Oberpollinger", with the sub-title "Karstadt Premium Group". At the same time, "Karstadt Oberpollinger Haus am Dom" became "Karstadt Haus am Dom", "Karstadt Oberpollinger Sport" became "Karstadt Sport", while the Hertie across the road that had been owned by Karstadt since 1993 became Karstadt while many of the small Karstadts nationwide became Hertie. All clear?

Apart from taking away all the foreign beers (see whinge), I haven't spotted too many differences, since it has been a Karstadt in all but name for several years. But calling it Hertie at least provided me with the illusion of choice.

 

Wiki articles:

Karstadt

Hertie

Oberpollinger

[Small Town Boy 6,672]

Almost inevitably, talk has now turned to a merger between Kaufhof and Karstadt. The problem at the moment is that, by having two major department stores in each large town or city, competition is increased. This has the effect of not only providing customers with choice but, worse still, of keeping prices down. A capitalist's nightmare. A merger between Karstadt and Kaufhof, in contrast, will not only save huge sums of money through the closure of duplicate stores and the sacking of staff, but also result in a monopoly that will force prices up. It's amazing they haven't done this already, what with Hertie long out of the picture.

 

Spekulationen um Zusammenschluss von Karstadt und Kaufhof