Goldpfeil
Goldpfeil (Ludwig Krumm AG) was a German luxury label founded in 1856 in Offenbach am Main.
History
Founded in 1856 in Offenbach, Germany, a suburb of Frankfurt considered to be the "leather capital of Germany" since the mid-1800s and has been the head office to other coveted German brands such as Seeger (founded in 1889) and Mädler (founded in 1850). Seeger was merged into Montblanc and the companies were both part of the same company for several years.
The last of "the big four" premium leather goods producers in Germany, Montblanc (company) was founded in 1906. Although Montblanc's headquarters are located in Hamburg, their leather goods factory was located in Offenbach until late 2009 when production was moved to Hamburg and Florence, Italy. A group of former Montblanc and Seeger executives and craftworkers maintains production through a spinoff of Seeger.
Founded by Ludwig Krumm in 1856, the original name of Goldpfeil was Ludwig Krumm AG. Mr. Krumm's strategy right from the beginning was to concentrate on producing leather goods of the highest quality. Within twenty five years around 200 employees were working for the company due to the increasing demand from the British market and the Russian upper class, as well as in many of the countries in mainland Europe. In 1929 Heinrich Krumm, traveled on the luxury train named Golden Arrow (train) in London, England. So impressed by the quality of service, Herr Krumm simply translated "Gold Arrow" into German and renamed his company Goldpfeil.
The company delivered its goods to more than 56 countries in the 1930s and even shops like Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue in the USA offered Goldpfeil's leather bags and accessories as early as 1912. By the 1950s Goldpfeil had achieved the status worldwide of being among the world's elite leather goods producers, alongside brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel. In 1956, French designer Christian Dior entered into a licensing agreement with Goldpfeil to produce all of the Christian Dior handbags.
Goldpfeil operated its own boutiques in virtually every major city in Germany as well as in many countries around the world and beginning in 1984 Goldpfeil opened ten Goldpfeil Shops in the USA, including stores on Fifth Avenue in New York, on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California; Bal Harbor, Florida; Honolulu, Hawaii and Dallas, Texas. There even was a Goldpfeil Shop on the island of Guam in the Western Pacific. [1]
Since 1998 the company expanded and became part of the Egana Goldpfeil Group which included premium luxury brands such as Joop and Comtesse and Salamander Shoes, the largest shoe company in Germany. As well, Goldpfeil was involved in a separate venture into the ultra premium watch business in Switzerland called Goldpfeil Geneve, where Goldpfeil created its own line of watches in limited production, commissioning some of the finest watch makers in Switzerland to create their own unique design of Goldpfeil wristwatch. In Europe, Goldpfeil's leather bags and accessories were sold through Goldpfeil shops which were located in major cities throughout Germany including Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich. There also was a Goldpfeil shop in Paris, France. In the Asian market there were Goldpfeil Shops in Tokyo, Japan as well as Hong Kong.
Goldpfeil in North America
In December 2008 the parent corporation Egana Goldpfeil and all related companies of Egana Goldpfeil went into receivership. Under the direction of court appointed receivers, all of the companies under the Egana Goldpfeil umbrella were sold off to independent buyers. Four months prior to the insolvency, with the assistance of legendary Goldpfeil collector Klaus Zielinski of Altötting Germany, longtime Goldpfeil collector Erik Calladine of Toronto, Canada contacted Goldpfeil in Offenbach, Germany with the intention of re-introducing the brand to North America after an absence of six years. After traveling to Offenbach, Germany (a suburb of Frankfurt) to meet with sales director Andreas Mann and Karin Disser- Relations Export Manager, Mr. Calladine secured the exclusive North American rights to the brand and made a substantial purchase of over 3500 all new first grade Goldpfeil products. These first grade new Goldpfeil leather goods were ocean freighted to Canada, and in an interview sales director Mr. Mann indicated that this was now the largest stock of Goldpfeil leather goods products in the world.
Shortly after, when the insolvency occurred, Mr. Calladine made the decision to market these products on eBay USA under the name The Goldpfeil Shoppe (eBay store name) and The Goldpfeil Shop (eBay ID) where the products remain for sale today. Due to the insolvency of Goldpfeil, The Goldpfeil Shop on eBay USA remains the only source worldwide for purchasing all new, first grade Goldpfeil premium leather goods products. An extensive selection of ladies handbags, briefcases, wallets and virtually the entire selection of Goldpfeil leather goods and accessories primarily from the Oxford Line of Goldpfeil remain available for sale in Canada as of April 2011. The demand worldwide for Goldpfeil today remains incredibly strong, with Mr. Calladine shipping Goldpfeil worldwide to countries such as Japan, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Brazil, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and to virtually every state in the USA. Sales are particularly strong in Texas, New York and California where Goldpfeil had received maximum exposure over the years from the Goldpfeil Shops in those states.
References
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