Hussel GmbH is a German confectionery retailer founded in 1949. Hussel operates around 137 retail shops in Germany and Austria. In addition, Hussel sells its products online. Approximately 1,300 employees work for Hussel. Hussel's headquarters is in
Wahlstedt
Wahlstedt is a town in the district of Segeberg in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Geography
The town lies about 50 km north of Hamburg, 40 km south of Kiel and 30 km west of Lübeck. It is about seven kilometers west of Bad Segeber ...
in
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
and chairman is Patrick G. Weber.
History
Named after the founder Rudolf Hussel, the company was founded in 1949 in
Hagen
Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...
. In 1951 Hussel operated 10 fully-owned retail shops. By the year 1957 the number of retail shops grew to about 100 and the company changed its focus from mass produced ware to high quality premium confectionery. In 1962 the firm reincorporated as a publicly traded stock company ("AG"). Under the leadership of then CEO Herbert Eklöh Hussel AG expanded and diversified into other, non-food retail sectors, especially into perfume retailing. In 1969 Hussel acquired 6 retail shops of the perfume retailer
Douglas (cosmetics)
Douglas GmbH is a German perfume and cosmetics retailing, retailer based in Düsseldorf. Douglas offers approx. 35,000 products in more than 1,900 stores and franchised outlets in 19 European countries: Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Sw ...
in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. Part and parcel of this development was the restructuring of Hussel AG in 1972 into a holding structure with two operating companies: one for confectionery and one for perfume. Due to additional acquisitions and the increasing importance of perfume retailing within the Hussel Holding AG, further corporate restructuring followed, leading to the inception of the Douglas Holding AG that replaced the Hussel Holding AG.
Ownership
In March 2014 Douglas Holding sold Hussel to private equity fund Emeram Capital Partners. In September 2018 Emeram Capital Partners sold Hussel to the Arko Group, forming Europe’s largest confectionary. Later, the Arko Group reincorporated under the name Deutsche Confiserie Holding GmbH, with Arko, Hussel and Eilles as its operational subsidiaries. In 2021, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, its brands Arko, Hussel, and Eilles filed for bankruptcy. Nine months after the bankruptcy was filed, the reorganization of confectionery retailers Arko, Eilles and Hussel was successful and the Hussel brand continued operating its retail stores and online store.
See also
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Douglas (cosmetics)
Douglas GmbH is a German perfume and cosmetics retailing, retailer based in Düsseldorf. Douglas offers approx. 35,000 products in more than 1,900 stores and franchised outlets in 19 European countries: Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Sw ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Retail companies of Germany
Retail companies established in 1949
German brands