Binder Optik

Binder Optik is a German optician chain founded on 1 August 1975 by Dr. Helmut Baur and his wife Gabriele Baur, who opened the first Binder Optik specialist store in Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg, where the company is still headquartered today. The business is run as a family enterprise: Gabriele Baur oversees store design, purchasing and the design of the company's own eyewear collections, while their son Dominic Baur, born in 1979, is responsible for sales. Dr. Helmut Baur, born 12 July 1941 in Böblingen, is the managing partner; before founding Binder Optik he trained as a watchmaker and optician, earned a doctorate in business administration, and held commercial and sales leadership roles at a mid-sized eyewear manufacturer in Pforzheim and at Carl Zeiss in Aalen and Stuttgart. The chain positions itself on the promise that "seeing well and looking good need not be expensive – at least not at Binder Optik," a quote attributed to Dr. Helmut Baur on the company's website. Binder Optik sells branded spectacle frames from designers and labels such as Gucci, Emporio Armani, Michael Kors, Jaguar, Marc O'Polo, Ray-Ban and Esprit, and fits lenses from leading manufacturers including ZEISS, Hoya and Essilor. Its service proposition includes a price guarantee with a money-back difference refund if a cheaper offer is found within six weeks, a satisfaction guarantee with exchange within six weeks, a compatibility guarantee allowing progressive-lens exchanges within three months, and a three-year guarantee on the complete pair of glasses. Children and adolescents up to their 18th birthday receive free eyewear under the company's null-tariff offer, and eye tests use modern 3D technology. By 2015 Binder Optik operated 50 stores across Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria, employed around 400 people, generated annual revenue of about 40 million euros, and ranked eighth in the German optical industry. The company is also known for its social and environmental engagement: it was a pioneer in the optical sector in banning tortoiseshell from its business and helped push through a trade ban on products made from sea turtles, it collects used but functional glasses for donation through "BrillenWeltweit," and it sponsors the "Felix" baby emergency-doctor vehicle system of the Björn Steiger Foundation. Binder Optik is a main sponsor of the Bundesliga handball club TVB 1898 Stuttgart. The company remains a privately held family business and continues to operate its specialist stores and online presence under the Binder Optik brand.

Binder Optik was founded on 1 August 1975, when Dr. Helmut Baur and his wife Gabriele opened the first Binder Optik specialist store in Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg. Böblingen remains the company headquarters. Helmut Baur, born 12 July 1941 in Böblingen, was the son of the owners of a watch and jewellery shop; he trained as a watchmaker and optician, passed a high-aptitude Abitur at the University of Tübingen, and studied business administration at the universities of Stuttgart, Fribourg (Switzerland) and Erlangen-Nürnberg as a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation. He completed his studies with distinction as a Diplom-Kaufmann and subsequently earned a doctorate. Before founding Binder Optik he served as commercial manager of a mid-sized eyewear manufacturer in Pforzheim and as sales manager at Carl Zeiss in Aalen and Stuttgart. The company grew as a family enterprise. Gabriele Baur took responsibility for store design, purchasing and the design of the company's own eyewear collections, while son Dominic Baur (born 1979) later became responsible for sales. In 1985 Helmut Baur founded the Stiftung Deutsche Sehhilfe (German Visual Aid Foundation) with support from Zeiss, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Rodenstock and Essilor. Binder Optik became known in the optical industry for its environmental stance: as a pioneer in the sector it removed tortoiseshell from its business and contributed to enforcing a trade ban on products made from sea turtles. It also supports the "BrillenWeltweit" donation programme for used glasses and sponsors the "Felix" baby emergency-doctor vehicle system of the Björn Steiger Foundation. By 2015 Binder Optik operated 50 stores in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria, employed around 400 people, achieved annual revenue of about 40 million euros, and ranked eighth in the German optical industry. The company's stores combine branded frames from designers and labels such as Gucci, Emporio Armani, Michael Kors, Jaguar, Marc O'Polo, Ray-Ban and Esprit with lenses from ZEISS, Hoya and Essilor, and it backs its offer with a price guarantee, satisfaction guarantee, compatibility guarantee and a three-year guarantee on complete glasses. Children and adolescents up to 18 receive free eyewear. Eye tests use modern 3D technology. Binder Optik is a main sponsor of the Bundesliga handball club TVB 1898 Stuttgart. Dr. Helmut Baur has received numerous honours for his entrepreneurial and civic work, including the Wirtschaftsmedaille in Gold of Baden-Württemberg (1990), the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande (1992), the Staufermedaille in Gold (2000), the Zukunftspreis of Baden-Württemberg retail and the Crystal Award of Marchon-Deutschland (2009), and the Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (awarded December 2017, presented March 2018). He has also served as honorary consul and honorary consul general of Malaysia and holds the Malaysian title Datuk. The company remains a privately held family business.

• 2018

  The Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse is formally presented in March by Baden-Württemberg economics minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut.

• 2017

  Helmut Baur is awarded the Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in December.

• 2015

  Binder Optik operates 50 stores in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria, with around 400 employees and about 40 million euros in annual revenue, ranking eighth in the German optical industry.

• 2009

  Helmut Baur receives the Zukunftspreis of Baden-Württemberg retail and the Crystal Award of Marchon-Deutschland.

• 2000

  Helmut Baur receives the Staufermedaille in Gold of Baden-Württemberg.

• 1992

  Helmut Baur is awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande, partly for his wildlife-conservation engagement.

• 1990

  Helmut Baur receives the Wirtschaftsmedaille in Gold of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

• 1985

  Helmut Baur founds the Stiftung Deutsche Sehhilfe with support from Zeiss, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Rodenstock and Essilor.

• 1975

  Dr. Helmut Baur and Gabriele Baur open the first Binder Optik specialist store in Böblingen on 1 August.

Family-run optician chain offering branded eyewear and premium lenses at guaranteed low prices, with strong service, guarantee and social-responsibility credentials.

• Branded spectacle frames

  Frames from Gucci, Emporio Armani, Michael Kors, Jaguar, Marc O'Polo, Ray-Ban and Esprit, sold at guaranteed low prices.

• Own-brand eyewear collections

  In-house designed eyewear collections overseen by Gabriele Baur.

• Prescription lenses

  Lenses sourced from long-standing partners ZEISS, Hoya and Essilor.

• Progressive lenses

  Progressive lenses covered by a compatibility guarantee allowing exchange within three months.

• Children's and teenagers' eyewear

  Free eyewear for children and adolescents up to their 18th birthday.

• 3D eye testing

  Eye tests performed with modern 3D technology.

• Price guarantee
• Satisfaction guarantee
• Compatibility guarantee
• Three-year guarantee
• Nulltarif for children and adolescents
• Rettet die Schildkröten (Save the Turtles)
• BrillenWeltweit
• Felix baby emergency-doctor vehicle sponsorship

1. 1Startseite - Binder Optikbinder-optik.de
2. 2Über Uns - Binder Optikbinder-optik.de
3. 3Binder-Vorteile - Binder Optikbinder-optik.de
4. 4Soziales Engagement - Binder Optikbinder-optik.de
5. 5Binder Optik - Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Helmut Baur (Unternehmer) - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org