Herlitz

Herlitz is a German stationery and office-supplies brand whose origins lie in a Berlin wholesaling business established by bookseller Carl Herlitz in September 1904. Over the course of the twentieth century, the company developed from a small stationery distributor into a broad manufacturer and marketer of school, office, paper, filing, writing and greeting-card products. Its development was closely tied to the expansion of postwar consumer markets in West Germany, the growth of modern retail distribution and the increasing importance of branded school supplies. The business experienced a severe interruption during the Second World War. Its Berlin premises were destroyed twice in November 1943, bringing operations to a halt. Günter Herlitz, who had succeeded his father, resumed trading in the summer of 1945, initially from a basement and with a miscellaneous range of goods. During the Berlin Blockade of 1948–49, Herlitz was reportedly the only one of approximately twenty Berlin wholesalers able to secure a limited flow of goods by air from West Germany. After the blockade ended, the company broadened its assortment and rebuilt its distribution network. Herlitz’s major domestic growth phase began in the 1960s. It created its own West German distribution organization in 1960 and gained market visibility through illustrated notebooks and exercise books featuring animal motifs and sports imagery. The company expanded manufacturing capacity, processed substantial volumes of paper and increasingly operated as an integrated producer and distributor. In the 1970s it changed its legal form, built large-scale warehousing infrastructure and began undertaking international projects. Its consulting arm constructed a turnkey exercise-book factory in Baghdad in the mid-1970s, a major industrial contract for the company. The 1970s and 1980s also brought corporate expansion. Herlitz became a joint-stock company in 1972 and went public in 1977. It established or acquired distribution and operating businesses in several European countries and in the United States, opened large shipping facilities near Berlin, launched the McPaper retail concept and acquired the greeting-card business Susy Card. In the early 1990s, a new shipping center was developed in Falkensee, near Berlin. The company reached a high point in the mid-1990s, but diversification and investment outside its core stationery business created increasing financial and managerial pressure. A family dispute involving the third generation also contributed to a transition from family-led management to a more corporate holding structure. The subsequent downturn was serious. Problems connected with international investments and the broader group structure were followed by heavy losses from 1998 to 2000. Herlitz AG, Herlitz PBS AG and Susy Card entered insolvency proceedings in April 2002. The proceedings were completed comparatively quickly while the business continued operating, but the company emerged at a substantially reduced scale. In 2005, Luxembourg-based Stationery Products S.à r.l., indirectly associated with Advent International, acquired a controlling interest in Herlitz AG. Stationery Products later sold its shares to Pelikan Holding AG in November 2009. Under Pelikan ownership, Herlitz remained an established stationery name rather than an independent listed group. Production and logistics activities had included facilities in Falkensee and operations in Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom, while the brand served customers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Pelikan took over Herlitz’s German and Austrian distribution and sales activities in March 2014. Herlitz products continue to be commercialized under the brand, although the former Herlitz manufacturing company is generally described as a historical corporate entity within the brand’s ownership history.

Herlitz was founded in Berlin in September 1904 by bookseller Carl Herlitz as a stationery wholesaler. Carl managed the business for roughly three decades before leaving it in 1935 for health reasons. His son Günter expanded the company’s distribution activities, initially with a very small workforce. During Günter’s military service, his mother Berta temporarily managed the business and maintained its customer relationships. The company suffered catastrophic wartime damage when its Berlin premises were destroyed twice in November 1943. Operations stopped, but Günter restarted the business in the summer of 1945, at first working from a basement and trading in whatever goods could be obtained. Herlitz later became important in the difficult supply environment of postwar Berlin. During the Berlin Blockade of 1948–49, it managed to obtain a limited quantity of goods by air from West Germany, allowing it to continue serving customers. Once the blockade ended, Herlitz broadened its range and rebuilt its commercial network. From 1949 to 1994, the company’s turnover reportedly doubled at four-year intervals. In 1960 it created a dedicated distribution organization for West Germany. Its breakthrough with German consumers came through illustrated exercise books and notebooks, particularly designs using animals and sports themes. Increasing manufacturing activity led to substantial paper consumption and a broader portfolio of school and office products. The 1970s marked a transition to a larger industrial and corporate organization. Herlitz became a joint-stock company in 1972, opened a large high-bay warehouse in 1974 and employed more than five hundred people on average that year. Through Herlitz Consult GmbH, it also won an important contract to build a turnkey exercise-book factory in Baghdad, together with associated construction work. The company went public in 1977. Its international trading activities were later organized through Herlitz International Trading, or HIT AG. Expansion continued in the 1980s. Herlitz acquired a shipping center in Berlin-Spandau in 1985, opened McPaper stores and purchased the greeting-card company Susy Card in 1987. Foreign distribution companies were established in Europe and, during the 1981–1990 period, in Texas in the United States. Construction of a new shipping center at Falkensee began in 1991, with the facility entering service in 1994. The company reached a reported turnover peak in 1994, but its group structure soon became more difficult to manage. After Günter Herlitz moved from operational leadership to the supervisory board, a dispute between the next generation of family members became public. Heinz Herlitz left in 1992. In the mid-1990s, under executive chairman Gérald Jaslowitzer, the family-controlled company increasingly adopted the form of a management-led holding comprising Herlitz PBS AG, Herlitz Falkenhöh AG, HIT AG and McPaper AG. Problems involving overseas investments and the wider group contributed to a deterioration in performance. McPaper was sold to Deutsche Post AG in 1998. Heavy losses between 1998 and 2000 led to substantial restructuring. Herlitz AG, Herlitz PBS AG and Susy Card filed for insolvency in April 2002. The insolvency plan was completed in September of that year, allowing operations to continue under the restructured business. By 2004, the company was smaller than during its 1990s peak. On 4 October 2005, Stationery Products S.à r.l., a Luxembourg company indirectly associated with Advent International, acquired a 64.7 percent stake in Herlitz AG. The Herlitz family retained approximately 15 percent, with the remainder dispersed among other shareholders. By the late 2000s, Herlitz’s production network included Falkensee in Brandenburg and facilities or operations in Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom. Its logistics organization supplied thousands of German distribution centers directly and served additional customers across Europe. In November 2009, Stationery Products sold its shares to Pelikan Holding AG. Pelikan subsequently integrated Herlitz more closely into its commercial organization and assumed Herlitz distribution and sales in Germany and Austria in March 2014. The former independent manufacturing company is therefore best understood as the historical corporate origin of a stationery brand that remains associated with Pelikan.

1. 2014Pelikan takes over German and Austrian sales activities

   Pelikan assumed Herlitz distribution and sales in Germany and Austria.

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2. 2009Pelikan acquires Herlitz ownership interest

   Pelikan Holding AG purchased Stationery Products’ Herlitz shares.

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3. 2005Stationery Products acquires control

   The Luxembourg-based investment vehicle acquired a controlling stake in Herlitz AG.

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4. 2002Insolvency proceedings completed

   Following filings in April, the insolvency plan was concluded in September while operations continued.

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5. 1998McPaper sold to Deutsche Post

   The retail subsidiary McPaper was sold during the group’s restructuring.

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6. 1991Falkensee shipping center construction begins

   Construction started on a new logistics center near Berlin; it entered operation in 1994.

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7. 1987Susy Card acquired

   Herlitz expanded into greeting cards by acquiring Susy Card.

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8. 1985Large Berlin-Spandau shipping center acquired

   Herlitz acquired a shipping center that was described as having an exceptionally large high-bay warehouse.

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9. 1977Herlitz goes public

   Herlitz became a publicly traded company.

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10. 1972Herlitz becomes a joint-stock company

    The company changed its legal form as it expanded industrially and internationally.

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11. 1960Dedicated West German distribution organization established

    Herlitz created its own distribution organization for West Germany.

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12. 1948Herlitz maintains supplies during the Berlin Blockade

    The company secured a limited airlift of goods from West Germany during the blockade.

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13. 1945Postwar operations resume

    Günter Herlitz restarted trading in the summer from temporary basement premises.

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14. 1943Berlin premises destroyed during the war

    The company’s business premises were destroyed twice in November, stopping operations.

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15. 1935Günter Herlitz takes over the business

    After Carl Herlitz stepped down for health reasons, his son Günter assumed responsibility and expanded distribution.

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16. 1904Carl Herlitz establishes a stationery wholesaler in Berlin

    Bookseller Carl Herlitz founded the business in Berlin in September 1904.

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Mass-market to mid-market stationery and office-supplies brand serving school, home-office and general business users.

• Exercise books and notebooksSchool stationery

  Illustrated notebooks and exercise books were among Herlitz’s most important consumer products and helped establish its visibility in the German market. Historically, the company used animal motifs, sports imagery and other decorative designs to distinguish school stationery from plain paper products.

• Folders and filing productsOffice organization

  Herlitz has marketed products for storing, organizing and protecting documents, including folders and related filing supplies. These products serve school, household, home-office and business users and form part of the brand’s broader office-stationery assortment.

• Paper productsPaper stationery

  The company’s historical manufacturing and merchandising activities covered paper-based stationery, including writing paper, notebooks and school-use paper goods. Paper processing became an important part of Herlitz’s industrial scale as the business expanded during the postwar decades.

• Writing instrumentsWriting supplies

  Writing instruments are part of the Herlitz office and school-supplies portfolio. The reference material identifies writing tools as a core product area but does not specify individual product families or launch dates.

• Greeting cardsPaper goods1987

  Herlitz entered greeting cards through the acquisition of Susy Card in 1987. The business later became involved in the group’s insolvency proceedings, and the available material does not establish the present scope of greeting-card products under the Herlitz name.

• 2014Pelikan consolidates German and Austrian distributionStrategy

  After acquiring the brand’s ownership interest, Pelikan further integrated commercial activities.

  What changed. Pelikan took over Herlitz distribution and sales activities in Germany and Austria.

  Aftermath. Herlitz’s commercial presence in these markets became more directly managed through Pelikan’s distribution organization.

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• 2009Pelikan acquires Herlitz ownership interestM&A

  Stationery Products exited its investment in the stationery company.

  What changed. Stationery Products sold all of its shares to Pelikan Holding AG in November 2009.

  Aftermath. Herlitz became part of the Pelikan group and continued as a brand within a larger stationery portfolio.

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• 2005Control transferred to Stationery ProductsM&A

  Following financial difficulties and restructuring, Herlitz required a new controlling shareholder.

  What changed. Stationery Products S.à r.l. acquired a controlling interest in Herlitz AG effective 4 October 2005.

  Aftermath. The Herlitz family retained a minority holding, while the company became indirectly associated with Advent International.

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• 2002Restructure through insolvency proceedingsStrategy

  Heavy losses from 1998 to 2000 weakened the group and made substantial restructuring necessary.

  What changed. Herlitz AG, Herlitz PBS AG and Susy Card entered insolvency proceedings in April 2002. The insolvency plan was completed in September while the operating business continued.

  Aftermath. The company survived the proceedings but operated at a reduced scale compared with its 1990s expansion period.

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• 2014Pelikan assumes Herlitz distribution and sales in Germany and Austria

  Pelikan took over distribution and sales activities for Herlitz in Germany and Austria.

  Other
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• 2014Pelikan takes over Herlitz distribution in Germany and Austria

  Pelikan assumed Herlitz distribution and sales activities in Germany and Austria.

  Other
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• 2009Pelikan acquires Stationery Products’ Herlitz shares

  Stationery Products sold its Herlitz shareholding to Pelikan Holding AG, bringing the brand into the Pelikan group.

  M&A
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• 2009Pelikan acquires Herlitz shares

  Stationery Products sold its Herlitz shareholding to Pelikan Holding AG, bringing the brand into the Pelikan group.

  M&A
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• 2005Stationery Products acquires controlling interest in Herlitz

  The Luxembourg-based Stationery Products S.à r.l. acquired 64.7 percent of Herlitz AG’s capital stock.

  M&A
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• 2005Stationery Products acquires control of Herlitz

  Luxembourg-based Stationery Products S.à r.l. acquired a controlling interest in Herlitz AG, with indirect links to Advent International.

  M&A
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• 2002Herlitz enters insolvency proceedings

  Herlitz AG, Herlitz PBS AG and Susy Card filed for insolvency as the company faced heavy losses and restructuring pressure.

  Bankruptcy
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1. Herlitz