The 27-year-old Swiss manufacturer, Jacques SCHIESSER, and his wife Malwine rent the ballroom in the still existing “Schwert” Inn and start with the production of their hosiery on just nine circular frames.
Construction of and move into their own small “factory for tricot weaving and dying” in Radolfzell.
Staff increase by almost 200% from 100 to 280 staff members. Development of export markets in the Middle East, India, China and Japan.
Company expansion: branches are established in Stockach (1890), Bucharest (1984) and Engen (1896). The number of staff rises to more than 600. Even female foreign workers from Italy are employed due to a lack of qualified labour in Germany.
Jacques Schiesser dies of heart failure on 18 August. His wife Malwine inherits the company. His son-in-law, Wilhelm Finckh, takes over as manager of the company which now employs 1,200 staff.
World War I breaks out. Owing to the situation, SCHIESSER changes its production and produces army clothing. The export markets are cut off due to the war. As a result of the increasingly difficult procurement of raw materials, attempts are made to produce hosiery and knitted fabrics using stinging nettles and paper yarn.
World War II breaks out.
The number of staff rises to 1,100 again. The course of the war forces the company to restructure, develop emergency plans and finally to produce war garments – the well-established “Schiesser fashion” falls victim to the war.
Following the death of Wilhelm Finckh, Jacques Schiesser’s nephew, Jean Schiesser, takes over as manager.
The company becomes a public limited company and operates under the name SCHIESSER AG.
End of World War I. During the war, the number of staff sank to 360.
End of the crisis – the company can offer 800 staff members a secure job.
Due to the inflation and the worldwide economic crisis, some parts of the company have to shut down. The number of staff is reduced to 500.
The Engen and Stockach branches are shut down.
During the World Expo in Paris, Jacques Schiesser is awarded the Grand Prix for Innovation for his company’s patented special products such as braided tricot, damask tricot, hardening underwear made of ramie linen and hosiery with long stripes.
12,000 items are produced daily. 80% of the production is destined to the worldwide export market. The company employs almost 1,000 (!!!) staff as well as more than 300 female workers working from home. Schiesser has its own bleaching, dying and dressing/finishing departments. A four-storey building is erected in Johannisstrasse, Radolfzell.
The company stands on the brink of collapse but can be saved thanks to help from Switzerland which paves the way for painful rebuilding.
Economic boom and staff increase to 600. Schiesser takes over the Radolfzell-based children’s linen factory, the bodice factory which is later called “TAUSENDSASSA-Spezialfabrik” (meaning Jack-of-all-trades factory).
Jean Schiesser resigns as Managing Director and Chairman. His successor is Walter Schellenberg, the first Managing Director who is not a member of the Schiesser family.
Owing to the lack of raw materials the production is almost completely shut down. 160 tonnes of scrap metal in the form of old sewing machines help rebuilding the company.
Jean Schiesser dies at the age of 80.
Schiesser employs 3,500 members of staff.
A new branch is set up in Neustadt in the Black Forest. New production sites are built in Switzerland and Greece. SCHIESSER Netherlands is established.
A new production site is built in Radolfzell, covering an area of 32,000 square metres. Furthermore, a new distribution centre is set up in Milan/Italy, as are now production sites in Greece, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland.
Another distribution centre is set up in Belgium.
SCHIESSER dares to move into the garment sector: Following the acquisition of Standop GmbH as well as the Hudson Textile Works, SCHIESSER becomes the market leader in printed knit fabrics.
SCHIESSER sets up its own fabric printing department to ensure good quality in future.
New business boom: the annual production amounts to 2.7 million pieces of tricot items, the annual turnover is almost 13 million Deutschmarks. Again, the company employs some 1,000 staff.
Construction of a new production site in Engen and start of operation of two branches in Mimmenhausen and Rielasingen.
SCHIESSER AG looks back on 14 years of continuous expansion and today produces 38 million pieces of garment per annum.
SCHIESSER AG’s annual turnover amount to 437 million Deutschmarks.
The company restructures its field force, focusing on communication with the final consumer.
In addition to quality, fashion is of prime importance as the slogan “Lust auf Mode, Lust auf Schiesser” (keen on fashion, keen on Schiesser) shows. As a result of the financial consequences of German unification and the development of a new market, the annual turnover rises steeply to almost 555 million Deutschmarks in 1990. The SCHIESSER Group was transformed into the Schiesser Eminence Group by means of majority holdings in Italy, France, the Czech Republic and Slovakia; the Group operates throughout Europe. By 1996 it has expanded to more than 30 countries.
In Germany, SCHIESSER hat more than 8,000 corporate textile customers and textile department customers in department stores. Export is developing continually. 1997 and 1998 have seen a complete brand and product re-launch including a new logo design. SCHIESSER AG opens SCHIESSER Bodyfashion Centers in Prague and thus establishes a distribution centre for Eastern Europe.
SCHIESSER has to adapt to market changes in the late nineties. SCHIESSER intends to focus on the SCHIESSER brand and therefore splits from Ragno (Italy) and Eminence (France), both belonging to the SCHIESSER Eminence Group.
At the start of the new millennium, SCHIESSER rapidly changes from a manufacturing company into an international marketing and sales operation. With “SecondSkin”, SCHIESSER launches a most successful microfiber collection for ladies, gentlemen and children.
In 2007 SCHIESSER starts to experience trouble. In 2009 the company has to file for bankruptcy although it is profitable in its core business. During the bankruptcy proceedings, the liquidator, Dr. Volker Grub, manages to lead the SCHIESSER Group back to success based on the restructuring measures initiated previously by the SCHIESSER board of directors.
At the end of 2010, the bankruptcy proceedings regarding SCHIESSER AG are officially suspended. The SCHIESSER AG board of directors take over the management of the company again with Rudolf Bündgen, Karl-Achim Klein and Johannes Molzberger at the helm.
The company saw insolvency as a historic opportunity that it could use to reposition itself for a credible and successful new start. This resulted in a relaunch of the brand.
SCHIESSER achieved a positive turnaround within a short period of time, which brought the company back to success and led to its takeover by the global lingerie and hosiery group Delta Galil Industries. The creditors’ claims from the insolvency were satisfied at a 100% rate.
SCHIESSER continues to grow and achieved one of the best results in its history in 2014. The successful multichannel strategy with its own stores, specialist retailers and e-commerce, new licences and an expanded product portfolio ensure the company’s future-oriented and growth-oriented development.
SCHIESSER opened a new flagship store on Berlin’s Ku’damm in October 2018, showcasing its new store concept. With this store, which will immerse customers in the traditional world of SCHIESSER until the end of 2021, the company is implementing its brand concept with atmospheric and natural materials and modern design, once again underlining its brand identity.
Remaining flexible is SCHIESSER’s credo in these challenging times worldwide: massive upheavals caused by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, supply chain problems, inflation and a focus on sustainability are coinciding with changing consumer behaviour. Lockdowns and working from home have increased demand for lingerie and loungewear. By combining online and offline shopping, classic and digital media presence and, last but not least, SCHIESSER’s traditional values – comfort, quality, innovation and sustainability – the company has managed to increase its sales year on year, even in these turbulent times.
On 1 October 1875, Jacques & Malwine Schiesser founded the SCHIESSER company in Radolfzell on Lake Constance. By 2025, that will make it an impressive one and a half centuries of ribbed love, innovation, striving for perfection, ideal fits and the highest quality – embodied in millions of items of underwear that people around the world wear close to their skin every day.
To mark this anniversary, SCHIESSER is expressing its DNA – tradition, quality and innovation – with three exclusive capsule collections. Each piece of underwear is a tribute to the company’s roots and at the same time an expression of a modern attitude to life that celebrates genuine values.