Manufactum
Encyclopedia
Manufactum GmbH & Co. KG (formerly Manufactum Hoof & Partner KG) is a German
retailer with nine full-sized stores in Germany and an online store that serves primarily Germany
, Austria
, Switzerland
, and the UK. The main focus of the company are household and garden goods made with traditional manufacturing methods (thus "Manufactum") and materials. The company also sells cosmetics, apparel and shoes, computers, bikes, foodstuffs, books, and furniture.
. In 2008, Heine Versand, a wholly owned subsidiary of Otto GmbH
, took over Manufactum. In 2007, Manufactum had 400 employees and annual sales of 75 million EUR.
Stores are currently located in Hamburg
, Berlin
, Waltrop
, Düsseldorf
, Cologne
, Bonn
, Frankfurt
, Stuttgart
, and Munich
.
In Germany, Manufactum catalogs have been enjoying almost cult-like status among a certain clientele. Product descriptions are in-depth, sometimes ironic, and in very good German
, for which Manufactum received the 2003 German language award by the Verein Deutsche Sprache, a language preservation society. On the other hand, there is criticism that the typical high-priced Manufactum products are quite elitist and that Manufactum does not like to disclose it is benefiting from globalization
because some of its products are made in Asia
.
The brands "Manufactum brot&butter" (groceries; own stores in several German cities) and "Gutes aus Klöstern" (monastic products), the restaurant "Gasthaus Lohnhalle", and the designer furniture brand "Magazin" (with stores in Stuttgart, Bonn, and Munich) also belong to the Manufactum group.
In its monthly newsletter, Manufactum has expressed criticism of the EU decision to phase out incandescent light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent lamp
s, pointing out that the latter contain mercury
and taking the stance that such a ban represents an undue infringement of consumer rights.
Since the sale of Manufactum group to Otto GmbH, Manufactum founder Thomas Hoof has been concentrating on his work at Thomas Hoof Produktgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (which offers wholesale products to Manufactum among others) and his publishing house Manuscriptum Verlagsbuchhandlung Thomas Hoof KG.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
retailer with nine full-sized stores in Germany and an online store that serves primarily Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and the UK. The main focus of the company are household and garden goods made with traditional manufacturing methods (thus "Manufactum") and materials. The company also sells cosmetics, apparel and shoes, computers, bikes, foodstuffs, books, and furniture.
History
Manufactum was founded in 1988 by Thomas Hoof, former managing director of the German Green Party in North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
. In 2008, Heine Versand, a wholly owned subsidiary of Otto GmbH
Otto GmbH
The Otto group, or Otto , is the world's largest mail order company, operating in more than 20 countries. The family of executive board chairman Michael Otto owns the majority of the company. The company is based in Hamburg, Germany...
, took over Manufactum. In 2007, Manufactum had 400 employees and annual sales of 75 million EUR.
Stores are currently located in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Waltrop
Waltrop
Waltrop is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approx. 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund.-Division of the town:...
, Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
In Germany, Manufactum catalogs have been enjoying almost cult-like status among a certain clientele. Product descriptions are in-depth, sometimes ironic, and in very good German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, for which Manufactum received the 2003 German language award by the Verein Deutsche Sprache, a language preservation society. On the other hand, there is criticism that the typical high-priced Manufactum products are quite elitist and that Manufactum does not like to disclose it is benefiting from globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
because some of its products are made in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
The brands "Manufactum brot&butter" (groceries; own stores in several German cities) and "Gutes aus Klöstern" (monastic products), the restaurant "Gasthaus Lohnhalle", and the designer furniture brand "Magazin" (with stores in Stuttgart, Bonn, and Munich) also belong to the Manufactum group.
In its monthly newsletter, Manufactum has expressed criticism of the EU decision to phase out incandescent light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent lamp
Compact fluorescent lamp
A compact fluorescent lamp , also called compact fluorescent light, energy-saving light, and compact fluorescent tube, is a fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent lamp; some types fit into light fixtures formerly used for incandescent lamps...
s, pointing out that the latter contain mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
and taking the stance that such a ban represents an undue infringement of consumer rights.
Since the sale of Manufactum group to Otto GmbH, Manufactum founder Thomas Hoof has been concentrating on his work at Thomas Hoof Produktgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (which offers wholesale products to Manufactum among others) and his publishing house Manuscriptum Verlagsbuchhandlung Thomas Hoof KG.