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FOND OF GmbH, marketed as FOND OF, is a German manufacturer of sustainable, ergonomic backpacks, minimal shoes and bikes. The startup company was founded by Sven-Oliver Pink, Florian Michajlezko, Oliver Steinki and Juliaan Cazin in 2010 and is based in Cologne.[2]
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| Company type | GmbH |
|---|---|
| Industry | Textile Industry |
| Founded | 2010[2] |
| Founder | Sven-Oliver Pink, Florian Michajlezko, Oliver Steinki, Juliaan Cazin |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Backpacks, Bags,shoes |
Number of employees | 300[2] |
| Website | www.fondof.de |
History
editFOND OF Group, initially founded as ergobag GmbH, launched its first product in 2010: an ergonomic, sustainable backpack for primary school children called ergobag.[3][4] In the past years, six additional brands were added to their product portfolio, out of which at least two (Offermann and Salzen) have been discontinued. Currently FOND OF Group has five active brands: Affenzahn, ergobag, satch, AEVOR and pinqponq, generating revenues in excess of 100 Mio EUR. This extension in the brand and product portfolio led to a change in company name to FOND OF BAGS and then to FOND OF as other product categories such as shoes were added. Today, FOND OF Group has appr. 300 employees and distributes its products in 35 countries worldwide.[2] [5]
Products
editThe fond of portfolio contains 5 brands:[2]
- Affenzahn
- Ergobag
- Satch
- AEVOR
- pinqponq
All of these individual adaptable products are produced substantially, using Polyethylene terephthalate, i.e. Polyester made of recycled PET bottles.[6][7]
Awards
edit- 2011 Red Dot Design Award
- 2012 Germany Land of Ideas; enable2start Business Plan Competition Winner
- 2013 Red Dot Design Award
- 2015 German Design Award for brand satch; Beste neue Marke for ergobag[2]
- 2016 German Sustainability Award
- 2016 German CSR Award
- 2017 German Entrepreneur Award
Controversies
editIn August 2021 the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) imposed a fine of 2 million euros on Fond Of GmbH for illegal practices of vertical price fixing. The company was accused to have "restricted the pricing of school bags and school backpacks sold by retailers cooperating with the company" according to the authority.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Bundesanzeiger. "Jahresabschluss zum Geschäftsjahr vom 01.08.2021 bis zum 31.07.2022". Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f F.O. Bags GmbH. "Fond Of". Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ Richters, Kim (20 September 2016). "Die Rucksack-Rebellen mit dem Millionen-Umsatz". Gründerszene. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ Moritz, Raphael (17 August 2013). "Die Idee mit den Recycling-Ranzen". Die Zeit. Zeit Online. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ "– Bundesanzeiger".
- ^ Lorentz, Frank. "Millionenschwere Geschäftsidee kam bei einer Party". welt. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis. "FOND OF BAGS (F. O. BAGS GmbH) gehört zu den Top 5 in der Kategorie "Deutschlands nachhaltigste KMU 2016"". Archived from the original on 2016-10-26. Retrieved 2016-10-26.