Company
Tengelmann Twenty-One KG is the Munich-based Holding of the Tengelmann Group, a family-owned company established in 1867 . We see ourselves as an active entrepreneurial family investor, currently holding shares in more than 50 companies in Europe and North America.
Our diverse portfolio includes large retailers such as OBI and KiK, the real estate company TREI, the energy consulting company Tengelmann Energie, the insurance Company Tengelmann Assekuranz as well as Tengelmann Audit.
Our affiliated investment companies Tengelmann Ventures, Emil Capital Partners and Tengelmann Growth Partners invest in Start-ups and Grown-ups in Europe and North America.
Business Areas
Retail
Venture & Growth
Real Estate
Others
Management
Tengelmann Twenty-One KG is managed by an Executive Board under the chairmanship of Christian W. E. Haub (CEO).
The Tengelmann Group is monitored and advised by an Advisory Board. The members of the Advisory Board are Thomas Ingelfinger (Chairman), Astrid Hamker, Pier Paolo Righi and Prof. Dr. Matthias Schüppen.
Company
history
In 1867, Wilhelm Schmitz-Scholl founds the company “Wilh. Schmitz-Scholl”. The company focuses on the wholesale of colonial goods of all kinds as well as the import of coffee and tea.
First generation
| 1867 | Wilhelm Schmitz-Scholl founds the company “Wilh. Schmitz-Scholl”. The company focuses on the wholesale of colonial goods of all kinds as well as the import of coffee and tea. |
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| 1887 | Wilhelm Schmitz-Scholl dies at the age of 56. The company passes into the hands of his two sons – Karl and Wilhelm Schmitz-Scholl. |
Second generation
| 1887 | The company passes into the hands of Wilhelm Schmitz-Scholl’s two sons – Karl and Wilhelm Schmitz-Scholl. |
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| 1893 | The company “Hamburger Kaffee-Import-Geschäft Emil Tengelmann” is registered in the city of Bochum. The name of the company was derived from one of the authorized signatories. |
| 1906 | Wilhelm Schmitz-Scholl leaves his executive position and sets up the Rheinische Zuckerwarenfabrik confectioners in Düsseldorf. Karl becomes the sole managing director. |
| 1912 | The company launches production at the cocoa and chocolate factory “WISSOL” in Mülheim an der Ruhr. |
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| 1933 | Karl Schmitz-Scholl dies at the age of 64. His daughter Elisabeth Haub, nee Schmitz-Scholl, and his son Karl Schmitz-Scholl Jr. inherit equal shares of the company and assume the position of managing partners. |
Third Generation
| The years from 1930 to 1950 are the subject of the 2020 study “Tengelmann im Dritten Reich: Ein Unternehmen des Lebensmittelhandels und der Nationalsozialismus” . edited by Lutz Niethammer. | ||
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| 1933 | Karl Schmitz-Scholl jr. becomes sole managing partner, with his sister Elisabeth Haub as co-partner. KKS jr. joins the NSDAP and also the SS – according to the sources, not as a result of ideological proximity, but out of concern for the continued existence of the company under the new regime. He buys its protection with donations. | |
| 1939-1945 | Although the company does not expand into conquered territories, it makes considerable profits as a supplier to the Wehrmacht – profits that were largely wiped out by the bombing campaign and the expropriations of the post-war years. In parallel with the management of the company, KSS jr. acts as a member of the administrative council in food affairs for the Wehrmacht. Classified as a “war-important” company, Tengelmann uses forced laborers, especially from Poland and the Soviet Union. |
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| 1945 | American authorities intern KSS jr. On an interim basis, Adolf Hoeffner, who later turns out to be a shady character, takes over the management before trustees are appointed. |
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| 1948 | Expropriation of the company’s assets in the Soviet occupation zone. In July, KSS jr. returns from captivity and, in the meantime classified as “less incriminated”, can take over the management of the company again. |
| 1953 | Opening of the first Tengelmann self-service supermarket in Munich’s Leopoldstrasse. This was among the first of its kind in Germany. |
| 1968 | Elisabeth Haub lays the foundations for the company’s environmental commitment by establishing the Karl-Schmitz-Scholl Fund. |
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| 1969 | Karl Schmitz-Scholl jr. dies childless. Elisabeth’s son, Erivan Haub, becomes the sole managing partner of Tengelmann. |
Fourth generation
| 1969 | Erivan Haub becomes sole managing partner of Tengelmann. |
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| 1971 | The group acquires Kaiser’s Kaffee-Geschäft AG (later Kaiser’s Tengelmann) |
| 1972 | The grocery discount retailer Plus opens its first stores. |
| 1979 | The group makes an initial investment in the US chain The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) and gradually increases its holding to become majority shareholder. |
| 1984 | Expansion of the environmental commitment under the eco-label of frog and turtle. |
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| 1985 | The group begins to strategically diversify by gaining a majority share in OBI, a chain of DIY home improvement stores. |
| 1990 | Entry into the textile retail business through the takeover of Modea (later Takko). |
| 1993 | Tengelmann celebrates its 100th anniversary. This year is also the first year in which sales surpass the 50 billion German Mark threshold. This makes the Group one of the largest food retail chains in the world. |
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| 1994 | Founding of the apparel and non-food retailer KiK. |
Fifth generation
| 2000 | Erivan Haub transfers responsibility of operations to his sons Karl-Erivan W. and Christian W. E. Haub and assumes the position of Group CEO. |
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| 2003 | Tengelmann Group ceases its chocolate production operation and Wissoll is sold. |
| 2004 | Founding of non-food discount retailer TEDI. |
| 2009 | Merger of Plus with Netto Marken-Discount, a subsidiary of the Edeka group. |
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| 2010 | The group begins its involvement in e-commerce and participates in the start-up Zalando and Babymarkt. This is the starting point for the venture capital activities of the group. |
| 2012 | Following the sale of A&P, Tengelmann, through its subsidiary Emil Capital Partners, launches its new US venture activities focusing on investing in promising start-ups.
Tengelmann realigns its real estate activities into Trei Real Estate. |
| 2013 | At the age of 80, Erivan Haub resigns from his position on the advisory board of the group. |
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| 2016 | Kaiser’s Tengelmann is sold to the Edeka group at the end of the year. |
| 2017 | The Tengelmann Group celebrates its 150th anniversary in September. |
| 2018 | On 6 March 2018, Erivan Karl Matthias Haub dies in Pinedale, Wyoming, USA.
Since April 7, 2018 Karl-Erivan W. Haub is missing after a ski tour at the Matterhorn region. Christian W. E. Haub takes over the sole management of Tengelmann on 17 April 2018. |
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| 2019 | Tengelmann Warenhandelsgesellschaft KG ceases operations on 12/31/2019. Tengelmann Twenty-One KG takes over operations with a new orientation and strategic focus. |
| 2020 | The Tengelmann site in Mülheim-Speldorf is sold to the Viennese Soravia Group in May.
At the end of the year, Tengelmann acquires all shares in the textile discounter KiK. In return, the shares in the non-food discounter TEDi are transferred to the H.H. Group with effect from the end of April 2021. |
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| 2021 | In May, Karl-Erivan Haub is declared dead by the Cologne Local Court.
In June, Christian Haub acquires the late Karl-Erivan Haub’s share in the Tengelmann Group. Christian Haub thus becomes the majority shareholder of the Group. The remaining shares are held by his brother Georg Haub. In fall, the Tengelmann Group’s headquarters are relocated from Mülheim an der Ruhr to Munich. This step follows the realignment of the parent company as a strategic holding company already initiated at the beginning of 2019. |
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Sixth Generation
| 2022 | The registered office of Tengelmann Twenty-One is now in Munich.
The children of Christian W.E. and Liliane A. Haub become co-partners in the company. |
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