Fond of Bags

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FOND OF GmbH[1]
TypeGmbH
Industry
Founded2010[2]
FounderSven-Oliver Pink, Florian Michajlezko, Oliver Steinki, Juliaan Cazin
Headquarters
Cologne
,
Germany
ProductsBackpacks, Bags
Revenue34 Mio. EUR[1]
Number of employees
177[2]
Websitewww.fondofbags.com

FOND OF GmbH, marketed as FOND OF, is a German manufacturer of sustainable, ergonomic backpacks. The startup company was founded by Sven-Oliver Pink, Florian Michajlezko, Oliver Steinki and Juliaan Cazin in 2010 and is based in Cologne.[2]

History[]

FOND OF, 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 leading to a change in company name to Fond of Bags. Today, Fond of Bags has 184 employees and distributes its products in 20 countries worldwide. A further expansion to China and the United States is planned.[2]

Products[]

Fond of Bags' portfolio contains seven brands:[2]

  • Affenzahn
  • Satch
  • AEVOR
  • pinqponq
  • SALZEN
  • Offermann

All of these individual adaptable products are produced substantially, using Polyethylene terephthalate, i.e. Polyester made of recycled PET bottles.[5][6]

Awards[]

  • 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
  • 2016
  • 2017

Controversies[]

In 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.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Bundesanzeiger. "Jahresabschluss zum Geschäftsjahr vom 01.08.2014 bis zum 31.07.2015". Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f F.O. Bags GmbH. "Fond of Bags". Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. ^ Richters, Kim. "Die Rucksack-Rebellen mit dem Millionen-Umsatz". Gründerszene. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  4. ^ Moritz, Raphael. "Die Idee mit den Recycling-Ranzen". Zeit Online. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  5. ^ Lorentz, Frank. "Millionenschwere Geschäftsidee kam bei einer Party". welt. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  6. ^ Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis. "FOND OF BAGS (F. O. BAGS GmbH) gehört zu den Top 5 in der Kategorie „Deutschlands nachhaltigste KMU 2016"".
  7. ^ "Bundeskartellamt - Homepage - Bundeskartellamt imposes fine on the Cologne-based company Fond Of GmbH". www.bundeskartellamt.de. Retrieved 2021-08-18.

External links[]

  • Fond of Bags website
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