Deichmann SE

Heinrich Deichmann, born in 1888, opened a shoemaker's shop, called Schuhreparatur Elektra, in 1913 at the age of 25 on what is now Johannes-Brokamp-Straße in Borbeck,[6] which was incorporated into the city of Essen two years later. At first, his customers were mainly miners from the then up-and-coming Ruhr area who needed inexpensive shoe repairs, being part of the lower income bracket. After World War I, Deichmann and his shoemakers produced their own shoes for the first time. Soon afterwards, Heinrich Deichmann bought cheap new goods from shoe factories to resell them to his own customers. Heinrich Deichmann opened his first large shoe shop at Borbeck Market in 1936. His wife, Julie, took over the business after his death in 1940.

After World War II, Deichmann made 50,000 pairs of shoes out of poplar wood and parachute harnesses. In addition, a swap shop was set up for used shoes, which grew to 5,000 customers on file. Early on, their son Heinz-Horst Deichmann helped out in the company, opening the first shop outside Essen on Ackerstraße in Düsseldorf in the late 1940s. He studied theology, received his doctorate in medicine and continued to run the small family business together with his mother. He gave up his career as a doctor in 1956 to fully take over the management of the shoe business, buying out his four older sisters. By 1963, the company was operating 16 shops along the Rhine and in the Ruhr. Under Heinz-Horst Deichmann's management, the company formed a significant part of the German and European shoe retail trade. Deichmann introduced display stands and later the rack-room concept in Germany, where shoes are presented in boxes for customers to try on directly.[7]

The company acquired the Dosenbach shoe chain in Switzerland in 1973, followed by shoe and sports chain Ochsner in 1992. The two chains were merged to form Dosenbach-Ochsner. Their names are still used today for the branches located in Switzerland. The company expanded to the USA in 1984, the Netherlands in 1985, Austria in 1992 and Poland in 1997. Heinz-Horst Deichmann's son Heinrich Otto took over as chairman of the board in 1999. His sisters do not work for the company. In 2001, branches were opened in Hungary and the United Kingdom. This was followed by Denmark and the Czech Republic in 2003, Slovakia in 2004, Slovenia and Turkey in 2006, Romania in 2007 and Bulgaria in 2009. Germany's thousandth branch was opened in 2006. The company was legally changed to a Societas Europaea company on 1 January 2010[8] and Deichmann opened its first stores in France[9] and Belgium in 2017. The group had a total of 4,565 branches worldwide in 2022.[10]

In the US, Deichmann SE acquired the KicksUSA chain in 2018 with over 60 stores in the streetwear and athletic shoe sector. In 2019, Deichmann opened its first branches in Estonia, Latvia and Dubai.[11]

Deichmann set up its first online shop in 2000. The company currently runs 41 (2017: 36) online shops internationally and is working to expand its omnichannel concept.[12]

Deichmann is a member of the BSCI. More than 2,400 retailers and companies from 46 countries are part of the initiative.[25] They pursue common goals, including improving working conditions in factories, helping suppliers adapt to national laws and international guidelines, and facilitating socially responsible behaviour in the globalised economy.[26]

According to RAPEX, the EU rapid alert system for unsafe consumer products and consumer protection, there were multiple reports of leather shoes produced under the company's own 5th Avenue brand being contaminated by chromium trioxide between 2012 and 2014.

Deichmann SE is a member of the cads association (cooperation for assuring defined standards for shoe and leather goods production). In 2018, the initiative, which was launched in 2007, became a registered association with some 80 members. These include companies from the footwear and leather goods industry, brands, retailers, test laboratories and chemical manufacturers. The cads is committed to sustainable development in the footwear and leather goods industry along the entire value chain. All members agree to abide by jointly defined production and environmental standards.[27]

Deichmann SE is a member of the Leather Working Group, which was founded in 2005. The multi-stakeholder initiative brings together brands, manufacturers, retailers and leading technical experts from the leather industry and non-governmental organisations. Its goal is to make the production chain in leather processing more transparent.[28] In addition, it aims to bring about sustainable changes to processing in tanneries and via distributors, including by reducing water and energy consumption. It also calls for occupational health and safety in factories to be monitored using a specially developed audit protocol.[29]

Deichmann is committed to the professional integration of disadvantaged children and young people. The Sponsorship Award,[30] which was launched by Heinrich Deichmann in 2005, rewards initiatives that develop creative, sustainable efforts to integrate people with an immigrant background into professional life and society.

The Sponsorship Award comes with a total of 100,000 euros of prize money and is given in the following three categories:

• Professional support by companies
• Support by associations, public initiatives and church organisations
• School-based preventive programmes

Actress and television presenter Fernanda Brandão became a patron of the Sponsorship Award in 2019.[31]

The Dr Heinz-Horst Deichmann Foundation promotes various social and welfare-based projects in Germany and other countries. The projects focus on the following fields: child and youth welfare; development aid and development cooperation; emergency aid and disaster relief; art and culture; education, science and research; and health.[32]

The projects receiving support in Germany include Stern im Norden e.V., which provides assistance in the socially deprived area of Dortmund's Nordstadt district.[33] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Deichman Foundation engaged in multiple initiatives, including donating one million face masks to the Caritas organisation in the Archdiocese of Berlin in May 2020.[34]

Heinz-Horst Deichmann founded the "wortundtat" foundation in 1977. The organisation has maintained DZI Seal of Approval status since 1992 (the DZI is the German Central Institute for Social Issues). The foundation is active in India, Tanzania, Moldova, Greece and Germany. In collaboration with local partners, people in need receive support in matters relating to education, health, sustainability and emergency aid.

Among others, major projects include:[35]

• Moldova: Help for poor segments of the population (project launched in 2007)
• Greece: Help for refugees and poverty-stricken Greeks (project launched in 1980)
• India: Help for people in rural areas (project launched in 1988)
• Tanzania: Help for a population group in the south (project launched in 1996)

Deichmann subsidiaries in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Austria, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States support numerous social projects in their respective countries. Children's homes, hospices and educational projects receive support, primarily through donations.[36]