Hanro International GmbH, with headquarters in Götzis in Austria, produces lingerie, nightwear, and Casual wear[See explanation on Merriam-Webster, retrieved on 15 March 2021.] for men and women. The company's products can be found in almost 50 countries and are sold at specialty , , and its own 14 and . The company was founded in 1884 in Liestal, Switzerland, by Albert Handschin. The Huber Group acquired the company in 1991.
History
1884 to 1945
In 1884, Albert Handschin founded a hand-
knitting company in
Liestal.
[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 6, p. 11 and p. 150.][Felix Erbacher: Die Liestaler Modemacher. Wie die Unternehmer Albert Handschin und Carl Ronus die Weltmarke Hanro schufen. In: Basler Zeitung, 27 Januar 2014 (in German).] Carl Ronus joined the company in 1895. The two entrepreneurs established a general partnership under the
legal name Handschin & Ronus.
[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 11 and p. 150] The company had 60 employees at that time.
In 1898, the company acquired the Benzbur property in Liestal. The production buildings there were ready for use a year later.
In 1911, growing demand allowed the opening of a second production facility in Büren, Solothurn.
The
brand Hanro, a portmanteau of the surnames of the founders, was registered as a
trademark in 1913.
[Renate Platen: Das Potenzial des Schweizer Erbes. Die Wäschemarke Hanro geht im Jubiläumsjahr auf Weltreise. In: Textilwirtschaft, 7 May 2009 (in German).] Before World War I, the company produced and exported lingerie for women. The most important sales markets in the prewar years were in
France, the
British Empire, and the United States.
[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 11 und p. 20.]
During World War I, the company adjusted its product assortment and began to produce military underwear.[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 28.] At the end of 1919, the owners converted the general partnership into a family-owned public limited company:[On the term Familienaktiengesellschaft, please see the corresponding entry in Springer Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon. retrieved on 15 March 2021 (in German).] Hanro AG.[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 152.] A subsidiary was established in Australia in 1926. As a result, 17 employees settled in Bendigo and began production with the machines that they had brought with them from Switzerland.[Manuela Nipp: Eric Handschin. In: Personenlexikon des Kantons Basel-Landschaft. Retrieved on 15 March 2021 (in German).][ Liestal – Australien retour. In: Liestal Aktuell, No. 697. 8 September 2005, Retrieved on 15 March 2021 (in German).] From the mid-1930s, the company expanded into Swimsuit. Technological innovations (circular ) also allowed the company to move into outerwear.[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 48 und p. 152.]
During World War II production and sales were difficult because materials were scarce, textiles were Rationing, and fabrics were substituted.[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 153.]
1945 to 1991
Once the war was over, production was picked up again. This resulted in the recruitment of young women from
Italy in 1947.
[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 72.] In the years that followed, the employment of these Italian women was considered a positive example in the history of Swiss labor migration.
[Andreas Hirsbrunner: Nach erstem Schock kam es gut. Liestal Ausstellung widmet sich Italienerinnen bei der Hanro. Kurator erzählt bz noch mehr. In: Die Nordwestschweiz, 16 May 2017 (in German).] From 1946 to 1958 production volume grew and the number of employees doubled to a total of 689. In the 1950s, Hanro sold its products in 45 countries.
Hanro took over the textile company HIS & Co. KG in Murgenthal in 1963, resulting in the company Hanro Hisco AG.[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 154.] Hanro sold its Australian subsidiary in the mid-1960s.[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 110.] In 1972, the number of employees stood at 1,000.[ Hanro spürt Paritätsänderungen. In: Finanz und Wirtschaft, 3 March 1973 (in German).] A minority share in Hanro AG was acquired in 1973 by Traversina S. A., an investment company affiliated with Dubied & Cie. S. A.; however, more than four-fifths of the capital stock remained with the heirs of the founding families of Handschin and Ronus.[ Hanro AG, Liestal. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 22 June 1973 (in German).] Hanro Hisco AG was closed three years later.[Leif Simonsen: Liestal verliert letzten Glamour. In: Aargauer Zeitung, 24 January 2016 (in German).] In 1980, Hanro established a subsidiary near Dublin.[ Stoßrichtung heißt DOB und Tragwäsche. In: Textilwirtschaft, 23 October 1980 (in German).] In the 1980s, the company increasingly focused on the manufacture of daywear and sleepwear.[Peters, Kyburz, Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion, p. 155.]
Since 1991
In 1991,
Huber Tricot acquired a 75% share in the company,
which until then had been managed as a family-run enterprise for three generations. At this time, the company had around 500 employees in Liestal, Novazzano, and Dublin.
[ Huber Tricot übernimmt Mehrheit an Hanro. In: Handelsblatt, 3 December 1991 (in German).] Two years later, the remaining 25% was taken over.
From 1997 to 1999, production in Liestal was gradually discontinued in favor of the parent company. The Dublin production facility was sold in 1998.
[ Hanro. In: Basler Zeitung, 11 September 1997 (in German).][Max Gürtler: Hanro: Konzentration auf Marketing und Vertrieb. In: Basler Zeitung, 22 January 1999 (in German).] Production in Novazzano ended in 2002.
[ Hanro Nova am Ende. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 29 May 2002 (in German).] Since 2004, the Hanro headquarters have been in Götzis (
Vorarlberg), Austria, where the Huber Group is based.
[Renate Platen: Hanro schafft die Hürde. In: Textilwirtschaft, 28 October 2004 (in German).]
In the years since 2010, Hanro has once again been able to achieve the same export ratio the company once did when it was first founded. While over 50% of all products made were sold outside of Switzerland in 1973,[ Schwierigkeiten der Hanro mit Wollpreisen und Wechselkursen. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 2 March 1973 (in German).] revenue from goods sold outside Austria was around 95% in 2012.[Renate Platen: Hanro wächst rasant, Skiny Läden auf Eis. In: Textilwirtschaft, 26 January 2012 (in German).]
The Basel-Landschaft received the textile company's collection in 2015. The collection comprises the company's historical and the operations archive. With this acquisition, the Hanro Collection became part of the cantonal collections of the Archäologie und Museum Baselland.
[ Museum website, retrieved on 16 March 2021.][ Der Kanton erhält wertvolle Unterhosen und vieles mehr. In: Die Nordwestschweiz, 17 January 2015 (in German).]
A selection of the textiles and historical documents is available for online research on the Kulturgüterportal Baselland.[Website of KIM.bl – Museumsverbund Baselland, retrieved on 15 March 2021.]
According to company information, the countries with the highest revenues in 2020 are the United States, followed by Germany, Switzerland, the British Isles, Austria, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Japan.
Present day company and brand
Integration and Hanro locations
Hanro International GmbH is part of the Huber Group
[Anja Probe: Wäsche-Retail: Hanro eröffnet Store in Dubai. In: Textilwirtschaft (online), 25 October 2018 (in German).] and has five subsidiaries in Switzerland,
[Hanro AG with the present registered office in Opfikon, see Leif Simonsen: Liestal verliert letzten Glamour. In: Mittelland Zeitung, 24 January 2016 (in German).] Germany,
[For Hanro Deutschland GmbH see Unternehmensinfo Kompakt (Crefonummer 5050415375) of Creditreform, Status: 15 February 2021] France,
[For Hanro France see the information (in French) on societe.com, retrieved on 15 March 2021.] Italy,
[For Hanro Italia SRL Uninominale, see the information (in Italian) at informazione-aziende.it, retrieved on 16 March 2021.] and the United States.
[For Hanro USA Inc., see data on Bloomberg News, retrieved on 16 March 2021.] Hanro Stores can be found in 12 cities around the world.
There are also two outlets in Switzerland.
[Liestal: Adresses according to fabrikladen.net, retrieved on 19 January 2021. Moreover, for Mendrisio, see the address in the Yelp portal, retrieved on 19 January 2021.]
Product segments, production, and markets
Hanro is a producer of lingerie, sleepwear, and loungewear.
The products are considered high-quality.
[Renate Platen/Alexandra von Richthofen: Mehr Mode und mehr Til. Der Wäschekonzern Huber stellt sich mit seinen Marken Huber, Hanro und Skiny internationaler auf. In: Textilwirtschaft, 12 April 2007 (in German).][ Stoffe liefern den Stoff. Forschungsarbeit zur regionalen Textilindustrie. Archiv der Schweizer Firma Hanro als Basis. In: Südkurier, 29 April 2014 (in German).] 80% of the textiles are manufactured in the
Arula production plant (Mäder,
Vorarlberg), which belongs to Huber Holding; sewing takes place in
Portugal, and the warehouse is in
Hungary.
[See the information (in German) on the relevant subpages of the company website on sustainability and production as well as on locations , all retrieved on 21 Dezember 2020.] Products are sold in almost 50 countries.
[ Hanro ist Designer of the Year 2016. In: Textilwirtschaft (online), 23 Dezember 2015 (in German).]
Brand profile and affiliated brands
Understatement, simple, and high-quality,
as well as "a timeless and classic design approach,"
[Eva Mackensen: Warm ums Herz. Die schönste Unterwäsche für den Winter kommt aus den Alpen – und wird dort bis heute handgefertigt. In: Euro, 21 Dezember 2016 (in German).] are characteristic of Hanro's brand profile. In terms of their design, materials, finishing, and price point, Hanro's products are and have virtually always been oriented towards the luxury, high-end market.
[Ulrike Langbein: Allerweltszeug, p. 9 and p. 16.]
The affiliated brands in the Huber Group are Skiny, Huber, and HOM.[ Details zum Sanierungsplan der Huber-Gruppe: „Sicherer Basis-Umsatz“. In: Textilwirtschaft (online), 29 May 2020 (in German).]
Films and awards
Films
Hanro has played a role in certain movie scenes and literary works.
[Ulrike Langbein: Allerweltszeug, p. 10.] In
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Marilyn Monroe wore Hanro briefs in the
Cultural icon scene where she stands over the subway grate.
was shown in a white Hanro camisole top in
Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
[ Seit „Eyes Wide Shut“ läuft, sind Hanro-Dessous absolut in. Kino-Film macht Hemdchen zum Klassiker. In: Die Welt, 16 Oktober 1999 (in German).][Bernadette Calonego: Glücksfall „Eyes wide shut“. Hollywood-Film bringt Nachfrage-Schub für Schweizer Wäschehersteller. In: Südkurier, 30 October 1999 (in German).] Dakota Johnson wore a pair of the brand's white cotton briefs in
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015).
[ 50 Shades of Grey: Anastasia trägt Hanro. In: Textilwirtschaft (online), 16 February 2015 (in German).] Hanro is mentioned in Cecily von Ziegesar's
Gossip Girl series of novels.
Awards
At the Exposition Universelle in
Paris, five years after the founding of the company, Handschin was awarded a silver medal by the French Ministère du Commerce de l’Industrie et des Colonies.
In 1994, in London, Hanro won a packaging competition for the products in the Streck Feeling line.
Hanro was named Designer of the Year in 2016 at the Salon International de la Lingerie specialist trade fair.
Annex
Literature
-
Ulrike Langbein: Allerweltszeug. Kulturanthropologische Perspektiven auf Kleidung, modellierte Menschen und die Sammlung der Hanro AG (1884-2012). In: Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde, Volume 112 (2016), Booklet 1, p. 6–23 ( digital version).
-
Lothar Peters, Ursula Kyburz, Birgit Liesenklas: Hanro – The Story of Passion. Hanro AG, Rorschacherberg 2001.
-
Hanro. 1884–1959. Hanro AG, Liestal 1959.
Notes
-
Hanro Firmengeschichte 1884–1970; undated, no publication location (Typescript. Memories of the Hanro company CEO Eric Handschin (1913–1983), second patron generation). Hanro Collection Liestal, Aktenarchiv Signatur 39-6 ( digital version in the Internet Archive.)
External links
