Ernsting's family

Ernsting's family is described by its own company pages as one of the most important omni-channel providers in the European textile retail sector, with more than 2,000 stores in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, a multi-award winning online presence and more than 13,000 employees. In the 2025/26 financial year it recorded sales of around €1.6 billion. Based in Coesfeld (Westphalia), the company offers fashion and accessories for the whole family with a focus on underwear, women's and children's clothing, with quality at surprisingly favourable prices as its premise. Kurt Ernsting laid the foundation in 1967 when he opened his first "minipreis" shop in the laundry room of his parents' house. The Ernsting's family group includes EHG GmbH & Co. KG with its subsidiaries Ernsting's family GmbH & Co. KG, Ernsting's media GmbH and Ernsting's family Austria GmbH.

Kurt Ernsting turned his new business idea of selling simple, practical and inexpensive clothes into a reality in 1967, when the first "minipreis" test store still attracted customers to the laundry room in his parents' textile shop in Coesfeld. The success of the test store was so great after just a short time that Kurt Ernsting founded minipreis Ernsting Handels-GmbH in 1968 and started building a chain of stores. By 1969, 60s fashion was offered in 15 "minipreis" stores. In 1971 an administrative building and warehouse for the central dispatch department were built in Coesfeld-Lette, with 40 "minipreis" stores already in existence. In 1972 Kurt Ernsting leased his parents' business to devote himself entirely to his own business, and the company was renamed "miniladen". The distribution centre in Coesfeld-Lette was expanded in 1975, and two years later the fashion-conscious family already had 130 outlets stocked with the latest fashions. In 1985 the company employed 463 people and its name was changed from "miniladen" to "Ernsting's miniladen", with an expanded distribution centre built in Coesfeld-Lette to supply 400 stores. In 1990 the "Ernsting's miniladen" company was renamed "Ernsting's family", and Ernsting's family went to the new German federal states and opened its first stores there. In 1993 a new distribution centre was built in Klieken near Dessau to supply the company's East German stores.

Omni-channel textile retailer offering quality at surprisingly favourable prices, with a focus on underwear, women's and children's clothing.

Product categories. Fashion and accessories for the whole family · Underwear · Women's clothing · Children's clothing

1. 1Company Ernsting's familycompany.ernstings-family.com
2. 2Ernsting's family - Historycompany.ernstings-family.com
3. 3Ernsting’s family – About Uscompany.ernstings-family.com
4. 4Ernsting’s family – Ueber unscompany.ernstings-family.com