Handelshaus Wedl

Handelshaus Wedl, also known as the Wedl Gruppe, is an Austrian family-owned corporate group based in Mils, Tyrol. Founded on 1 December 1904 when Leopold Wedl I. took over a general store in Hall in Tirol from Eduard Knittel, the business grew from a local grocery into one of Austria's leading food wholesale and retail groups. Its activities span food wholesale, coffee production and distribution, hospitality and petrol-station supply, and a coffee-house franchise concept. The group's core business remains food retail and wholesale. It operates eight Wedl self-service pickup markets across Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Carinthia, Vienna and southern Bavaria, supported by a nationwide delivery service. Diversification includes coffee roasting in two facilities (Mils and Belluno), the Testa Rossa Caffè franchise chain active in Austria, Germany, Italy and Hungary, and a 33% stake in Shop Top Service, a company specialising in petrol-station supply. In the 2012 financial year the group reported total revenue of €502.6 million, of which €52.7 million came from the coffee business and around €20 million from participations, with 1,252 employees. The corporate structure comprises around 20 companies headed by Wedl & Hofmann Gesellschaft m.b.H., owned 59% by Kommerzialrat Wedl and 41% by the Hofmann family. Wedl is a partner of the MARKANT Österreich Nah&Frisch umbrella organisation alongside other Austrian wholesalers such as Unimarkt Gruppe, Julius Kiennast and Kastner. In December 2022 it was announced that Wedl would withdraw from Nah&Frisch and the food retail sector, focusing instead on hospitality wholesale (Gastrogroßhandel).

The history of Handelshaus Wedl begins on 1 December 1904, when Leopold Wedl I. took over the general store of Eduard Knittel in Hall in Tirol. The business traded under the name "Leopold Wedl vorm. Ed. Knittel" and laid the foundation for what is today, according to the company itself, one of the top 10 food retailers in Austria. From the 1920s the company expanded into wholesale. In 1967 the company headquarters moved to Mils. Also in the 1960s Wedl opened its first own cash-and-carry (C+C) market. With the takeover of a company in Saalfelden in 1978, the company's reach extended beyond provincial borders. From 1985 Wedl was one of the first trading companies in Austria to introduce mobile ordering systems and scanners. Another sales channel built up in the 1990s is the Caffebar system "Testa Rossa Caffè", which is also active in Germany, Italy and Hungary. The core business of the family-owned company Wedl, however, remains food retail. In the 2012 financial year the group reported total revenue of €502.6 million, of which €52.7 million came from the coffee business and around €20 million from participations; the workforce numbered 1,252. The corporate network of around 20 companies is headed by Wedl & Hofmann Gesellschaft m.b.H., owned 59% by Kommerzialrat Wedl and 41% by the Hofmann family. Wedl is a partner of the Nah&Frisch umbrella organisation MARKANT Österreich, alongside other Austrian wholesalers such as Unimarkt Gruppe (formerly Pfeiffer), Julius Kiennast and Kastner. In December 2022 it was announced that Wedl would withdraw from Nah&Frisch and from food retail, concentrating instead on hospitality wholesale (Gastrogroßhandel).

• Leopold Wedl I. takes over the general store of Eduard Knittel in Hall in Tirol, founding the business.

• Company expands into wholesale.

• First own cash-and-carry (C+C) market opened.

• Company headquarters moves to Mils.

• Takeover of a company in Saalfelden extends reach beyond provincial borders.

• Wedl introduces mobile ordering systems and scanners, among the first in Austria.

• Testa Rossa Caffè coffee-house system established.

• Group reports total revenue of €502.6 million and 1,252 employees.

• Announcement of withdrawal from Nah&Frisch and food retail, focusing on hospitality wholesale.

Family-owned Austrian food wholesale and coffee group, historically among the top 10 food retailers in Austria, now refocusing on hospitality wholesale.

• Wedl pickup markets

  Eight self-service pickup markets in Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper Austria, Carinthia, Vienna and southern Bavaria.

• Testa Rossa Caffè

  Coffee-house franchise system active in Austria, Germany, Italy and Hungary.

• Coffee roasting

  Coffee production in two roasteries in Mils and Belluno.

• Shop Top Service participation

  33% stake in a company specialising in petrol-station supply.

1. 1Handelshaus Wedl – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
2. 2Handelshaus Wedl – Wikidatawikidata.org