Herlitz
German stationery and office-supplies brand with roots in a Berlin wholesaling business founded in 1904.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Herlitz is a German stationery and office-supplies brand whose origins lie in a Berlin wholesaling business established by bookseller Carl Herlitz in September 1904. Over the course of the twentieth century, the company developed from a small stationery distributor into a broad manufacturer and marketer of school, office, paper, filing, writing and greeting-card products. Its development was closely tied to the expansion of postwar consumer markets in West Germany, the growth of modern retail distribution and the increasing importance of branded school supplies. The business experienced a severe interruption during the Second World War. Its Berlin premises were destroyed twice in November 1943, bringing operations to a halt. Günter Herlitz, who had succeeded his father, resumed trading in the summer of 1945, initially from a basement and with a miscellaneous range of goods. During the Berlin Blockade of 1948–49, Herlitz was reportedly the only one of approximately twenty Berlin wholesalers able to secure a limited flow of goods by air from West Germany. After the blockade ended, the company broadened its assortment and rebuilt its distribution network. Herlitz’s major domestic growth phase began in the 1960s. It created its own West German distribution organization in 1960 and gained market visibility through illustrated notebooks and exercise books featuring animal motifs and sports imagery. The company expanded manufacturing capacity, processed substantial volumes of paper and increasingly operated as an integrated producer and distributor. In the 1970s it changed its legal form, built large-scale warehousing infrastructure and began undertaking international projects. Its consulting arm constructed a turnkey exercise-book factory in Baghdad in the mid-1970s, a major industrial contract for the company. The 1970s and 1980s also brought corporate expansion. Herlitz became a joint-stock company in 1972 and went public in 1977. It established or acquired distribution and operating businesses in several European countries and in the United States, opened large shipping facilities near Berlin, launched the McPaper retail concept and acquired the greeting-card business Susy Card. In the early 1990s, a new shipping center was developed in Falkensee, near Berlin. The company reached a high point in the mid-1990s, but diversification and investment outside its core stationery business created increasing financial and managerial pressure. A family dispute involving the third generation also contributed to a transition from family-led management to a more corporate holding structure. The subsequent downturn was serious. Problems connected with international investments and the broader group structure were followed by heavy losses from 1998 to 2000. Herlitz AG, Herlitz PBS AG and Susy Card entered insolvency proceedings in April 2002. The proceedings were completed comparatively quickly while the business continued operating, but the company emerged at a substantially reduced scale. In 2005, Luxembourg-based Stationery Products S.à r.l., indirectly associated with Advent International, acquired a controlling interest in Herlitz AG. Stationery Products later sold its shares to Pelikan Holding AG in November 2009. Under Pelikan ownership, Herlitz remained an established stationery name rather than an independent listed group. Production and logistics activities had included facilities in Falkensee and operations in Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom, while the brand served customers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Pelikan took over Herlitz’s German and Austrian distribution and sales activities in March 2014. Herlitz products continue to be commercialized under the brand, although the former Herlitz manufacturing company is generally described as a historical corporate entity within the brand’s ownership history.
History
Herlitz was founded in Berlin in September 1904 by bookseller Carl Herlitz as a stationery wholesaler. Carl managed the business for roughly three decades before leaving it in 1935 for health reasons. His son Günter expanded the company’s distribution activities, initially with a very small workforce. During Günter’s military service, his mother Berta temporarily managed the business and maintained its customer relationships. The company suffered catastrophic wartime damage when its Berlin premises were destroyed twice in November 1943. Operations stopped, but Günter restarted the business in the summer of 1945, at first working from a basement and trading in whatever goods could be obtained. Herlitz later became important in the difficult supply environment of postwar Berlin. During the Berlin Blockade of 1948–49, it managed to obtain a limited quantity of goods by air from West Germany, allowing it to continue serving customers. Once the blockade ended, Herlitz broadened its range and rebuilt its commercial network. From 1949 to 1994, the company’s turnover reportedly doubled at four-year intervals. In 1960 it created a dedicated distribution organization for West Germany. Its breakthrough with German consumers came through illustrated exercise books and notebooks, particularly designs using animals and sports themes. Increasing manufacturing activity led to substantial paper consumption and a broader portfolio of school and office products. The 1970s marked a transition to a larger industrial and corporate organization. Herlitz became a joint-stock company in 1972, opened a large high-bay warehouse in 1974 and employed more than five hundred people on average that year. Through Herlitz Consult GmbH, it also won an important contract to build a turnkey exercise-book factory in Baghdad, together with associated construction work. The company went public in 1977. Its international trading activities were later organized through Herlitz International Trading, or HIT AG. Expansion continued in the 1980s. Herlitz acquired a shipping center in Berlin-Spandau in 1985, opened McPaper stores and purchased the greeting-card company Susy Card in 1987. Foreign distribution companies were established in Europe and, during the 1981–1990 period, in Texas in the United States. Construction of a new shipping center at Falkensee began in 1991, with the facility entering service in 1994. The company reached a reported turnover peak in 1994, but its group structure soon became more difficult to manage. After Günter Herlitz moved from operational leadership to the supervisory board, a dispute between the next generation of family members became public. Heinz Herlitz left in 1992. In the mid-1990s, under executive chairman Gérald Jaslowitzer, the family-controlled company increasingly adopted the form of a management-led holding comprising Herlitz PBS AG, Herlitz Falkenhöh AG, HIT AG and McPaper AG. Problems involving overseas investments and the wider group contributed to a deterioration in performance. McPaper was sold to Deutsche Post AG in 1998. Heavy losses between 1998 and 2000 led to substantial restructuring. Herlitz AG, Herlitz PBS AG and Susy Card filed for insolvency in April 2002. The insolvency plan was completed in September of that year, allowing operations to continue under the restructured business. By 2004, the company was smaller than during its 1990s peak. On 4 October 2005, Stationery Products S.à r.l., a Luxembourg company indirectly associated with Advent International, acquired a 64.7 percent stake in Herlitz AG. The Herlitz family retained approximately 15 percent, with the remainder dispersed among other shareholders. By the late 2000s, Herlitz’s production network included Falkensee in Brandenburg and facilities or operations in Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom. Its logistics organization supplied thousands of German distribution centers directly and served additional customers across Europe. In November 2009, Stationery Products sold its shares to Pelikan Holding AG. Pelikan subsequently integrated Herlitz more closely into its commercial organization and assumed Herlitz distribution and sales in Germany and Austria in March 2014. The former independent manufacturing company is therefore best understood as the historical corporate origin of a stationery brand that remains associated with Pelikan.
- 2014
Pelikan takes over German and Austrian sales activities
[1]Pelikan assumed Herlitz distribution and sales in Germany and Austria.
- 2009
Pelikan acquires Herlitz ownership interest
[1]Pelikan Holding AG purchased Stationery Products’ Herlitz shares.
- 2005
Stationery Products acquires control
[1]The Luxembourg-based investment vehicle acquired a controlling stake in Herlitz AG.
- 2002
Insolvency proceedings completed
[1]Following filings in April, the insolvency plan was concluded in September while operations continued.
- 1998
McPaper sold to Deutsche Post
[1]The retail subsidiary McPaper was sold during the group’s restructuring.
- 1991
Falkensee shipping center construction begins
[1]Construction started on a new logistics center near Berlin; it entered operation in 1994.
- 1987
Susy Card acquired
[1]Herlitz expanded into greeting cards by acquiring Susy Card.
- 1985
Large Berlin-Spandau shipping center acquired
[1]Herlitz acquired a shipping center that was described as having an exceptionally large high-bay warehouse.
- 1977
Herlitz goes public
[1]Herlitz became a publicly traded company.
- 1972
Herlitz becomes a joint-stock company
[1]The company changed its legal form as it expanded industrially and internationally.
Products and positioning
Mass-market to mid-market stationery and office-supplies brand serving school, home-office and general business users.
School stationery
Exercise books and notebooks
Illustrated notebooks and exercise books were among Herlitz’s most important consumer products and helped establish its visibility in the German market. Historically, the company used animal motifs, sports imagery and other decorative designs to distinguish school stationery from plain paper products.
Office organization
Folders and filing products
Herlitz has marketed products for storing, organizing and protecting documents, including folders and related filing supplies. These products serve school, household, home-office and business users and form part of the brand’s broader office-stationery assortment.
Paper stationery
Paper products
The company’s historical manufacturing and merchandising activities covered paper-based stationery, including writing paper, notebooks and school-use paper goods. Paper processing became an important part of Herlitz’s industrial scale as the business expanded during the postwar decades.
Writing supplies
Writing instruments
Writing instruments are part of the Herlitz office and school-supplies portfolio. The reference material identifies writing tools as a core product area but does not specify individual product families or launch dates.
Paper goods · 1987
Greeting cards
Herlitz entered greeting cards through the acquisition of Susy Card in 1987. The business later became involved in the group’s insolvency proceedings, and the available material does not establish the present scope of greeting-card products under the Herlitz name.
Brand decisions
2014
Pelikan consolidates German and Austrian distributionStrategyBackground
After acquiring the brand’s ownership interest, Pelikan further integrated commercial activities.
Action taken
Pelikan took over Herlitz distribution and sales activities in Germany and Austria.
Aftermath
Herlitz’s commercial presence in these markets became more directly managed through Pelikan’s distribution organization.
2009
Pelikan acquires Herlitz ownership interestM&ABackground
Stationery Products exited its investment in the stationery company.
Action taken
Stationery Products sold all of its shares to Pelikan Holding AG in November 2009.
Aftermath
Herlitz became part of the Pelikan group and continued as a brand within a larger stationery portfolio.
2005
Control transferred to Stationery ProductsM&ABackground
Following financial difficulties and restructuring, Herlitz required a new controlling shareholder.
Action taken
Stationery Products S.à r.l. acquired a controlling interest in Herlitz AG effective 4 October 2005.
Aftermath
The Herlitz family retained a minority holding, while the company became indirectly associated with Advent International.
2002
Restructure through insolvency proceedingsStrategyBackground
Heavy losses from 1998 to 2000 weakened the group and made substantial restructuring necessary.
Action taken
Herlitz AG, Herlitz PBS AG and Susy Card entered insolvency proceedings in April 2002. The insolvency plan was completed in September while the operating business continued.
Aftermath
The company survived the proceedings but operated at a reduced scale compared with its 1990s expansion period.
Sources1 sources
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