Huber Shop

Huber Shop is the retail arm of the Austrian underwear and lingerie group Huber, whose manufacturing roots go back to 1908, when Josef Huber bought the 'Heinzle'sche Tricotwaaren-Fabric' in Götzis, Vorarlberg. The group grew through the 20th century into a vertically integrated textile producer with knitting, dyeing, finishing, cutting and confectioning, and became a licensee of the American men's underwear maker Jockey International in 1954. Under the Huber Holding AG umbrella it brought together brands such as Skiny, Jockey (under licence), Hanro, Hom and Arula-Textile Solution. The Huber Shop chain itself took shape in April 2006, when Huber acquired the Austrian Gazelle retail outlets from Palmers and converted them into Huber Shops. The stores sell underwear, lingerie, hosiery, nightwear and related textile goods, largely produced by the group's own brands and licensed labels. By the late 2010s the Huber Group operated 63 own Huber Shop branches in Austria, alongside wholesale and international activities. Ownership has been international since the mid-2000s. The Chinese-Australian Benger Brands Ltd. took a 24 percent stake in October 2005 and a further 26 percent in 2009, and the Huber Holding ultimately came to be wholly owned by Benger Brands Ltd. In April 2017 the Malaysian-Chinese textile industrialist Robert Ng became chairman. In May 2020 a restructuring procedure was opened over four of the group's eight companies, including Huber-Shop GmbH, reflecting the pressures on European textile retail. Huber Shop therefore represents both a long-established Austrian textile tradition and a retail network that has had to adapt to cheap imports, high domestic labour costs and changing ownership.

The history of Huber Shop is inseparable from that of the Huber textile group. In 1908 Josef Huber bought the 'Heinzle'sche Tricotwaaren-Fabric' in Götzis, Vorarlberg, and began production as a family business. During the First World War the company made underwear for the army, substituting paper fabric for scarce cotton. After the war it returned to fashionable underwear, and in 1930 opened its first branch in Vienna's textile quarter. By the start of the Second World War it had grown to 680 employees, before again being required to produce for the military. After 1945 Josef Huber's sons Hubert, Otto and Armin rebuilt the business, and by 1951 it employed 620 people again. From 1954 Huber was a licensee of the American men's underwear maker Jockey International. To counter labour shortages, production sites were deliberately established in economically weak regions of Lower Austria. Between 1963 and 1967 the company built an additional textile finishing plant in Mäder with 4,000 square metres, making Huber a fully integrated producer with knitting, dyeing, finishing, cutting and confectioning. By 1975 the entire machine park had been modernised to rank among the most advanced in Europe, and by the early 1980s the workforce reached about 2,500. The internationalisation of markets and cheap imports in the 1990s caused sales to collapse; sites in Hollabrunn, Laa an der Thaya and Haugsdorf were closed, and high Austrian wage costs forced production to move abroad, with operations established in Hungary, Portugal and Bulgaria. In 1991 Huber bought the Swiss lingerie maker Hanro. In 2005 the Chinese-Australian Benger Brands Ltd. entered as a strategic partner. Huber Shop as a retail brand dates from April 2006, when Huber took over the Austrian Gazelle sales outlets from Palmers and converted them into Huber Shops. In 2007 Huber took a stake in the firm Wolff (Wäsche) and has since also produced in Hard. Huber Tricot, together with Skiny, Jockey (licence), Hanro, Hom and Arula-Textile Solution, was part of Huber Holding AG, which in 2007 employed about 1,000 people and generated sales of 105 million euros. In March 2008 Huber opened a flagship store in Götzis. Ownership shifted further: Benger Brands Ltd. had acquired 24 percent in October 2005 and a further 26 percent in 2009, and the Huber Holding ultimately belonged entirely to the Chinese Benger Brands Ltd. From May 2015 Martin Ziegler was CEO of Huber-Holding; in 2015 the company generated sales of 131.5 million euros, 23 percent more than the previous year, and the group employed 1,316 people, 683 of them in Austria. Since April 2017 the Malaysian-Chinese textile industrialist Robert Ng has been chairman. The Huber Group operated 63 own Huber Shop branches in Austria. In May 2020 a restructuring procedure was opened over four of the group's eight companies — Huber Holding AG, Arula GmbH, Huber-Shop GmbH and Huber Tricot GesmbH. In 2023 allegations emerged against Hong Kong-born entrepreneur Robert Ng concerning unpaid wages, severance payments and bonuses totalling 6.5 million euros owed to former workers of a Thai textile factory.

• 2023

  Allegations emerge against Robert Ng over 6.5 million euros in unpaid wages, severance and bonuses at a Thai textile factory.

• 2020

  In May a restructuring procedure is opened over four of the group's eight companies, including Huber-Shop GmbH.

• 2017

  Robert Ng becomes chairman in April.

• 2015

  Martin Ziegler becomes CEO of Huber-Holding in May; group sales reach 131.5 million euros and 1,316 employees.

• 2009

  Benger Brands Ltd. acquires a further 26 percent of the company.

• 2008

  Flagship store opened in Götzis in March.

• 2007

  Huber takes a stake in Wolff (Wäsche) and begins producing in Hard; group employs about 1,000 and generates 105 million euros in sales.

• 2006

  In April Huber takes over the Austrian Gazelle outlets from Palmers and converts them into Huber Shops.

• 2005

  Chinese-Australian Benger Brands Ltd. takes a 24 percent stake in October.

• 1991

  Huber buys the Swiss lingerie maker Hanro.

• 1983

  Josef Huber's Erben receives the Austrian State Coat of Arms for services to the Austrian economy.

• 1975

  Modernisation of the entire machine park completed, among the most advanced in Europe.

• 1963

  Construction begins on an additional textile finishing plant in Mäder (completed 1967).

• 1954

  Huber becomes a licensee of the American men's underwear maker Jockey International.

• 1951

  Workforce back to 620 after post-war reconstruction by Huber's sons.

• 1930

  First branch opened in Vienna's textile quarter.

• 1908

  Josef Huber buys the 'Heinzle'sche Tricotwaaren-Fabric' in Götzis and begins production as a family business.

Mid-market Austrian specialist retailer of underwear, lingerie and hosiery, backed by a vertically integrated domestic manufacturer.

• Underwear and lingerie

  Core product category sold through Huber Shop stores and wholesale.

• Hosiery

  Socks, stockings and tights under own and licensed brands.

• Nightwear

  Nightwear and loungewear.

• Jockey licensed products

  Men's underwear produced under licence from Jockey International since 1954.

1. 1Huber Tricot – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
2. 2Huber Shop – Wikidatawikidata.org