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Having started out in ladies’ fashion, GELCO is now one of the leading manufacturers of ladies’ wear who have managed to develop from a traditional clothing manufacturer into a modern brand.
GELCO is a family business with a healthy capital and income structure. With its sights firmly set on the target group of modern and young-at-heart middle-aged women, GELCO today produces indoor, outdoor, coordinates and knitwear collections under the GELCO brand name.
A high level of quality, excellent fits, modern and target group-specific designs in combination with the best prices give GELCO a significant competitive edge fostered by its expertise developed over several decades.
The GELCO company independently operates concession areas and its own GELCO stores. New stores and areas are being opened all the time in order to press ahead with expansion.
History
| 1948 | Founding of the ladies’ coats and suit factory Geppert and Co. in Gelsenkirchen |
| 1955 | The Dreier family takes over the majority interest in the company |
| 1971 | Construction of new company headquarters in Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck |
| 1972 | Founding of the ladies’ wear company Welco Dress GmbH as a distribution company for bulk buyers |
| 1974 | Change of company name to Gelco Bekleidungswerk GmbH & Co. KG |
| 1987 | First extension of the company headquarters |
| 1995 | Construction of a tall warehouse on the company premises to accommodate the growing number of items |
| 1998 | Founding of Gelco UK for distribution in the UK |
| 2000 | Start of the Gelco brand under which all of the company’s label activities are pooled |
| 2003 | Operational management is taken over by Mr Richter and the sons of Dr Joachim Dreier, Jörn and Dirk Dreier |
| 2004 | Launch of the first ten own stores under the Gelco brand |
| 2005 - 2009 | Expansion of the number of branded stores to 144 independently operated concessions and stores and 234 retail shops and areas |
| 2008 | All shares in the business are taken over by the Dreier family; joint venture start-up in China |
| 2009 | Acquisition of BiBA (please link to BiBa website) GmbH with 304 independent stores and concessions and 177 franchise shops in the leading specialist retail segment domestically and abroad |
