The History of PICARD
PICARD is a long-established but modern family business that has been living its love for craftsmanship, fashion and people since 1928. Because of this, we have a long and successful company history that records many advances, as well as social changes that occured during the years.
Our company was founded in 1928 by Martin Picard and his sons Edmund and Alois. When the first collection was finished, Alois Picard transported it independently on his bicycle from Obertshausen to Offenbach. In the years that followed, PICARD Lederwaren grew steadily. Thus the company introduced the large-scale production in the leather goods production in 1935 for the first time. At this time, PICARD employed 100 people. Subsequently, the factory in Obertshausen was opened in 1949 and by the end of the 1960s, more than 1000 people were employed at this location.
In the 1970s, like all companies in the leather goods industry based around Offenbach, PICARD suffered from imports from South America and the Far East. As a result, part of the production was relocated abroad in 1976 with the establishment of a branch factory in Tunisia. In the course of this change, the company management at PICARD also changed, when Thomas Picard was included in the management. This was followed by a further internationalization of the leather goods production, so that in 1995 a further foreign factory was opened in Bangladesh, while at the same time PICARD invested in its own kindergartens and a local school there. In 2008, production was expanded at the main loactaion in Obertshausen, and in 2011, another production site was opened in Ukraine. During this time the name PICARD has become a household name, so that in the year 2002 45 percent of women in Germany owned a PICARD bag.
In 2015, the leadership of PICARD changed anew when Georg Picard, the nephew of Thomas Picard, took over. Thus, the company is now managed in the 4th generation. In the course of this, 15 brand-owned stores were opened all over the world, from Frankfurt to St. Petersburg and Singapore to China. Thus PICARD became well-known also on the international level. However, with a large enterprise, also comes large responsibility, this also regarding the topic of sustainability. Thus, since then, PICARD pays attention to the fact that in the production up to social aspects, everything is done to protect the environment and that the employees work under social and fair conditions and continue to be supported.
In the course of the Corona pandemic, PICARD ran into economic difficulties, mainly due to temporary closures of over-the-counter retailing as part of the lockdown and the resulting slump in sales. However, a closure was averted through insolvency in self-administration and an associated restructuring and realignment. The company currently has nine brand stores at the airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart and Berlin. Additionally, we are more strongly represented online nowadays to ensure that our traditional family business will continue to thrive for a long time to come. Since the end of 2020, the focus at PICARD has been on digitizing retail and, in addition to brick-and-mortar retail, expanding direct sales channels. In the future, PICARD will continue to focus on what has been the guarantor of success over the decades: the passing on of traditions, the strict adherence to our values and our passion for fashionable, as well as practical, leather goods.
