50 years ago the economic sensation in the Federal Republic of Germany was leaning towards the end. People were adequately supplied with consumer electronics and household appliances and it was therefore no longer enough to provide consumers with merely products. In order to prolong the economic success, everything - assortment, service, and commercialization - had to be thoroughly aligned and planned. The sole distribution market has transformed itself into a buying market.

It was then that ten regional operating wholesale houses decided to undertake this change within the market, not only to secure their own existence but as well as the existence of retail, and merged into a national WELTFUNK KG.

Just like at the beginning of the new organization is today their success based on the three pillars of industry specialist wholesale and retail. WELTFUNK has become the central connector between the manufacturer and the end-consumer as well as creates balance of interest and develops successful marketing and sales tools.

 The establishing of the specialist retail organisation telering in the year 1985 was a further logical consequence. Today this organisation has 2.400 retailers. They have experienced many changes in the market during the past 50 years. Back then the biggest competitor was mainly a different specialist located only few streets further, later they had to face the price aggressive large wholesale stores located outside the city. Nowadays the strongest competitors come directly to the consumers’ home in form of online stores on the computers, tablets or smart phones.

 Even though changing with the market has been an important task for WELTFUNK they have kept the same mission throughout those 50 years, which is to supply German-wide, fast and uncomplicated retailers with goods and services.

However the economic success is not what makes this organisation so strong. Moreover is the fact that they have always stayed loyal to their values as stated by Franz Schnurr the CEO of WELTFUNK ‘In all those years solely business was never enough for WELTFUNK organisation. The continuity of retail existence, preservation of local supply, real sustainability and social responsibility were equally important.’