40th anniversary - the BÄR story
40th anniversary - the BÄR story
Dear customers,
When I think back to 1982, when I started the company with my wife Hilke as co-founder and first employee, it was with the desire to be independent and realize my own ideas. The spontaneous reason was to find a shoe for my sensitive and often aching feet that would not pinch my toes even after long working days and would allow me to walk without pain. But I couldn't find one. So I decided, "now I'll make my own shoes". As a career changer, shoe experts predicted that my chances of success with these wide "duck shoes" were rather bleak at the time. With the conviction that I wanted to develop the best for my feet and my fellow human beings, I continued on my path undeterred. The path took me through many stages and was never easy, but more than bumpy at the beginning. Derived from the anatomical shape of the foot, a shoe was created that did not correspond at all to the shoe design of the time. But these shoes were comfortable and offered generous "toe freedom"! An exciting journey began in the "home office", as we would call it today, and was initially often characterized by doubts. My wife Hilke and I built up sales via consumer trade fairs so that our shoes, which corresponded to the natural shape of the foot and therefore looked different (they were also expensive), could reach customers' feet and assert themselves on the market. At up to 60 trade fairs a year, it wasn't just me and my wife at the weekends, but occasionally - if no grandma was available - our children Christof and Sebastian were also there. Our recipe for success was that our shoes could be tried on on site all over Germany and we were able to win over customers. We also received feedback on our shoes in many customer meetings and were able to implement this information immediately. In the meantime, Bär GmbH invested in series lasts, punching tools and raw materials. The traditional family business Ansbert Schätzle from the Swabian Alb provided the necessary machines and craftsmanship for a joint shoe production. This cooperation lasted for almost 25 years.
"You need your feet for a lifetime and you shouldn't save money on your feet" was Christian Bär's standard statement when talking to customers. To make this possible in all situations in life, over 100 different models from slippers to trekking boots were and are produced in-house at the BÄR Manufactur for comfort shoes.
After 10 years of continuous growth, we moved into our own company building in Pleidelsheimerstrasse in Bietigheim-Bissingen in 1992, now with 30 employees. At the same time, we opened the first BÄR branch in Lüneburg and then the Berlin branch on Kurfürstendamm. In Lüneburg, the Princess of Saxony received a BÄR shoe made for her in gold/silver. She put the shoes on and was so impressed that from then on she no longer needed a walking stick and only wore BÄR shoes. Our former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl entered the Berlin store during the reunification celebrations with the words: "I need a pair of comfortable shoes like the ones on the company sign." In 2007, we developed the BÄR toe-free concept for ultra-marathon runners to protect the feet of our participant Achim Heukemes during the toughest of the extreme running events in the world, Badwater in Death Valley, California, over 217 km and for more than 30 hours in 50° C heat, and to allow him to reach the finish line free of injury and pain. Winfried Kretschmann, Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, has also been a member of the circle of BÄR shoe wearers who appreciate "stamina" for many years to this day What began 40 years ago in the "home office" has continuously developed into a successful second-generation family business with 23 branches in Germany, 120 employees at the headquarters in Bietigheim-Bissingen and 400 skilled workers in our own production facility in South India by the anniversary year 2022. Development, design, sample production and modern shoe repair still take place at the headquarters in Bietigheim-Bissingen. BÄR sends over 150,000 catalogs to customers and interested parties every quarter, has been represented nationally and internationally on the Internet with its own web stores for 10 years and has been successfully exporting to many European countries, Japan, the USA and Kuwait for many years.
Our vision of running with "toe freedom" has shaped the company from the very beginning. Today, Christof Bär and Sebastian Bär are responsible as managing partners for the long-term development of the company. Christof Bär heads the BÄR Shoes division including production and Sebastian Bär the Joe Nimble Functional Footwear division. Werner Ruf, who has been with the company for almost 30 years, is in charge of administration, IT and human resources. We would like to thank our employees for their commitment and support. We are very grateful to our customers for always remaining loyal to us, for never doubting and for agreeing with us to this day that foot-friendly BÄR shoes with toe freedom are the best solution after all.
Christian and Hilke Bär