Wempe
Gerhard D. Wempe born on March 26, 1857 in Germany. He began laying the foundation for what became an international company in 1878.
On May 5th 1878 Wempe opened his first store in Elsfleth an der Weser which sold watches and was located in the house his Aunt owned. The business did well as Wempe aligned his business with the needs of his customers focusing on used watches and the business grew. After 16 years Wemple set up a second showroom in Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. In doing so he needed more inventory and he set out for Switzerland to secure watches which also meant he got the concept of prestige to his customers. In 1907 he opened another shop in Hamburg which was hugely successful immediately. His son was now actively involved in the business and invested more money into the business opening another four locations in Hamburg. Growth would have continued however World War I slowed the growth greatly. Herbert Wempe took over the company after his father passed away and continued to grow the business making all the stores look the same in additon to increasing the repair side of the business Eventually Wempe purchased Hamburger Chronometerwerke GmbH from shipbuilders based in Hamburg and Bremen. This allowed Wempe to compete internationally with their chronometer workshop. In 1923 Wempe relocated the headquarters to Hamburg and continued the expansion well into the future.
On May 5th 1878 Wempe opened his first store in Elsfleth an der Weser which sold watches and was located in the house his Aunt owned. The business did well as Wempe aligned his business with the needs of his customers focusing on used watches and the business grew. After 16 years Wemple set up a second showroom in Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. In doing so he needed more inventory and he set out for Switzerland to secure watches which also meant he got the concept of prestige to his customers. In 1907 he opened another shop in Hamburg which was hugely successful immediately. His son was now actively involved in the business and invested more money into the business opening another four locations in Hamburg. Growth would have continued however World War I slowed the growth greatly. Herbert Wempe took over the company after his father passed away and continued to grow the business making all the stores look the same in additon to increasing the repair side of the business Eventually Wempe purchased Hamburger Chronometerwerke GmbH from shipbuilders based in Hamburg and Bremen. This allowed Wempe to compete internationally with their chronometer workshop. In 1923 Wempe relocated the headquarters to Hamburg and continued the expansion well into the future.
