Douglas GmbH is a German multinational perfumery and cosmetics chain. Its headquarters are located in Düsseldorf, Germany. The first perfumery to carry the name "Parfümerie Douglas" opened in Hamburg in 1910. Douglas GmbH was part of the Douglas Holding, but since 1 June 2015, 85 percent belong to the financial investor CVC Capital Partners and 15 percent to the Kreke family.
History
The name of the company can be traced back to the Scottish soap manufacturer John Sharp Douglas. He came from a small village near Glasgow and on 5 January 1821, he founded a soap factory in Hamburg's warehouse district. The factory was soon included to the "Hamburger Address Book" as "J.S. Douglas, Engl. Soap factory, Kehrweider, Herbst Hof". On 5 November 1828, Hamburg granted John Sharp Douglas citizenship as number 663 of the Civil Protocol. Two years later, on 23 July 1830, Douglas married the mother of his six children, Johanna Catharina Francisca Becker.
Douglas's soap products, such as the Coconut Oil Soda Soap developed in 1830 and the Chinese Heavenly Soap introduced around 1840 quickly turned into success. Thanks to modern manufacturing processes, Douglas benefited from greater production efficiency. Soap became a much more affordable product to a wider range of the public and bathing became a normal thing to do.
Douglas died in 1847 and his sons Thomas and Alexander took over the business under the name "J.S. Douglas Sons". In 1851, they presented their soap products at the first World Fair in London, where the "Chinese Heavenly Soap" was honored with a medal. In the same year, the brothers developed their "Egyptian Toilette Soap".
In September 1878, Thomas and Alexander Douglas separated as business partners and sold the company to merchants Gustav Adolph Heinrich Runge and Johan Adolph Kolbe. The new owners kept the company's name "J.S. Douglas Sons" and expanded the assortment to leather goods, travel utensils and fashion items, which they called "Fantasy Products". In 1888, Gustav Adolph Kolbe took over the position of his deceased father, Johann Adolph, and two years later became the sole owner of the company. By proxy in 1909, he handed responsibility of the soap factory to his wife Berta.
The first Douglas Perfumeries
Berta Kolbe was the first woman to take over the management of J.S Douglas Sons. She received a business offer from Anna and Maria Carstens: the sisters wanted to open their own perfumery under the established name of "Douglas" to "establish and operate a business in soaps, perfumery products, and toiletries in Hamburg." And so, on 24 May 1910, the first "Parfümerie Douglas" opened on Hamburg's shopping street Neuer Wall, and even exists today.
In 1929, the Carsten sisters passed the business on to their goddaughters Hertha and Lucie and their father, German artist Johannes Harders. As of 1931, the company was called "Parfümerie Douglas Harders & Co." and thus, reflected the new ownership structure. In 1936, the family hired Erhard Hunger to run the business. He reduced the soap business and expanded the assortment to premium brand products like Elizabeth Arden. By 1969, Erhard Hunger had expanded Douglas to six stores in Hamburg.
From perfumery to corporation
In 1969, the six Douglas perfumeries were taken over by the then listed Hussel AG. Under the management of Hussel's chief executive at the time, John Kreke, Hussel AG fueled the expansion of the perfumery through more takeovers and store openings. These were initially consolidated under the name Hanhausen-Douglas GmbH. In the course of this development, Hussel AG was restructured into a holding group with two operating companies: one for confectionery and one for perfumeries. In 1973, Hanhausen-Douglas took over the Austrian chain Ruttner. As of 1976, all perfumery stores eventually operated under the name "Parfümerie Douglas" and the associated company under the name "Parfümerie Douglas GmbH".
Growth in Europe
During the 1980s, the Parfümerie Douglas GmbH expanded to the Netherlands, France, Italy and the United States. And, Douglas continued to expand in Germany, for example through the acquisition of "Er & Sie" perfumeries. Based on this development in the perfumery business, an organizational restructuring took place that ended in 1989 with the founding of the Douglas Holding AG to replace the Hussel Holding AG.