KiK

For other uses, see Kik.
KiK Textilien und Non-Food GmbH
GmbH
Industry Retail
Founded April 1994
Founder Stefan Heinig, Tengelmann Group
Headquarters Bönen, Germany
Key people
 Heinz Speet, CEO[1]
Products Clothing
Revenue € 1.2 billion
Number of employees
 20,000 approx.
Website kik-textilien.com

KiK, legally KiK Textilien und Non-Food GmbH, is a German textile discount store chain headquartered in Bönen.

Overview

KiK Headquarters in Bönen

KiK was founded in 1994 by Stefan Heinig and the holding company Tengelmann Group.[2] KiK is an acronym for "Kunde ist König" (English: The customer is king).[3]

KiK is the largest textile discounter chain in Germany and operates about 3,200 stores in Germany, Austria (since 1998), Slovenia and Czech Republic (since 2007), Hungary and Slovakia (since 2008), Croatia (since 2011) and Poland (since March 2012).[4]

Marketing

KiK have, in the past, sponsored a number of football teams, namely Arminia Bielefeld, Werder Bremen, Hansa Rostock and VfL Bochum.[5] They currently sponsor referees of the Austrian Football Bundesliga and in January 2009 also sponsored the German national team at the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship.[6]

Verona Pooth has been the face of KiK's television advertising campaign.[7]

Criticism

Building collapse at Savar

On 24 April 2013, the eight-story Rana Plaza commercial building collapsed in Savar, a sub-district near Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. At least 1,127 people died and over 2,438 were injured.[8] The factory housed a number of separate garment factories employing around 5,000 people,[9] and manufactured apparel for brands including the Benetton Group, Joe Fresh,[10] The Children's Place, Primark, Monsoon, and DressBarn.[11][12] Of the 29 brands identified as having sourced products from the Rana Plaza factories, only 9 attended meetings held in November 2013 to agree a proposal on compensation to the victims. Several companies refused to sign including Walmart, Carrefour, Bonmarché, Mango, Auchan and KiK. The agreement was signed by Primark, Loblaws, Bonmarché and El Corte Inglés.[13]

Swastika-styled clothing racks

KiK's swastika-styled clothing racks

In 2009, a man from the German state Schleswig-Holstein pressed charges against KiK under Strafgesetzbuch § 86a, which outlaws the "use of symbols of unconstitutional organisations", for the chain using swastika-styled clothing racks in their shops.[14]

Wages for factory workers

KiK have been criticised by the Clean Clothes Campaign for their bad practises in countries such as Bangladesh, where factory workers, often children,[15] are paid as little as €18–24 per month.[16]

Secret credit ratings of staff

While running almost 50,000 secret credit ratings of staff,[17] overtime is often not paid,[18] despite accusations and lawsuits of KiK paying below minimum wage to their staff in Germany.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Legal". KiK. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Tengelmann-Chef gelobt Besserung bei Kik". Die Welt (in German). 26 August 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  3. ↑ "Qualität – KiK Textilien und Non-Food GmbH" (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  4. ↑ "KiK erschließt weiteren Absatzmarkt". Tengelmann Group (in German). 15 March 2012. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Bochum mit KiK auf der Brust". Focus (in German). 28 June 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  6. ↑ Seele, Rainer (18 January 2009). "Alles, nur nicht Beate Uhse". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  7. ↑ Simon, Violetta (17 April 2009). "Pooth wirbt für Kik – Verona im Ausverkauf". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  8. ↑ Ahmed, Saeed; Lakhani, Leone (14 June 2013). "Bangladesh building collapse: An end to recovery efforts, a promise of a new start". CNN. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Zain Al-Mahmood, Syed (24 April 2013). "Matalan supplier among manufacturers in Bangladesh building collapse". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "'Extreme Pricing' At What Cost? Retailer Joe Fresh Sends Reps To Bangladesh As Death Toll Rises". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014.
  11. ↑ Nelson, Dean (24 April 2013). "Bangladesh building collapse kills at least 82 in Dhaka". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  12. ↑ Alam, Julhas (24 April 2013). "At least 87 dead in Bangladesh building collapse". USA Today. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  13. ↑ Ovi, Ibrahim Hossain (17 November 2013). "Buyers' compensation for Rana Plaza victims far from reality". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  14. ↑ Stahl, Volker (22 January 2009). "Große Aufregung um "Hakenkreuz-Ständer"". Hamburger Morgenpost (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  15. ↑ Ehlert, Felix (8 May 2008). "Kinderarbeit nicht ausgeschlossen". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  16. ↑ "KiK-Betriebsratswahl als "Farce": Nur Assistent des Chefs wählbar". Die Presse (in German). 13 March 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  17. ↑ "Kik wieder im Kreuzfeuer der Kritik". Der Standard (in German). 25 September 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  18. ↑ "Firmenprofil: KiK". Clean Clothes Campaign (in German). Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  19. ↑ "Gericht stoppt Niedriglohn bei Textildiscounter". Der Spiegel (in German). 29 May 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
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