our belief

People make our brand!

our attitude

no room for prejudice

We create a trusting and respectful working environment without preconceived ideas as a basic building block for cooperation.

This also applies to our specialist departments, as an overarching exchange is very important to us. Transparent communication makes our processes more efficient.

Our values

SMART passionate stylish

Our brand values should be evident in our behavior for everyone to see. Here, you will meet people who not only work for Leineweber but live and breathe Leineweber.

Performance orientation, courage, and drive are the qualities that define us and make us so successful.

PEOPLE MAKE OUR BRAND

We live a culture of appreciative feedback in order to continuously develop ourselves - this applies to employees and managers alike.

Our recipe for success lies in the strength-oriented development of our employees. We take individual talents into account so that they can develop optimally.

Who knows, maybe together we'll discover untapped potential, enabling you to surpass your own limits. BREAK THE EXPECTED.

our history

More than 135 years of success

1888 – 1932

1888

Master tailor Bernward Leineweber and his wife Mary were fully in line with the trend when they opened a specialist store for men’s ready-to-wear clothing in Berlin in 1888. “Off-the-peg” menswear garments were becoming more and most popular.

Business developed well. Its goal was to continuously improve the fits in order to be able to offer ready-to-wear clothing for everyone. Every child in Berlin was soon familiar with the name Leineweber.

With the beginning of the mass production of bicycles, Bernward Leineweber saw sportswear as a market of the future and manufactured skiing trousers, skating skirts and motor vehicle driving outfits. The company survived the first world war through military tailoring and alterations work.

1932

The Great Depression brought the company to its knees: in 1932, Bernward Leineweber GmbH stopped all payments.

1932 – 1948

In August 1932, Herbert Tengelmann, owner of Vereinigte Kleiderwerke AG in Herford, took over Bernward Leinweber GmbH. The young entrepreneur concentrated the company’s own production in Herford, but built on Berlin as the location for the retailing side.

1935

From the mid-30s, the “Haus das Jeden anzieht” (“House that dresses everyone”) experienced a flourishing phase. The Leineweber coat “Der gute Kamerad” (“The Good Companion”) was one of the core products. Men’s suits and women’s fur coats ensure growing sales.

1937

In 1937, Herbert Tengelmann also opened a department for women’s fashion for the first time on an area of 4,000 m². At the beginning of the second world war, Leineweber was also called upon to manufacture uniforms.

1948 – 1970

1948

To a large degree, Leineweber had overcome the consequences of the second world war by 1948. Reconstruction had been successful and the upswing began: the first new branches opened in Berlin and Bielefeld.

1950

In 1950, Leineweber launched the trousers brand BRAX. “The trousers of progress” for “discerning customers of all tastes” became the motor of rapid growth. A short while later, Leineweber also offered BRAX trousers for women.

1959

In 1959, Wolfgang Tengelmann took over company management. Its growth continued. The late 60s, Leineweber was confronted with the repercussions of a recession and the growing pressure of imports from low-wage countries for the first time since the Federal Republic of Germany had been founded. Retailers continue to flourish, but production finds itself facing a crisis.

1960

Leineweber introduces the first pair of pants with a zipper to the German market.

1970 – 1993

1970

At the beginning of the 70s, Leineweber further extended the brand BRAX and developed itself into a trousers specialist.

1979

1979 a phase of modernisation at all levels began with the takeover of company management by Sigurd W. Gräf and Wolfgang Drewalowski. With its core brand BRAX, Leineweber had something special. In view of growing product variety, brands serve as an orientation for the customers. Due to the guaranteed fit, the customers associate “feeling good in every situation” with BRAX.

1993

After the “second economic miracle” that was expected after German reunification in 1990 failed to materialise, Tengelmann fundamentally restructured the corporate group and sold off all retailing stores in 1993.

Contracts were drawn up with top department stores such as Kaufhof and Munich-based Konen. For communication with the final consumer, BRAX provided the specialist retailers with prospectuses, stand-up displays and other advertising materials and, despite the continuing economic crisis, recorded a turnover increase.

1993 – 2003

After selling off the retailing stores, BRAX Leineweber reorganised its sales structure in Germany. New strategies such as the Shop-in-Shop system intensified the partnership-based relations to specialist retailers.

1997

The first trousers-only Shop was opened at Bruns in Oldenburg in 1997.

1998

With the fully automated logistics centre opened in Herford in 1998, BRAX Leineweber again established new standards in logistics and quality assurance. Furthermore, a staff department for quality management was set up at the Herford headquarters. It ensures that goods procurement, supply, production and customer service are optimally matched.

2000

In the year 2000, the company started a branch relaunch: the slogan “BRAX Feel Good” communicates a positive feeling for life and the emotional value for which the brand stands.

2003 – 2013

At the beginning of the new century, the brand BRAX stands for high-quality garments, class-leading manufacturing quality and a perfect fit.

2003

The introduction of the knitwear collection in autumn 2003 was an absolute success.

2006

Shirts and women’s jackets followed in 2006.

2007

In 2007, the first BRAX Stores were opened.

2009

In September 2009 BRAX launched its own online Shop.

Investments in the field of logistics and the launch of a major consumer campaign are further milestones on the way towards becoming the most successful brand for premium casual garments in Europe. New modules such as social media and company apps supplement online communication.

2013

At the beginning of 2013, BRAX presents its own pocket collection to make the premium look perfect.

2013 – HEUTE

2017

For the first time in the company's history, BRAX is running TV ads in 2017: seasonally almost 600 prime-time placements on private and public TV.

2020

In 2020, the company pulls off a special coup by enlisting Ana Ivanović and Bastian Schweinsteiger as celebrity faces for BRAX.

The internationally renowned top athletes are bursting with energy and joie de vivre and are the perfect ambassadors for the BRAX brand values smart, stylish and passionate.

2024

BRAX continues its innovations and developments in the ever-changing fashion landscape.

Facts about BRAX

Discover the diversity of BRAX

As a renowned company, we inspire fashion lovers all over the world. Immerse yourself in the BRAX world, where fashion becomes a passion and self-expression, free from prejudice. This is where innovation meets tradition.

more than

countries

more than

BRAX stores worldwide

more than

1500

BRAX shop in shops

Whether in our own retail stores and factory outlets, in our shop-in-shop areas at the point of sale or in the BRAX online store, you can find us everywhere. However, until our products are available for you, the entire process is handled by our headquarters in Herford. Design, procurement and sales are managed from here and implemented in cooperation with our partners around the world.

1100

employees

With us, you can simply be who you are. Diversity and equal opportunities are central to our corporate culture. In 2023, the proportion of female managers was 52.0%

more than

304 Mio.

Euro in revenue

32%

Export-Anteil

In the reporting year 2023, we produced 7.5 million items. Our brand has a strong profile and a solid position in the market. BRAX generated 32 percent of its revenue outside of Germany.

aiming up for

100%

sustainable production by 2030

Our sustainable products at BRAX are Blue Planet and consist of at least 50 percent sustainable materials. By 2030, we want to make the Blue Planet label the standard for all BRAX products.

Find out more in our sustainability report 2022/2023

upload report

our brands

Get to know our BRAX brands

With the BRAX FEEL GOOD, RAPHAELA by BRAX and EUREX by BRAX brands, we have a versatile product portfolio.

The individual labels operate independently under this brand umbrella. Each has a strong recognition value and an independent profile to ensure its presence at home and abroad.

BRAX is all about passion: passion to inspire customers with our products. This passion accompanies us in every project and every decision we make every day. This is how we have developed BRAX into a successful casual fashion brand, far beyond our core product, the trousers. In a changing fashion world, we are shaping the future of BRAX together with our partners and customers.

Perfection and quality are our hallmarks. The demand for top performance is reflected in the product, in communication and in the people who stand for our company, whether at the point of sale, in the media or in the digital world. Our fashion is modern and innovative. Our customers are the designers of their lives, mainly between 35 and 59 years old, in the middle of life and have a positive attitude with real values in mind.

The brand values smart, stylish and passionate stand for the BRAX outfit brand! For our partners we are an image anchor, for customers we are always the right choice when it comes to the sophisticated implementation of fashion trends and we impress with product innovations and high fashion standards. Our passion is contagious!

More than 1,100 employees are largely responsible for the success of the BRAX brand, and over 1,800 shop-in-shops are the image carriers of our label worldwide. We combine online and offline to create smart solutions and BRAX marketing reaches people worldwide without ignoring local conditions - think global act local.

Stylish, sporty and sophisticated: RAPHAELA by BRAX has been designing pants for active and fashionable women with an eye for detail for over 15 years. Top quality materials and workmanship as well as a sophisticated cut guarantee the perfect fit for every figure type.

The dynamic stretch waistband and slim thigh ensure maximum comfort and give the figure the perfect shape - for a silhouette with a feel-good factor.

Sporty or classically elegant, but always modern and functional: EUREX by BRAX designs pants for men with the highest standards of material, quality and workmanship. Tailored to the individual needs of different body types, the brand has been impressing with innovative cuts and ergonomic fits since 1995, even for men of size. Clever details such as zippered safe pockets, stretch outer fabrics and the dynamic elastic waistband are contemporary and support the active smart-casual lifestyle.