Walbusch Walter Busch GmbH & Co. KG

Walbusch Walter Busch GmbH & Co. KG is a German fashion company based in Solingen.

In 1934, commercial agent Walter Busch (1901-1973)[1] founded a "mail order business for high-quality Solingen cutlery" under the name Walter Busch Sohn. From 1946, the company traded under the name Walbusch.[1] In the 1950s, the company specialized in the mail order of electrical appliances and household items, particularly electric shavers. In 1959, Walbusch added non-iron Nyltest shirts to its catalog. This was the beginning of the move into the textile trade. In 1963, the Walbusch-shirt with the collar without a button followed.[2] This shirt, which was registered as a patent in 1999 due to its specific cut at the collar, is still considered a trademark of the company today.

After the death of the company founder, his son Thomas Busch (* 1938), who had previously worked at Neckermann, took over the management in 1976 and expanded the company.[3] For further expansion, Walbusch founded subsidiaries in Austria and Switzerland in 1989 and 1994. In 2008, Thomas Busch retired from the management and moved to the advisory board. Since then, Christian Busch has been managing the company in the third generation as shareholder and Chairman of the Management Board together with Marcus Leber and Frank Reuber. The subsidiary Avena - Gesundheit aus Bad Kreuznach was founded in 1999 and the functional clothing brand Klepper was acquired in 2003. In 2007, Walbusch acquired the trademark rights of the Leipzig-based textile company Mey & Edlich. The footwear brand LaShoe has been part of the group of companies since 2016.