The Fielmann story
This is how the visionary created his huge eyewear empire
Günther Fielmann started with a small optician shop and built an eyewear empire from it.
© Fielmann Group
Germany is losing one of its largest entrepreneurs. This is how Günther Fielmann managed to rise from a small optician to an eyewear giant.
“Advise every customer the way you would like to be advised yourself.” This simple but powerful principle was the key to Günther Fielmann’s success. Now the entrepreneurial personality has died peacefully at the age of 84, surrounded by his family. Günther Fielmann not only revolutionized the optical industry in Germany, but also significantly influenced eyewear fashion and supply. His recipe for success was based on his customer-oriented philosophy: Fielmann became a synonym for fashion, quality and fair prices.
The numbers speak for themselves: nine out of ten German citizens know Fielmann, and one in two Glasses sold in Germany come from his company. When Fielmann Senior handed over management of the company to his son Marc (34) in 2019 at the age of 80, he left behind a flourishing empire that now employs more than 23,000 people and has over 1,000 branches worldwide. His commitment to affordable and fashionable glasses for all segments of the population ended the era of stigmatizing “cash glasses”.
In addition to his entrepreneurial spirit, Fielmann was also known nationally for his social and ecological commitment. He anchored nature conservation firmly in the corporate culture of the Fielmann Group and personally supported the planting of trees. His commitment culminated in the cultivation of the millionth tree in 2009, a milestone that he celebrated together with then-Chancellor Angela Merkel (69). By the time of his death, the trained optician had donated 1.7 million trees and bushes.
Günther Fielmann actually wanted to become a photographer
Günther Fielmann was born in Stafstedt in Schleswig-Holstein in 1939 and developed a deep connection to nature at an early age, influenced by walks with his mother Luise. He originally aspired to a career as a photographer, but on the advice of his father, Dr. Wilhelm Fielmann, he completed training as an optician, which he completed with distinction.
After his time as a journeyman and further experience in the industry, including at Essilor and Bausch + Lomb, he opened his first specialist shop in Cuxhaven in 1972. He broke with traditional practice by openly displaying glasses in his store and offering fair prices, which quickly brought him success and the opening of additional branches.
His breakthrough came with the redesign of the so-called “cash glasses”. In 1981 he manufactured 90 fashionable frames in 640 material and color variants for AOK, thereby revolutionizing the market. The other health insurance companies quickly followed suit. With the expansion of his company and innovative services such as the satisfaction and money-back guarantee, he from then on shaped a new corporate culture: “If I serve my customers fairly and don’t take money out of their pockets, then they will treat me fairly too. Trust versus trust.”
In 1994, Günther Fielmann took his company public
In 1994, Fielmann went public, and its “people’s share” proved to be extremely successful, allowing the company to accelerate its expansion into other countries. Due to the increased demand for Fielmann glasses, the company built a large production and logistics site in Rathenow in 2000, where over 1,000 employees now manufacture and ship millions of lenses every year. In 2019, Fielmann ultimately withdrew from his position on the board and handed the company over to his son. He summarized his life motto in the words: “I have grown beyond my dreams.”
The late politician Heiner Geißler (1930-2017) once described him as a “bearer of hope for a humane economic order”. However, the entrepreneur himself saw his work more modestly: “It’s good if I can give back something of what I received through the community.”