Erb Group

Erb Group
Native name
Hugo Erb AG
IndustryConglomerate
Founded1920 (1920) in Switzerland
FounderHugo Erb, Sr.
Defunct2003 (2003)
Headquarters,
Switzerland
Key people
RevenueDecrease US$6.2 billion (2003)
Number of employees
5,000 (2003)
Websiteerb.ch (defunct)

Erb Group (officially Hugo Erb AG) was a Swiss conglomerate primarily active as automotive retailer. Founded in 1920, the company started as automobile repair shop in Winterthur, Switzerland, which until the 1980s became one of the key players of Switzerlands automotive industry alongside Emil Frey Group and AMAG (Importer of Audi).[1][2]

In the 1990s, under the second generation, the concern diversified into coffee trading, real estate and kitchens.[3][4] In 2003, the concern collapsed and had to declare bankruptcy, which ultimate became the second largest bankruptcy case in Switzerland, after Swissair in 2001.[5]

References

  1. ^ Zuerich, ETH-Bibliothek. "E-Periodica -". E-Periodica (in German). Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  2. ^ swissinfo.ch, S. W. I. (2003-12-05). "Winterthurer Erb-Imperium am Ende". SWI swissinfo.ch (in German). Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  3. ^ "Schwer verdauliche Volcafe?". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). 2004-03-22. ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  4. ^ https://www.tagblatt.ch/schweiz/jaehes-ende-eines-imperiums-ld.710791
  5. ^ "Die Erb-Pleite, 2. Teil: Der Zusammenbruch". Bilanz (in German). 2005-03-22. Retrieved 2025-08-13.