Time travel through the history of Fellhof

Over the years, the Fellhof company has made its way from small general store to renowned international company. The love of our products and of tradition have laid the foundation for our company’s successful history.

From the 50s to the 80s

• 1955 The Eckschlager family runs a small general store in Hof bei Salzburg.
• 1969 Son Walter Eckschlager (founder and owner) sees some hides in front of a souvenir store in St Wolfgang, Austria, and develops the idea of selling them. First contact to tanneries is made.
• 1970s His idea begins to grow: soon a total of seven outdoor stalls open throughout Austria. This is followed by the opening of the ‘Fellstube’ in the former general store in Hof, as well as the first showing at the Souvenir trade show in Salzburg, marking the company’s entry into the wholesale market.
• In 1988 ‘Der Fellhof Vertriebs GmbH’ opens with one employee. A continuous expansion of the company followed: The living room became an office, the garage became a warehouse, the garden was covered and even an old, original postbus had to serve as an warehouse. The entire private house became the company headquarters step by step. Soon, however, this was no longer enough, and further storage space was rented.

The 90s and the 00s

• From then on, up to 20,000 slippers are produced at home each year.
• Starting in 1995, the Fellhof company carries out pioneering work in lambskin baby products in Austria. Attending midwifery conventions and providing consultation services at birth centres lays the foundation for Fellhof's reputation in the field of baby and children’s products.
• In 1997 the company attends its first trade fair in Germany. The presentation of Fellhof products kicks off the company’s international growth.
• In 1999 the first genuine lambskin baby footmuffs for prams are developed..
• In the 2000s, the entire machinery including sewing machines, punching machines, ironing machines, combing machines etc. was brought to Delcevo/North Macedonia. Today, some of our slippers and baby shoes are exclusively sewn for us by homeworkers.
• In 2004, the cornerstone for further expansion is laid with the expansion of the warehouse in Salzburg to 1,300m².

From 2010 the the present

• The first major step towards digitalisation of distribution is made in 2010 with the commissioning of the first online shop for Fellhof products.
• In 2014, a joint venture is established for the production of lambskin shoe insoles in the Czech Republic.Additionally, a new company building was bought and moved into in Hof near Salzburg.
• 2015 Walter Eckschlager retired from day-to-day operations and Mr. Günther Nußbaumer became managing director.
• 2016 Opening of the first Fellshop Franchise Partner in Innsbruck, followed by further locations in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. 2017 Takeover of the online shop – stierfelle. de and opening of the first bullhide shop, in 2018 the modernization of the company headquarters and expansion of the storage capacities follow.
• 2019 Acquisition of the shoe production of Süllwald Schuhe GmbH and establishment of a joint venture for the production of our lambskin slippers in Plovdiv/Bulgaria.
• 2020 Integration of the online shop fell-shop.com into the Fellhof domain to shop.fellhof.com
• In 2021 the opening of “Fellhof Shopping World” takes place at the company location in Hof near Salzburg. Another milestone in Fellhof's corporate history.

Der Fellhof hat sich in 35 Jahren vom Krämerladen zum internationalen Unternehmen entwickelt. Nicht alle wissen, dass bis vor 10 Jahren der Fellhandel Großteils von Marktfahrern bestritten wurde. Als Fell-Experte hat sich Fellhof mittlerweile zum international agierenden Fachhändler entwickelt. Den Prozess kannst du dir in diesem kleinen Film auf RTS (Regional TV Salzburg) ansehen.