You don’t get called ‘The Scarf Company,’ unless you really know your stuff. Thankfully for Fraas, it lives and breathes quality scarves and has been for more than a century.
For 140 years, Fraas, a family-owned German company, has been producing high-end scarves that have been loved around the world for their quality, softness, and precision.
The company began in 1880 by Valentin Fraas in the Franconian town of Wustenselbitz. Back then, he employed just 10 weavers to help create neckerchiefs, scarves, and shawls. By the turn of the century, in 1894 when Fraas’ son took over the company, Fraas grew even larger and had 100 people working for the brand.
The 1980s were huge for the brand. In 1982, Fraas grew beyond Germany and went international, branching out into New York, Toronto, London, and Hong Kong. And then in 1985, it introduced cashmink – its signature acrylic scarf that is softer, and more affordable than cashmere.
In the 90s, sales offices followed in the Czech Republic, Russia, Poland, Japan, and Korea. And in the early 2000s, Fraas opened up 70 stores in China and by 2005 just in time for its 125th anniversary, Fraas opened its first store in Germany.
In 2006, five more stores in Germany opened and Fraas.com debuted to allow customers to shop their favourite scarves online.
“Today, Fraas is known is 26 countries around the world,” said Claudia Tonna, regional sales and channel manager for Fraas. “And we have more than just men’s and women’s scarves, we also have our home division where we produce throws.”
What makes Fraas so special, according to Tonna, is that the business is still family-run.
“Fraas is still being run by its now fifth generation,” she said. “And the company hasn’t changed its stance on using beautiful, high-quality fabrics, even after all of these years. All of our products are still made very authentically, and the fabrics are really premium. And our customers recognize that. To get a Fraas scarf is very symbolic. It’s attributed to quality.”
Fraas is also special, Tonna said, because to this day, even after 140 years, it still supports the town in Germany in which it started.
“I think that’s really something,” she said. “Not many companies can say they are family-run and that they support an entire city.”
As for the future of the brand, Tonna says there has been a big push to being more sustainable and eco-friendly.
“We’ve been using recycled materials and our factories have been certified sustainable,” she said.
Sales are still plugging along nicely despite COVID-19, she added, saying it has to do with Fraas being synonymous with quality.
“We are really excited about the future of Fraas,” she said. “Our next season’s line is great and our orders are way over last year’s. We are still one of the only high-end scarf companies around and it shows.”
To learn more about Fraas, visit its website, www.fraas.com.