oUr dnaWith more than 40 years of experience, we operate in the fashion and lifestyle goods industry.
1984
Karin and Gerhard Heinz decide to become self-employed by founding an import company: Internationale Schuh-Agentur Traesko – or ISA for short. The founding product and namesake is the iconic Scandinavian wooden shoe: the wooden clog.
From day one, their daughter Ulrike is part of the journey. The first customer is ALDI Nord. Shortly thereafter, the first orders are placed in Taiwan and South Korea.
1988
Karin and Gerhards son, Carsten, founds Zapato Schuhimport, focusing on the import of fashionable women’s footwear from Spain and Portugal. Few years later, he becomes part of the management of ISA Traesko.
1999
ISA Traesko establishes its first sourcing office in Hong Kong: ISA Traesko Far East Trading Limited on Mody Road in TST East. From here, the global structures begin to grow that continue to shape our identity to this day.
2002
In 2002, ISA Traesko’s administrative headquarters in Neumünster is expanded with a new building—an important milestone in strengthening the company’s headquarters and a reflection of its modern, international orientation. To this day, the Neumünster site brings together many of our companies under one roof.
2011
To ensure the long-term continuity of the family business ISA Traesko, Carsten Heinz founds Wartenberg Verwaltungs GmbH in 2011—the birth of today’s investment holding. It soon becomes clear that Wartenberg is destined for more.
2011
With Wartenberg, Carsten Heinz ventures into new territory by participating in the founding of the online furniture and home accessories retailer LOBERON in Nuremberg—an important step on the path toward building a diversified corporate group. Today, LOBERON is a key pillar of Wartenberg.
2016 – 2017
ISA Traesko continues to diversify its business: new product categories are developed through the founding of ISA Traesko Home & Living. In addition, Wartenberg acquires the German cult brand GIN TONIC with the aim of revitalizing it in the casualwear market. Today, GIN TONIC comprises a diverse portfolio of fashion, lifestyle, and home & living products, powered by a broad network of license partners.
2019
Inka Koopmann assumes creative responsibility for collections, while Florian Starmann takes over the management of Zapato Far East. Two years later, in 2021, Florian Starmann is additionally appointed to the management board of ISA Traesko.
2023
ISA’s office in Hong Kong is being expanded to support international sales. In the same year the Dongguan office is expanded and remodelled as the new representative headquarters of the corporate group in Asia.
2024
ISA Traesko celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, ISA is breaking new ground by acquiring the heritage brand Relife Shoes and taking equity stakes in the newly founded companies TERRANEXA (Health & Beauty) in Berlin and Project Bestseller in Salzburg (sports, toys, and outdoor equipment).
Wartenberg also continues to grow this year with a new investment in whizzy-kids, a Berlin-based manufacturer of kid’s bicycles.
2025
Following Florian Pfeiffer’s appointment to Managing Director in 2024, Inka Koopmann joins the management board in 2025. Her appointment represents the company’s strengthened focus on design and product innovation. Under the leadership of Florian Starmann, Florian Pfeiffer and Inka Koopmann, ISA Traesko continues to reinvent itself.
In this year, Wartenberg invests in the upcoming Münster-based company PALU, a manufacturer of innovative family beds.
HEUTE
The appointment of Justus Weber to Wartenberg’s management team further strengthens and professionalizes the leadership of the group.
At the same time, the next phase of transformation is initiated, with Wartenberg broadening its focus to additional illiquid and liquid asset classes.
