Pet Market Leader Flexi Retractable Lead Turns 50 Years Old

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Press release: flexi

Woof, Wow! The flexi retractable lead turns 50 years old – from insider tip to world market leader. When Manfred Bogdahn walked his dog Purzel along the pavements of Hamburg in 1972 people were amazed. A dog that walked several meters ahead of her master, yet was still leashed and stopped at the push of a button? Ingenious!

His creation, the retractable dog lead, which Bogdahn ingeniously put together with the help of a spring mechanism from a power saw – was not only a perfect solution for the prototype, but also the foundation stone for his company flexi, founded one year later.

The success story began on April 1, 1973.

The breakthrough came when Manfred Bogdahn presented this new lead on a four-square meter stand at the Interzoo 1974.

Word quickly spread about the unique product and the great quality of flexi leads – as they are very often referred to today as a category synonym – and it was only a matter of time before the first inquiries from abroad got the phones ringing hot.

The first production facility in the north of Hamburg quickly became too small and the decision was made in 1990 to build a production plant and a world-class company in neighboring Bargteheide.

Today, more than 350 employees work for the flexi brand and produce tens of thousands retractable dog leads a day, which are exported to over 90 countries.

Fifty years of flexi means inventive spirit and quality Made in Germany since 1973. For dogs, this means more freedom on the lead.