About TextilWirtschaft

TextilWirtschaft

TextilWirtschaft, spelled TextilWirtschaft and abbreviated TW, is the German-speaking fashion industry's leading weekly specialist magazine, published by the dfv Mediengruppe in Frankfurt am Main and the fashion professionals' mandatory reading since 1946. Appearing every Thursday since 1946, it is the only weekly specialist magazine in the German-speaking region for the textile and clothing industry, with a sold circulation of 16,638 copies and a distributed circulation of 17,587 copies in the third quarter of 2025, IVW-audited figures that document its market position. The editor-in-chief is Bettina Billerbeck, leading the more than 35 journalists and correspondents who report from the European fashion metropolises. The magazine is the official organ of the Federal Association of the German Textile Retail Trade, a role it has held since 1950, and of the European association of the textile retail trade's peak organizations, and it describes itself as the fashion professionals' mandatory reading, a claim its 86 percent subscription rate supports.

Overview

TextilWirtschaft combines news, business, and fashion magazine in one publication, the formula that has made it the industry's leading weekly for nearly eight decades. Every Thursday it lands in print on the desks of the decision-makers who earn their money with fashion, and it is current daily with its digital offerings, a weekly rhythm that has structured the industry's information flow for decades. Its coverage spans the relevant information from trade and industry across womenswear, menswear, denim, shoes, accessories, lingerie, fabrics, and childrenswear, from the product idea through the distribution strategy to the sell-through, the complete fashion value chain in one weekly magazine.

More than 35 journalists and correspondents report from the European fashion metropolises on the industry's events, supplemented by exclusive news, studies, and career topics, and by daily newsletters with current industry news. The subscription rate of about 86 percent is exceptional in the industry, and the reader-magazine bond is described as extraordinary, with outstanding industry coverage that makes the title the industry's indispensable companion.

The magazine's ISSN is 0040-487X for both print and online, and its e-paper is available the day before the print issue, giving subscribers the earliest access to the week's industry news. The Textillogistik-Kongress, organized with the Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung in Frankfurt, addresses trends, developments, and strategies for modern textile supply chains, bringing the logistics side of the fashion business to the stage.

History

TextilWirtschaft was founded by the journalist Wilhelm Lorch, who secured the US military government's publication license in September 1946 and brought out the first issue a month later. On September 10, 1946, he received from the Publication Control of the US military government in Heidelberg the license to publish technical books and magazines for the textile industry, and on October 10, 1946, the first issue appeared as the founding publication of the Neuer Fachverlag GmbH in Stuttgart, which was renamed Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH with the move to Frankfurt am Main in 1948, the publishing house that became the dfv Mediengruppe. The first issue comprised 12 pages, one-third of a page covered with advertisements, and because of the paper shortage the magazine appeared only fortnightly, a modest start for what became the industry's leading weekly.

Since January 1, 1950, TextilWirtschaft has been the official organ of the Federal Association of the German Textile Retail Trade (BTE), and in the same year it already had a subscribed circulation of more than 14,000 copies. In May 1997 the magazine's online service started with TWnetwork, an early move into the digital world, and in 2012 the online offering was supplemented with apps for mobile devices.

The magazine has documented the German fashion industry's postwar history from its Frankfurt base for nearly eight decades, growing from the 12-page licensed publication of 1946, with its one-third page of advertisements, to the weekly industry authority with its digital daily offerings.

Coverage and Content

TextilWirtschaft's editorial program follows the fashion industry's value chain. Trade coverage reports on the retailers, from the department stores to the independents, and their strategies in the fast-moving fashion business, giving orientation in the business with fashion. Industry coverage follows the manufacturers and brands, from the product idea through the collections to the distribution, while the segment coverage spans the product categories that define the fashion business. The segment coverage spans womenswear, menswear, denim, shoes, accessories, lingerie, fabrics, and childrenswear.

The magazine's studies provide the industry's data, such as the TW study showing that the shopping stroll still inspires more fashion purchases than the internet, even as online browsing gains importance. Its career topics address the fashion professionals' working lives, and its exclusive news breaks the industry's stories before they reach the general press. The daily newsletters carry the current industry news to the subscribers' inboxes, making the weekly magazine a daily companion for the fashion professionals.

The Textillogistik-Kongress, organized with the Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung, brings the supply chain topics to the live stage: trends, developments, and strategies for modern textile supply chains. The magazine's fashion coverage follows the collections and the zeitgeist, while its business coverage analyzes the strategies behind them, pairing the creative and commercial sides of the industry as the magazine has done since 1946.

The dfv Mediengruppe

The dfv Mediengruppe behind the magazine is one of Germany's largest specialist publishers. Renamed from Verlagsgruppe Deutscher Fachverlag in January 2014, the Frankfurt group publishes more than 100 trade journals for eleven industries, with a combined annual distributed circulation of around 17 million copies, alongside digital offerings, events, and market research. Its portfolio spans the Lebensmittel Zeitung, Horizont, the Allgemeine Hotel- und Gastronomie-Zeitung, fvw TravelTalk, and the agrarzeitung — with Lebensmittel Zeitung, TextilWirtschaft, and Horizont regularly ranking among Germany's top trade journals by advertising turnover. The group also runs three industry foundations for young talent, including the Wilhelm-Lorch-Stiftung named after TextilWirtschaft's founder.

Organization and Ownership

TextilWirtschaft is published by the dfv Mediengruppe in Frankfurt am Main, the German specialist publishing group that grew from the Deutscher Fachverlag founded with the magazine in 1946. The editor-in-chief is Bettina Billerbeck. The magazine is the official organ of the Federal Association of the German Textile Retail Trade (BTE) and of the European association of the textile retail trade's peak organizations.

More than 35 journalists and correspondents work for the magazine from the European fashion metropolises, reporting on the industry's events from the product idea to the sell-through. The subscription rate of about 86 percent reflects the title's anchoring in the industry, a loyalty that few specialist magazines achieve. Financial details of the magazine's operations beyond the circulation figures are not publicly confirmed: the IVW reported 16,638 sold copies and 17,587 distributed copies in the third quarter of 2025, current audited figures that confirm the title's market leadership.

Digital Presence

Textilwirtschaft.de is the magazine's digital home, current daily with the industry's news and the platform for the TWnetwork online service that started in 1997. The TWnetwork online service, started in May 1997, developed into the digital platform, supplemented in 2012 with apps for mobile devices. The e-paper appears the day before the print issue, and the daily newsletters deliver the current industry news.

The website's topic pages organize the coverage, from the specialist magazine topic to the industry's segments, and the daily newsletters deliver the current industry news to the fashion professionals' inboxes. Social media channels and podcasts for the TextilWirtschaft brand are not detailed in the sources reviewed; the brand's digital presence rests on its website, its e-paper, its apps, and its daily newsletters that serve the fashion professionals with the industry's news, a digital offering that keeps the weekly magazine daily current.