Adolf Riedl

Who was Adolf Riedl?

Adolf Riedl was a German businessman.

After the Second World War, having been driven from Sudetenland and enduring Russian captivity, Riedl, together with his sister, Marianne Sommerer, founded a company to produce knitwear in Untersteinach. The company was called the Riedl-Gruppe, and it focussed on sports textiles. On 31 August 1947, he founded Adolf Riedl GmbH & Co. KG and Aritex GmbH in 1975, to market sports and leisure fashions. In 1980 he launched the Sunflair brand and, in 1983, he acquired the “Olympia” brand, registered for the past 75 years.

Riedl promoted several sports and clubs, especially in Bayreuth, for which he was awarded the Silver Medal of the town of Bayreuth in 1981. In 1996 he was awarded the Cross of Merit with Ribbon by the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Following a stroke in January 1989, Adolf Riedl withdrew from the company and mostly from public life.

On 1 August 2004, the Riedl-Gruppe was renamed. The earlier Sunflair, Opera, Olympia and Sunmarin companies are now brands of Adolf Riedl GmbH & Co. KG.