The origin of the company dates back to 1870 when the Merkel family, the ancestors of the present owners of Eskimo, set up a business to produce knitted gloves and socks near the town of Chemnitz in Saxony. Over the past hundred years what started as a family business, developed its core competence in knitwear and started manufacturing operations first in Europe and then in Asia. Due to ever-increasing manufacturing costs in Europe, a decision was taken to relocate production to Asia.