Skive Handelsstandsforening was founded on April 12, 1883 under the name Skive Handelsforening. The associations Skive City and SønderCentret are part of the trade association, which in 2014 changed its name to Skive Handel. Skive Handel has around 200 members.
Organization of the trade
When Skive Handelsforening was founded in 1883, there were approximately 2500 people living in Skive. The association was founded by 20 of the city’s merchants at “Gluds Hotel” (later Hotel Royal). The board consisted of 5 people with chairman P.G. Holm, Vice Chairman C. Olesen and treasurer and secretary Jens Jensen, as well as the merchants F. Kielgast and P. Hestbek. Shortly afterwards, the association participated in the formation of the “Foreningen af jyske Handelsforeninger” to represent the trade to the government and parliament. Skive Handelsforening was involved in the start of the Aarhus Business School, both with financial support and representation on the board, first with merchant Jens Just and later with wholesaler Michael Nielsen. In 1919, the name was changed to Skive Handelsstandsforening.
It was precisely in the years when the trade association was started that there was an increasing specialization among the merchants. The large grocery stores, which had traded in a wide range of different goods, separated their grain and animal feed, timber, hardware and manufactured goods departments into independent stores. In 1884, for example, there were 17 grocers/colonial merchants, 13 manufacturers, 9 beer merchants, 6 wine merchants, 5 hawkers, 5 fishmongers, 4 fashion merchants, 2 hardware stores, 2 yarn and embroidery shops, 1 bookstore and 1 paper shop in Skive.
The trade association’s first tasks
The trade association immediately set to work. One of the first was the establishment of a school for trade apprentices. Despite a large enrollment of 15 students in the beginning, the number of students dropped, and in 1889 the school was closed again. The Apprenticeship Act of 1889 required the masters to provide the students’ theoretical education, and in 1891 the school was reopened. From then on, the school was run by the Trade Association until 1965.
Closing times were another pressing issue. Sometimes it was some of the association’s members or the entire association that went ahead, other times legislation set the framework, such as in 1904 with the Sunday closing law. in 1904 with the law on Sunday closing or in 1901 when Skive Handelsforening anticipated the legislation of 1908 on weekday closing at 8 pm.
The trade association dealt with traffic conditions, train connections, postal services, participated in attempts to establish a cooperative slaughterhouse and worked on many other current issues.
Store development in the first 50 years.
In the first years of the association’s existence, the range of specialty shops developed for the town’s population of around 11,000 in 1939. In 1940, there were 55 grocers/grocery and retailers, 31 men’s clothing/manufacture and knitwear shops, 11 butchers, 17 fruit/vegetable/gardeners, 14 bicycle dealers, 14 tobacco shops, 11 bakeries/pastry shops, 9 shoe shops, 7 fashion/corset outlets, 5 hardware stores, 4 cheese/butter shops, 3 fishmongers, 2 wine shops and 2 embroidery shops.
Supermarkets and pedestrian streets for the next 50 years
Before the 100th anniversary, supermarkets had made their entrance in Skive. In 1960, there were 127 small grocery stores in Skive. In 1962, PRISO opened in Frederiksgade 11. The next few years saw TAGES Supermarked at Østerbro 6, TEMA on Sdr. Boulevard and Løvbjerg on Søndergade 2. In 1967, KVICKLY opened in Asylgade. In 1980 there were 36 small grocery stores and in 2001 there were 14 grocery stores left in Skive.
Nørregade was inaugurated as a pedestrian street on September 28, 1968, Adelgade became a pedestrian street in 1983 and Frederiksgade joined in 1984. With pedestrian streets came the organization of the shops into pedestrian street associations, for the benefit of mutual competition.
In 1990, the proliferation continued as Føtex opened in the “hole” opposite the train station and in 1992, Søndercenteret (on the corner of Ågade and Østerbro) opened with a large Kvickly and a number of specialty stores.
Gathering in Skive Handel
The forces of the pedestrian street associations were brought together in a joint activity committee in 1988, and in 1990 Skive City Center / Skive City was established as a joint marketing committee. This committee agreed on joint opening hours, electronic gift cards and launched many different seasonal activities in pedestrian streets and squares as well as events such as “Long Saturday”, “Skive by night” and Sunday opening.
Skive Handels logo
In 2003, the city’s first trade manager was hired. In 2014, the association changed its name to Skive Handel after the merger of Handelsstandsforeningen with Skive City and the pedestrian street associations.
- Skive kommunes historie fra 1880 – 1940, Handlen og pengene p. 272 – 279 and p. 443-444. Skive Museums Forlag 2002
- 120 year anniversary publication published by Skive Handelsstandsforening in 2003.