A Strong Woman

Therese Mölk fought in the19th century for the right to run her own business. 80 years later this business developed into today’s MPREIS.

On November 13, 1872 Therese Gollner is born in Wörgl. Her mother owns a small farm, her father is a post coach driver. At the age of 20, the young woman is finally able to fulfil her wish and start an apprenticeship in the largest store of Wörgl. Three years later she is the first female shop assistant in that business.

“Then the struggle began because I wanted to start my own business. The mayor himself helped me to get the trade license.  What a hurrah ! ”


 This entry in her diary from the 90ies of the past century reflects the feelings of triumph that Therese Gollner must have felt in a time when it was virtually impossible for a woman to obtain a trading license. Nothing can stop the young woman now from turning her dream of starting her own business into reality: she opens a store in her place of birth and runs it together with her sister for the following three years.

When she marries Johann Mölk, the man who supplies her with flour and cornmeal , her life takes a totally different turn. She moves with him to Kundl where he operates a mill and a sawmill. Within fourteen years ten children are born.

Difficult times

Times are difficult – there is little profit in business and credit is hard to get. Later on, the family runs a brick factory and many of the children work there right from the start. In the end there is simply not enough money and though it is very difficult for the family to give up everything there is ultimately no other solution.

”As it is when things go wrong it is not so easy to make them right again. Nevertheless we managed to rise again even after the hardest struggle.“
 
With the little money they got from selling the business, Therese and Johann Mölk and their numerous children move to Innsbruck shortly before World War I. The family lives in poverty and survives these difficult times with casual labour and trading second-hand goods.
 
In 1919, the Mölk family moves to Dreiheiligenstrasse 21 where the MPREIS head office will later be located until 1985. At this time the almost 50-year-old Therese Mölk returns to her roots and once again starts a food trading business.
 
“Then we opened the store under the viaduct, it was very simple. We only sold lard, but in large quantities”.

A Family Business

In the following years, the hardworking woman opens one branch after the other together with her husband and children, who become partners of the company. The parents place great value on a good relationship between the children. “Be peaceful and help each other, this way you will get ahead!”, is what the parents constantly preach. This motto proves to be a recipe for success – nothing seems to be able to stop the business from growing.

Mölk Bread

With Mölk Bread, the family finally creates a distinctive brand.  It was commonly known in those days that Therese and Johann Mölk not only had a talent for trade but also a strong interest in social issues. When somebody comes along hungry he should not get the stale bread but the fresh one! 

With this attitude the family won the sympathy of the suffering Tyrolean population.

The warm hearts and the gratefulness of her customers were a constant source of encouragement for Therese Mölk’s work– until her death in 1958.