Guru-Shop has been around for 30 years now. Back then, while traveling through India, Harald had the idea of bringing the fascination and exoticism of the markets and bazaars there back home. No sooner said than done: the first store opened in Berlin's Mitte district in 1994. Initially with a limited range of products, the store mainly sold clothing, jewelry and incense sticks. Over the years, home textiles, furniture, lamps and decorations were added.
After several relocations, our main store has been located in the heart of Prenzlauer Berg on Pappelallee since 2004. Beautiful things from all over the world can be found here on two floors and over 500m² of sales space. In 2008, a smaller store was added in Kreuzberg. This store in the lively Bergmannstraße mainly sells clothing, jewelry, home textiles, lamps and decoration.
Guru-Shop has also been online since 2005 - with more than 15,000 products, we can offer the largest selection here. Since then, our office, warehouse and shipping department have been located in Tempelfelde, about 30 km north-east of Berlin. As the space there is increasingly reaching its limits, we are planning to move to Bernau in the near future, where our new company headquarters are currently being built.
We have been working closely with small artisan and family businesses in Asia for many years. We have gotten to know many of our manufacturers personally on trips to India, Nepal, Thailand and Bali. Our managing directors Harald, Tanja and Matthias regularly visit the businesses to discover new products and deepen existing relationships. This long-standing cooperation is based on mutual respect and enables us to guarantee the quality of the products and ensure that they are produced under fair working conditions.
Together with our manufacturers, we are working to implement our standards for environmentally friendly production and sustainable materials step by step. This is not always easy, as cultural differences in Asia often result in different habits and priorities. However, personal contact creates the necessary basis for creating understanding and initiating long-term change.
Social responsibility and environmental protection are values that we actively live by and integrate into our daily activities. One example of this is the construction of a school in Nepal, with which we are giving local children access to education and thus sustainably improving the future prospects of the community.
We also implement concrete measures in the area of environmental protection: Our shipping has been CO₂-neutral for several years, helping us to minimize our ecological footprint. We are also continuously working on reducing packaging waste and using more environmentally friendly alternatives. For us, these are not marketing promises, but real steps towards a fair and responsible future.