The original founder of our business which was founded in 1862, was Mr. W.J.J. Gompertz, born on July 21 1838 in Amsterdam and died on march 25, 1891 in Paris. As the descendent of the owners of one of the largest family business in Amsterdam, he learned at a very young age the secrets of our economy. So it's understandable how in 1859, when he was just a young man of 21 years, Mr. Gompertz created the idea to publish unpaid bills of exchange and the names of bankrupt businesses. Thus, a new service industry was born, which collected in the whole country necessary information for the publication of a new periodical, "MUTUA CONFIDENTIA".

The idea

The publication was solely commercial and only distributed with a subscription. Only than the cited information about the solvency and practice of Holland's societal affairs, readers also found in "MUTUA CONFIDENTIA" useful information to help them follow the flow of the stock market, the development in different markets, etc...Success was inevitable, and the journal found a huge following from merchant and industries in all fields.

A Real Break In The Market

The subscribers "MUTUA CONFIDENTIA" quickly came to the simple realization of the importance and practicality of the new publication. More and more, readers addressed themselves directly to the editorial staff to obtain information about the companies and businesses that were not listed in the publication. The readers consistently demanded more and more information on development, and the reputation and solvency of their new commercial partners. Mr. Gompertz witnessed this increasing demand and the business opportunity it provided.

In 1891, he was on the brink of success. His first intentions was exclusively to provide a service to his most faithful subscribers and his friends. A wise collaborator had to carry out research from the requested companies home, which became the base of the establishment. The service fee for this financial detective work enthused his client, who offered it to Mr. Gompertz to compensate for his expenses. Mr. Gompertz was meanwhile advised that this new fee was inherent to the service of the client, and in time, the information would be available for free. Quickly the abundance of requests required the use of several full time researchers, and the management was therefore constrained to create a new department and to sell the information at a resale price. The reports were such a success that the client themselves proposed to pay in advance and to establish the fee at 10 information request for the price of one florin. The business of commercial information, still thriving today, was born.

The Flourishing Affair

The sharp information specialists began to realize that many clients, equally interested in the past of their new business contacts, demanded information about the same business. The employees, therefore, saved the results of their research and kept them in their archives. The employees, therefore, saved the results of their research and kept them in their archives.

The data banks still contain millions of files from around the world, without which transmission of commercial information could not be possible today. Mr. Gompertz realized that he had discovered a new market which had few links with "MUTUA CONFIDENTIA", and decided to make this new department a company. He bought the name of his accountant, Mr. Wijs Muller, and founded in 1862 WYS MULLER & Cie which Registered Office was in Amsterdam. The development of the company, which began to be well known beyond the Dutch frontier, was stunning, and soon in 1863, Branches began opening in Paris, Brussels, Cologne, etc... The enterprise's expansion accelerated even more after 1870 by the improvement and extension of new European communication methods, and offices soon opened in London, Berlin, Zurich, Milan, Vienna, Prague, Algiers, Casablanca, etc... In 1914, the enterprise was still owned by the GOMPERTZ Family, who mastered the 72-year old commercial information empire.

The Changing Times

The years of war and the subsequent economic crisis did not fail to leave its mark at WYS MULLER. Business situations and practices rapidly changed and society was constrained to adapt to new conditions. In 1928, all branches in Germany, in Austria, and in Czechoslovakia were sold, followed by Italian offices in 1938. Though the individual offices maintained the name and the reputation of the former enterprise, the services from that time onwards took different routes in each country.

The Swiss WYS MULLER

In 1910, a new branch was founded in Zurich, which is recorded in the Trade Register under the name WYS MULLER & CO. This office was directed by Mr. J. O. BENZ, who served the enterprise during a number of years, first as Director, than as General Director. In 1964, the Swiss branch became the last to separate itself from the GOMPERTZ empire after our founder's last descendant decided to retire his business. The shares of WYS MULLER Paris were taken by his staff, and WYS MULLER Switzerland sold to a private shareholder.

The New Era Begins

In time, a young and dynamic management contributed to the eventual dawning of a business with three small branches in Geneva, Basel and Zurich, one of the first enterprise of our branch. Branches were soon opened in Lausanne, Bern and Lugano, and the clients became more and more diversified. In the space of a few years, the number of employees increased from 5 to 85. The conscientious development of the business and the consistent expansion of the range of services contributed not only to the maintenance of the pilot position, but also to its growth and consolidation.

Restructuration

However, it should be noted that the former WYS MULLER Company, following financial problems due to poor management and market forces, was obliged to sell its title and its archives to the new WYS MULLER COMMERCIAL INFORMATION SA in 1992.

WYS MULLER today

This company, headquatered in Geneva, consists of production office in Zofingen, which deals with requests concerning the German region of Switzerland. The Geneva office deals with requests concerning the French and Italian regions and overseas.

WYS MULLER is today the only company which offers its Swiss and foreign clients the possibility of obtaining commercial information about companies and individuals throughout the world. This information is compiled according to clients' needs and not from a database. Our clients are billed after having received information from us. This assures our clients, without doubt, of our quality, speed and performance.

It should also be noted that the present WM deals only with information and does not have a "dispute" department. If the information given is good, there is no need for dispute/recovery settlement.

Our information resources have been modernized and our numerous contacts and high-quality international agents has been considerably enlarged. This allows our company to give the most recent information to both the national and international contacts as quickly as possible, either by fax or by e-mail.

The Future

Our belief that the future of WYS MULLER COMMERCIAL INFORMATION is assured. In a time when the economy is changing rapidly, the need for precise information is constantly increasing. The availability of accurate and up-to-date information is of prime importance to you.

Information from WYS MULLER COMMERCIAL INFORMATION are used each day by companies, as well as banks, insurance agencies, importers, exporters, lawyers, etc... in Switzerland and around the world.