Staffelter Hof Winery is Germany's oldest business, established in 862 under the Carolingian dynasty. It has continued to serve customers through dramatic changes in Europe, such as the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and both world wars. What characteristics enable a business to stand the test of time?
To help answer this question, BusinessFinancing.co.uk researched the oldest company still in business in almost every country and compiled the results into several CSV files. This dataset has been cleaned.
Having useful information in different files is a common problem. I will use joining and data manipulation to work with this data and better understand the world's oldest businesses.
The Data
businesses and new_businesses
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
business | Name of the business (varchar) |
year_founded | Year the business was founded (int) |
category_code | Code for the business category (varchar) |
country_code | ISO 3166-1 three-letter country code (char) |
countries
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
country_code | ISO 3166-1 three-letter country code (varchar) |
country | Name of the country (varchar) |
continent | Name of the continent the country exists in (varchar) |
categories
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
category_code | Code for the business category (varchar) |
category | Description of the business category (varchar) |
-- What is the oldest business on each continent?
SELECT
continent,
country,
business,
year_founded
FROM (
SELECT
countries.continent,
countries.country,
businesses.business,
businesses.year_founded,
--ranking the oldest business in each continent by the window partition function
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY countries.continent ORDER BY businesses.year_founded ASC) as row_num
FROM businesses
LEFT JOIN countries
ON businesses.country_code = countries.country_code
) as ranked_businesses
WHERE row_num = 1;
-- How many countries per continent lack data on the oldest businesses
-- Does including the `new_businesses` data change this?
--joining old and new businesses
WITH all_businesses AS (
SELECT business, country_code, year_founded
FROM businesses
UNION
SELECT business, country_code, year_founded
FROM new_businesses
)
SELECT
countries.continent,
COUNT(countries.country) AS countries_without_businesses
FROM countries
LEFT JOIN all_businesses
ON (countries.country_code = all_businesses.country_code)
--selects contries where the business is null
WHERE all_businesses.business IS NULL
GROUP BY countries.continent
ORDER BY countries_without_businesses
Analyzing countries that lack data on the oldest businesses
The data above shows the number of countries on each continent that lack business data regarding the oldest businesses, even after including new businesses from an additional dataset.
While the absolute numbers of countries lacking business data are useful, providing context in terms of the total number of countries on each continent could be insightful. For instance, Oceania has fewer countries overall compared to other continents, so 10 countries without data may represent a significant portion of the total, while Asia’s 7 missing countries might represent a smaller percentage.
The inclusion of the new_businesses dataset seems to have only a limited impact on filling in missing data across continents. This suggests that either the new businesses dataset is still incomplete or that older businesses may simply not exist or have not been well documented in certain countries.
There could be geographical or economic reasons for why certain continents, like Oceania and Africa, have more missing business data. For instance,in continents with long-standing civilizations (such as Asia and Europe), we might expect to see fewer missing data points because of stronger historical records and established economic institutions. In contrast, continents like Oceania and Africa where countries are relatively younger or have faced significant upheaval (e.g., colonization, wars) might have more missing data.
The gaps in data, especially in Oceania and Asia, highlight opportunities for further research into the history of businesses on these continents. Researchers could investigate the causes of the missing data or seek to uncover records of older businesses in underreported regions.
-- Which business categories are best suited to last over the course of centuries?
-- What is the oldest business on each continent?
SELECT
countries.continent,
categories.category,
--oldest founding year
MIN(businesses.year_founded) AS year_founded
FROM businesses
-- Join the countries table to link each business to its corresponding country and continent
INNER JOIN countries
ON businesses.country_code = countries.country_code
-- Join the categories table to link each business to its corresponding category
INNER JOIN categories
ON businesses.category_code = categories.category_code
-- get the oldest business for each combination of continent and business category
GROUP BY countries.continent, categories.category
ORDER BY countries.continent, categories.category;
Analyzing business categories best suited to last many years
The data provides insights into the oldest businesses across various categories on different continents, highlighting which industries are more resilient and have stood the test of time. Here’s a breakdown of the findings:
-
Resilient Business Categories: The categories that seem to be best suited to last many years across continents include:
- Distillers, Vintners, & Breweries: This category stands out in both Europe (since 862) and North America (since 1703), suggesting that food and drink-related businesses, especially alcohol production, have deep historical roots and long-lasting business models.
- Manufacturing & Production: Present on multiple continents, this category is one of the oldest in Europe (since 864), North America (since 1534), and South America (exact year missing but present).
- Tourism & Hotels: This category has a long history in both Europe (since 1230) and North America (since 1770)
-
Oldest Businesses by Continent:
-
Europe: Europe has some of the oldest businesses across various categories, such as:
- Distillers, Vintners, & Breweries (since 862)
- Medical (since 1422)
- Mining (since 1248) This aligns with Europe’s long history and established economies.
-
North America: Categories like Agriculture (since 1638) and Manufacturing & Production (since 1534) are among the oldest which are essential for a growing economy.
-
Oceania: Oceania shows its oldest business in the Postal Service (since 1809) and Banking & Finance (since 1861). This may reflect the continent's later colonization and development compared to Europe and North America.
-
South America: The oldest categories are Banking & Finance (since 1565) and Food & Beverages (since 1660), indicating that core financial and food-related industries have been essential in South American economies for centuries.
-
-
Industries That Appear Later: Newer categories like Media (established in 1999 in Europe and 1909 in North America) and Telecommunications (since 1912 in Europe) reflect modern advancements in communication and technology.
Comparative Analysis: Europe seems to dominate in terms of the oldest businesses across more varied sectors (such as medical, mining, and telecommunications), possibly reflecting its rich history of industrialization and economic development.
Emerging Categories: As newer industries like media and telecommunications take root, examining their potential for future longevity could provide predictions for the next century of business development.