style in progress 1/2014 – English Edition

winter 14/15

# 1.2014

The individual counts! Employees are the retail industry's most important resource, Purchasing power phenomenon. Why everybody wants to do business in Munich.

The Bread & Butter remains a trade show. Karl-Heinz MĂźller explains his new concept.

style in progress "It was no longer fun!"

Albert Eickhoff

â‚Ź 6.90

His Favourites WWW.MARC-O-POLO.COM

JeFF BRIDGeS

FOLLOW yOuR nAtuRe

FOLLOWPEPE

visit us at Bread & Butter Berlin | L.O.C.K. H 7.29.3 | 14 –16 January 2014 www.meindl-fashions.de

008 editorial

Kö and the World

Welcome to these lines.

Albert Eickhoff is certainly not withdrawing from the fashion industry quietly, as is proven by our interview with the fashion icon in this issue. The "King of the Kö" is taking his leave and the entire industry is saluting his accomplishments. His thoughts - both on current issues and on the past - are definitely worth a read (The Longview, from page 076). We would like to take this opportunity to wish the mayor of Capri a fulfilled retirement.

Two topics that are touched in the aforementioned interview are at the core of this style in progress issue: personnel (from page 084) and locations (from page 174). Both aspects of the fashion industry have never been more competitive, important, and substantial. After all, indi­ viduals and locations are the most significant cornerstones of the upscale fashion retail industry.

Where are the brands in this list, you ask? Here they are!

Deyk ("Trousers are a Knowhow Product", page 126), Grace ("Perfect Entrance", page 127), Marc O'Polo ("The Name Says It All", from page 128), Gardeur ("Fairness First", from page 130), and Dual-ism ("Coolness with Additional Value", from page 124) are but a few featured brands. In addition, this issue also offers a broad range of new up-and-coming labels that we can highly recommend - as always in our recommendation section from page 054 onwards.

And beautifully staged - in three fashion editorials (from page 150) realised by Mody al Khufash and his team in Paris and Berlin. The hottest fashion stock of next winter is undoubtedly the parka. Whether luxuriously reduced or opulent with fur, the parka already was the darling of the retail industry before this season. Why is that so? Nicoletta Schaper looked into the matter together with significant figures of the local retail scene ("Parka Mania!” from page 138).

We know exactly where you can find the best parkas, down jackets, and coats of the 2014 winter season. You will find them in the shops, stores, and boutiques of our valued readership - and at the outstanding new examples that complement these with immediate effect. We found a lot of the aforementioned new stores that deserve to be rated as "recommendable" in the Bavarian capital Munich, which is why we dedicated an entire focus piece to the city ("The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", from page 174). However, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Vienna, New York, Zurich, and even Eppan have been graced with new retail outlets that are worth a visit, mainly because they embody what we will always believe in.

The fashion retail industry has a future - and it's an exciting one!

Enjoy your read!

Your style in progress team

Cover Photo: Peter Schaffrath

114 style in progress

010 CONTENT

The Longview 076 "We Have Always Done What the Customer Wants" style in progress talks to off-duty fashion entrepreneur Albert Eickhoff

What's the story People Business 084 Only Bad Salespeople Are Expensive!

Stephan Huber on smart people and stupid clichés 086 What? – You're a Shop Assistant???

Myths and truths about a demanding job

076

096 Best Practice Real people – real careers 102 A Rare Commodity Where the sales personnel of tomorrow is trained 108 He Who Seeks, Shall Find Head hunters compete for retail's most valuable resource – individuals 114 Suit 2.0 Voluntary instead of obligatory 124 Coolness with Additional Value Functionality meets urban design – a Dual-ism portrait 126 "Trousers are a Know-how Product" Deyk – a success story that was never in doubt 127 Perfect Entrance Grace – the small miracle from Swabia 128 The Name Says It All Marc O'Polo Pure targets premium customers

086

130 Fairness First Gardeur's commitment in North Africa is paying off 132 Quo Vadis Denim?

Jeans are in search of a new role in society 136 Collateral Stephan Huber on penal duties and arbitrariness

The Talk 138 Trade Discourse: Parka-Mania Highflyer or at its peak? Here's what retailers think…

142 The Freshmaker Alberto Raengo is bringing Hulobar back on track 144 The Importance of Storytelling!

Søren Sand believes in the German market 146 "Bread & Butter Will Remain a Trade Show!"

Karl-Heinz Müller revolutionises the fashion trade show once again 114

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148 "An Earlier Date Alone Makes No Sense" Kirstin Deutelmoser explains the new GDS

Precision Apparel

Halle ISPO B1 V Stand ision 210

www.mountainforce.com

012 CONTENT

Fashion 150 Suit up 158 The Knit 166 Camoblue

in store

150

174 Munich – The Purchasing Power Capital of the South There's a buzz on the shores of the Isar 179 Hirmer, Munich 180 Off&Co, Munich 182 Daniels, Munich 184 Apropos, Munich und Hamburg 186 Shopping Destination with a Surprise Factor N°2, Zurich 188 The Perfect Stage Podium, Stuttgart 190 The Moment is Right. The Moment is Good.

Lux Plus, Zurich 192 A Next Generation Store Lieblings, Frankfurt 194 "This Is as Honest as It Gets" BSTN, Munich 195 Unexpected Biodiversity!

Nubuc, Zurich 196 Fashion for Friends Personell of New York, New York

158

198 Very British Springer's Sporting Club, Vienna 200 Listener and Narrator The Listener, Frankfurt 202 A Collector's Paradise Rare Pair, New York 204 True to Its Roots Glücklich, Eppan 205 Number Four 10 Corso Como, Shanghai 206 Savile Row Meets Hamburg Rooks & Rocks, Hamburg

166

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STANDARDS 008 EDITORIAL 018 RIGHT NOW 054 WANT IT! 208 EDITOR'S LETTER/about us

handstich.de

Der berg ruft!

luistrenker.com

Messetermine: 14. - 16.01.2014 PREMIUM Berlin Halle 3 Stand H3-E 15

26. - 29.01.2014 Ispo MĂźnchen Halle B1, Stand 214

28.02. - 02.03.2014 Tracht&Country Salzburg Halle 3, Stand 718

b.m.h werbeagentur | hamburg

PREMIUM BERLIN 14.-16. JANUAR 2014 STAND H7-D48 GAVE OG INTERIØR OSLO 23.-26. JANUAR 2014 STAND B05-21 CIFF KOPENHAGEN 30.01-02. FEBRUAR 2014 STAND C3-009 AARHUS FASHION WEEK CENTRALVÆRKSTEDET 17.-20. FEBRUAR 2014 DÜSSELDORF 01. -03. FEBRUAR 2014 UNITED FASHION RATHER STR. 49E, 2.OG 40476 DÜSSELDORF MUNICHFASHION WOMEN MÜNCHEN 15. -18. FEBRUAR 2014 AGENTUR MARTIN STECKEL C/O ROLF GRIESINGER INTERNATIONALE MODE GMBH AM KOSTTOR 1 80331 MÜNCHEN

www.bloom-fash ion.com

FALL WINTER 2014

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Uniforms, work wear, and durable materials - Spiewak celebrates its 110th birthday in 2014.

Spiewak

Re-launching a Classic

The American brand Spiewak will be re-launched in 2014.

The new creative team headed by Maurizio Donadi (formerly head of Levi’s XX) is based in New York. Spiewak, one of the oldest American brands, was founded in 1904 by Polish immigrant Isaac Spiewak. The company soon had two business divisions. On the one hand, Spiewak produced uniforms for the military, the police force, firemen, and employees of the US postal service. On the other hand, it started a consumer collection under the label Golden Fleece in 1919. For the planned re-launch, the collection has been divided into a main line and a high-end Golden Fleece line. The main line for men and women consists of approximately 40 items, whereby the image is shaped by modernised outerwear such as parkas inspired by uniforms, Sherpa coats, and US Navy deck jackets.

The retail prices range from 200 to 600 Euros. The 9-piece Golden Fleece collection, which is based on more traditional shapes, is an especially exciting highlight. Iconic items like the N3-B snorkel parka and the MA-1 flight jacket made of elaborate materials return to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the company. The retail prices span from 450 Euros for the bomber jackets to 850 Euros for the down jackets. The brand will be presented to the public for the first time at the Pitti Uomo trade show in Florence and the Bread & Butter trade fair, where the special 14oz jubilee parka will also make its first appearance. The high-end Golden Fleece line targets exclusive stores such as Nitty Gritty Stockholm, VMC Zurich, and Present London, while Ron Herman LA presents limited editions of the fashion line. The launch will take place in the US, Canada, Germany, the UK, Scandinavia, Italy, and Russia.

The distribution in Germany and Austria will be handled by Agentur Aschauer, while Switzerland will be covered by Warehouse. www.spiewak.com

Luis Trenker in Davos – the label’s new mono-store.

Luis Trenker

Gruezi, Enzo!

A steady path of professionalization requires new partners; the same applies to Luis Trenker, a fashion label that hails from Bolzano. In summer this year, Luis Trenker happily announced an agreement with MS GmbH, the fashion agency of Matthias Schwarte, which will act as distributor for northern Germany. “We see a lot of potential for Luis Trenker in northern Germany and will do our best to support the label in its efforts to strengthen its presence in that particular region”, Matthias Schwarte says.

There’s also news regarding the Swiss market. Since December 2013, the brand is under the patronage of the fashion agency owned by local businessman Enzo Cagol. Cagol believes that the South Tyrolean label is an exciting addition to his existing brand portfolio. He and his experienced team will use their extensive know-how to support the constant expansion of the retail network by adding new specialised retailers that have the skills to communicate the brand message appropriately.

Luis Trenker sees Switzerland as an important target market and opened a small – yet beautiful – mono-store in Davos in November. The aforementioned shop is the label’s second in Switzerland alongside its store in Zug. www.luistrenker.com

“We see a lot of potential for Luis Trenker in northern Germany."

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Twin-Set

Store Offensive

The Twin-Set brand, founded in Italy in 1990, stands for a feminine style with lace applications. In July 2012, US-based Carlyle Group - one of the largest private equity houses worldwide - acquired a majority stake in the company. The new owners are now eager to increase the number of own stores together with creative director Simona Barbieri and chief executive Tiziano Sgarbi, the TwinSet founders who also still own an interest in the brand. Two grand openings in Verona and Padua in the summer of 2013 were followed by a Twin-Set Simona Barbieri store in Milan in September.

Furthermore, the company elaborately renovated its flagship store in Milan. The brand also opened three new stores in Rome, as well as a mono-brand shop for the more youthful line Twin-Set Simona Barbieri Girls in Bologna. The first two international flagship stores were established in Antwerp and Brussels in October 2013. Large LED walls, chandeliers shaped like upside down rose bouquets, and stucco adorned walls create an appropriate backdrop for the Twin-Set fashion style. With more than 300 employees, Twin-Set Simona Barbieri Srl - headquartered in Carpi - is among the companies with the highest growth rates in the premium women’s outerwear segment.

The company currently runs 26 mono-brand boutiques; more will follow shortly. www.twin-set.it

Very feminine fashion by Twin-Set.

Peuterey

Well-known figures with new duties: Fred Gehring will act as both chairman of Tommy Hilfiger and vice chairman of PVH Corp. from mid2014 onwards, while Daniel Grieder will succeed him as CEO of Tommy Hilfiger Group.

Successful Cooperation

Clean lines, light materials, and sophisticated cuts - the Italian label Peuterey has been renowned for its skilful combination of quality, style, and functionality since its foundation in 2002, and is therefore a perfect fit for the product portfolio of the traditional premium retailer Lodenfrey in Munich. This cooperation has now produced a truly exclusive highlight: the limited edition jacket from the popular Rumor Fur line. This marine blue wool jacket with Murmansky fur and down lining was designed specifically for the Munich-based trade partner and is exclusively available at Lodenfrey. Alongside the aforementioned highlight, further models were recently presented to a selected audience at a fashion get-together. The motto of the evening: exclusivity, constant innovation, and versatility - values that are at the core of both the brand and the premium retailer, and that are expressed in this successful cooperation. www.peuterey.it

Peuterey Limited Edition at Lodenfrey - a successful cooperation between a brand and a premium retailer

Tommy Hilfiger

New Setup

PVH has presented its new plan for the continued success of the Tommy Hilfiger Group. This plan includes two changes of personnel. Fred Gehring will be introduced to his new role as Tommy Hilfiger chairman and PVH vice chairman over the next few years. His successor is a well-known figure: Daniel Grieder. Both individuals have been working together closely since 2003, which is why Grieder’s promotion to global CEO of the Tommy Hilfiger Group can be described as a natural progression. Gehring was involved in the European launch of the brand in 1997 and was appointed as global CEO seven years later. After the Tommy Hilfiger Group was taken over by PVH Corp., he was also handed the CEO post of the new owner. Grieder has also been with the company since 1997, first as the managing director for Switzerland and Austria, then as CEO of Tommy Hilfiger Europe. His agendas will now include all duties as global CEO too. The main aims of these personnel changes are the continuous development and steady growth of the brand. www.tommy.com, www.pvh.com

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Diesel

Bogliolo Appointed as New CEO

As of 1 October 2013, Alessandro Bogliolo has taken up his duties as the new CEO of the Italian jeans brand Diesel. After various previous positions at Bain and Co. in Paris, as well as at Piaggio in Spain and China, Bogliolo acted as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the luxury jeweller Bulgari in Singapore and Italy for no less than 16 years. In 2012 he transferred to the US jewellery manufacturer Sephora in San Francisco - also in the role as COO. The Italian native can draw from extensive international management experience and is looking forward to shaping the future of Diesel. Renzo Rosso describes the appointment of Bogliolo as the perfect next step after naming Nicola Formichetti as Artistic Director and the launch of new marketing initiatives. www.diesel.com

A man who feels at home in the world of luxury: Alessandro Bogliolo, the new CEO of the Italian denim brand Diesel.

The Barb’one chino collection will be expanded in summer 2014 - Barboncino is the name of the new children’s trousers collection by Lucky de Luca.

Lucky de Luca

A World to Our Liking

Valentino de Luca has had a vision right from the start. He’s always been eager to consistently expand the lifestyle factor of his shirt and blouse collections into further product groups in order to offer retail partners an exciting package. This package has the carefree and vibrant lifestyle of Lucky de Luca as the common denominator, but consists of individual brands. “I think it’s boring when one brand covers all product groups. That is also an exceptionally boring proposition for the retail partners. It is much more exciting to introduce individual brands with individual background stories for every product group, yet still have a common lifestyle factor”, he explains. Alongside the Lucky de Luca collection, which will be expanded by a few flowing dresses in the style of the 1950s and 1960s in summer 2014, Valentino de Luca already owns brands such as Barb’one with its charismatic Italian chino range and the children’s collection Born Lucky. The world of Valentino de Luca will be a little more complete next summer. After the great success of Born Lucky in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, there are plans to add a few children’s items to the Barb’one range under the name Barboncino. Furthermore, he will present the new brand American Latino with T-shirts, sweatshirts, and polo shirts at the Premium trade show in July 2014. The casually designed collection offers various washings, but the central element is the lifestyle of Cuban emigrants and the flair of their homeland, which is expressed in the form of prints with the typical lettering of cigar bars, the charismatic graffiti of Havana, floral prints, and the silhouettes of old American road cruisers. The collection, which will hit the stores in January 2015, will - just like all the other fashion lines - be represented by Moderaumfischer in Munich. www.luckydeluca.com

Paul Smith is the new brand ambassador for the Australian wool conglomerate and its Woolmark brand.

Paul Smith/Woolmark

Paul Smith Loves Australian Wool

When two large brands meet, it can lead to some really sensible co-operations.

Since autumn last year, Paul Smith is the official brand ambassador of the Australian wool conglomerate The Woolmark Company, which was founded in 1964 as the official label of Australian Wool Innovation, a non-profit organisation that connects more than 29,000 Australian wool farmers. After collaborating with some renowned partners in the fashion industry, The Woolmark Company chose to team up with the likeable Brit due to his product philosophy that is focused on the use of natural fibres. Paul Smith already exclusively used merino wool with the Woolmark seal for his spring/summer 2014 menswear collection. In his capacity as brand ambassador his aims are to promote the positive properties of Australian merino wool and to communicate the quality seal to a broader audience. For instance, every piece made of the Cool Wool yarns, that are very popular for summer items, bears the Woolmark label. Furthermore, the Paul Smith collections will be accompanied by a joint advertising campaign for two seasons. www.woolmark.com

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Bread & Butter tradeshow 14. – 16.01.2014 | Berlin-tempelhof urBan Base, a1 ordertage düsseldorf 31. 01. – 03.02.2014 | strellson showroom speditionstrasse 7a | medienhafen

strellson-sportswear.com

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Blonde No.8

I’m Out with the Dog

Michael Boveleth, the founder of Blonde No. 8, is introducing five jackets with a special function as a further development of his label’s parkas. “We are reacting to the wishes of our customers”, Boveleth explains. “We are the only fashion house that offers thermo-jackets.” The lining of the parkas is made of an especially sophisticated fleece manufactured by the Italy-based company Thermore; they also have a breathable membrane coating that is usually used for sportswear. Furthermore, the new parkas are water-proof due to sealed seams and have reflective stripes for walks with the dog in the night, as well as LED light strips in the cuffs and a LED torch in the inside pocket. Additionally, customers can request a power bank that can charge mobile phones. The prices of the jackets in retail range from 399 Euros to 549 Euros. The jacket range is part of Blonde No. 8’s full collection with 850 points of sale, which include Eder in Kitzbühel, Lodenfrey, Konen, Classico, Breuninger, and Bailly Diehl. www.blondeno8.com

High-tech parka

by Blonde No. 8 - breathable and water-proof.

One of the two new faces at Marc O’Polo International: Torsten Widarzik, the new Chief Executive of Campus.

Marc O’Polo

A Breath of Fresh Air

Marc O’Polo International GmbH has announced two top level personnel changes.

Marc Biggemann has been appointed as new Head of Design of Marc O’Polo Menswear and is henceforth responsible for the expansion and development of the product range. Biggemann previously worked in the same capacity for the menswear departments of Joop, s.Oliver, and Cinque. Campus, which became an independent company within the Marc O’Polo Group in 2012, also announced a change at management level. Torsten Widarzik replaces Marianne Glaser as Chief Executive. His duties include the further development of the brand and general expansion. He enjoys the support of Alexander Gehle, the Head of Sales and management board member. Widarzik was previously the General Manager of Levi Strauss Germany GmbH. www.marc-o-polo.com, www.campus72.com

Both online and offline an exquisite environment for exquisite products.

Kleidermanufaktur Habsburg

A Feudal Online Store

How do you transfer a luxurious shopping experience into the online world? The new Kleidermanufaktur Habsburg online store creates an appropriate environment for the feudal fashion range of the Salzburg-based label. The innovative Internet presence, which went online in August 2013, offers all the services one would expect of a skilled butler - the highest level of service without being obtrusive. The customer can navigate through the clearly structured product range with short distances, a few clicks, scroll-over functions, and an intuitive guidance. Logistics and handling are supplied by Lodenfrey, a cooperation partner based in Munich. The store currently only takes orders from Germany and from within the EU - the delivery charge for Germany and Austria is 5.90 Euros, for other EU countries it stands at 25 Euros. Free returns are possible within 14 days. http://shop.habsburg.co.at

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milano - via santo spirito, 22

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FTC

A Film About "The White Gold"

How are the precious products of Swiss cashmere label FTC produced? The company itself answers this question in a film titled “FTC Cashmere - The White Gold”. The welfare of cashmere goats, fair co-operation with the Mongolian farmers, and sustainable resource management have always been central to the approach of company founders Andreas and Jutta Knezovic. Highest quality levels are guaranteed by permanent product testing, a strict raw material selection process, and own production plants. This film is now clear evidence that the term “Fair Trade Cashmere” delivers on its promise. It was produced for various purposes, which include information for customers and retailers, as well as a way to make the fair trade concept more credible and tangible. However, it is also a PR tool that can communicate important topics such as sustainability, environmental awareness, ethics, and fair trade to a broader audience, thereby sensitising as many people as possible. www.cashmereworld.com

"Our thin cashmere beanies prove that hats can be in season all year round."

Christian Obojes, Warm-me foundeR

Warm-Me loves Mountain Force.

Warm-Me x Mountain Force

A Hatful of Love

Mountain Force stands for high performance skiwear with the highest quality demands from head to toe. Head, you ask? Yes, indeed. From the winter season 2014 onwards, the brand co-operates with the hat label Warm-Me. The two will share a showroom at the Ispo trade show in Munich and both teams will promote the co-branding "WarmMe loves Mountain Force". The co-operation includes - among other measures - product training sessions hosted

by Warm-Me employee Theresa Steinbacher and mutual assistance in finding retail partners. "Mountain Force is the first skiing brand to extend its high quality demands to the hats segment. The company didn't want a cheap acrylic hat from China, but a high-end product that matches the demands of Roman Stepek's product line", Theresa Steinbacher explains.

Warm-Me is continuing its own internationalisation process. Customers such as Isetan in Tokyo, H. Lorenzo in Los Angeles, Penelope in Brescia, and Blake in Chicago are a testament to the brand's success - and not only in winter. "Our thin cashmere beanies prove that hats can be in season all year round", Christian Obojes, the brand's founder, adds. www.welovewarm-me.com

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FTC’s sustainable product philosophy has now been translated into a film.

Vito Santoro

On His Own Behalf

Until the summer collection for 2013, Vito Santoro was responsible for the menswear department of Closed. Now he has turned his attention to two new projects, which he will present in the L.O.C.K. area of the Bread & Butter trade show. His new fashion collection is called Parts and consists of roughly eight essential black denim styles for men. The fashion line includes trousers, parkas, blazers, and shirts. “I am picking up where I left off at Closed”, Vito Santoro says. “My strength is my understanding of brands gained from the two Identità Italiana stores, which I run together with my partner Isabel Brodt, and my distribution experience of eight years, as well as my time in the product development department of Drykorn and Closed.” The items are produced in Italy and can, due to a lack of cost intensive structures, generate sales prices ranging from 129 Euros to 179 Euros at a 2.8 calculation ratio. The portfolio is complemented by the cool men’s fashion line A.S.A.P., which consists of jeans and 25 different pieces of knitwear. Vito Santoro realised the latter in co-operation with producer Paolo Ragazzini. “We want to make life as easy as possible for our retail clients and aim to hit the nail on the head with a condensed selection of products”, Santoro explains. The sales prices for knitwear range from 149 Euros to 189 Euros with a calculation ratio of 2.8. www.parts-denim.com, www.asap-knit.com

Vito Santoro - a creative force.

1 8 4 2

I n 1 8 4 2, t h e c l o t h i e r J o h a n n G e o r g F r e y opened his manufactory in Munich. Thirteen years later, he had spun the first water repellent loden. His mill became the official purveyor to Bavaria’s royalty.

This loden fabric, which artificer Johann Georg Frey delivered to the world’s nobility, was the cornerstone of one of the most well known fashion labels.

via sant’andrea 14/16 36061 bassano del grappa (vi) italia fon ++39 (0424) 88 73 11 mail@lodenfrey-1842.com www.lodenfrey-1842.com deutschland/ matthias schwarte modeagentur heinrich-kley-str. 6 80807 münchen fon (089) 35 80 576 office@agentur-schwarte.de www.agentur-schwarte.de

fall/winter 2014 berlin premium high end fashion 14.01.- 16.01.

2014 hall 3 stand E13

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Scabal

Strengthening the Management

The well established Scabal brand has strengthened and reformed its management team to enable it to systematically pursue long-term aims and unearth new business opportunities. Peter Thissen - in his capacity as Honorary Chairman - is now responsible for all creative aspects. In September 2013, Italian manager Stefano Rivera replaced CEO Gregor Thissen, who henceforth focuses on strategic issues and the brand image as Executive Chairman. Rivera brings his passion for high-end fabrics and clothing items to the table. However, his extensive management experience in the fields of marketing, production, and distribution is even more significant. He can look back and draw inspiration from his own business and numerous leading roles in both small and large international companies. Customers and business partners will most certainly benefit from the combination of his experience and the competence of the team already in place. www.scabal.com Looking to the future together - CEO Stefano Rivera and Executive Chairman Gregor Thissen.

Sportalm Kitzbühel

Kick-off in the Anniversary Year

Sportalm Kitzbühel had many reasons to celebrate in the year that marked its 60th anniversary. However, the highly likeable family-owned company headed by Ulrike Ehrlich and Roland Reinmüller also took the opportunity to take a few steps to secure the future of the business.

Alongside the re-launch of the men's fashion collection that was presented for the autumn/winter season of 2013/14, these measures also included the addition of a fashion collection for children.

For Ulrike Ehrlich, who is a mother of five herself, this is a logical development for the brand as a whole. Just like in the women's collection, the main focus is on the fusion of high fashion and functional sportswear with the characteristic Kitzbühel lifestyle that Sportalm has always embodied. Almost simultaneously with the launch of the new men's and children's collections, the company also underwent a change of personnel: Stefanie Gruber was appointed as the new head of distribution for all product lines in all countries apart from Austria. After gaining years of experience at brands like Strenesse, René Lazard, Cerruti, Escada, and - most recently - Basler, the distribution specialist wants to advance the internationalisation of the Sportalm brand while also promoting new shop-in-shop concepts and franchise partnerships. www.sportalm.at

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The new publication "StreetArt in Germany" presents a collection of the best artwork from Germany.

Streetart in Germany

The Concrete Jungle is Alive

For the autumn/winter season of 2013/14, Sportalm Kitzbühel presented the re-launch of its men's collection and a new children's collection.

They spray, paste, knit, build, and tile. We encounter their artwork, which often raises a smile due its ironic or cynic nature, throughout major cities.

Street artists are masters at taking advantage of every canvas urban space has to offer. Freelance artist Timo Schaal has immortalised the best pieces from German cities in an extensive pictorial. He certainly had a huge pool to draw from. Schaal himself founded the online network "StreetArt in Germany" in 2011. The site has developed into one of the largest of its kind with 900,000 fans worldwide. The community sends in approximately 400 new photos every day. A hand-picked selection was published

by Riva Verlag in autumn at a retail price of 14.99 Euros. www.m-vg.de

blondeno8.com

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Simple elegance and finest materials characterise the new womenswear collection by Lodenfrey. It will be presented for the first time during the Premium trade show in Berlin.

Lodenfrey

Tradition and Modernity

Gloriette/Q1

Stefan Reiter and Marco Huter will run Q1 together from now on.

Wedding Celebration

It must feel like leading your daughter to the altar. Stefan Reiter, the founder and owner of the shirt brand Q1, sold his exquisite premium brand to Gloriette in October 2013. This decision may have raised a few eyebrows, especially as Stefan Reiter is a son of the Hatico house in the Bavarian town Tirschenreuth. However, it is quite common for daughters to have their own ideas and forced marriages are luckily a thing of the past. Gloriette, which is part of Rudigier Group, was richly rewarded for its courtship. Stefan Reiter brings his many years of market knowledge and expertise to the company based in Stegersbach in Burgenland. The bride will nevertheless have a home of her own.

Stefan Reiter and his team will continue to work independently in the "Rena Lange" building in Munich. A full merger of both brands has been ruled out categorically by all involved parties; the aim is to learn from each other. Naturally, the spouses have agreed on separate taxation. After all, what use would a marriage be without economic synergy effects? www.q1-shop.com, www.gloriette.at

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The owner families Nagel and Frey announced in December that they henceforth intend to market the brand Lodenfrey under a joint holding company in order to exploit the strong profile and the according potential of the name and brand more effectively.

Loden-Frey Verkaufshaus GmbH & Co. KG received the brand management and licensing rights for the sportswear and coat collections for women and men, which will - under the leadership of general manager Markus Hรถhn - be presented together with the modern fashionable women's outdoor collection titled Lodenfrey 1842 for the first time in the autumn/winter season of 2014. With this, the brand's fashion range also mirrors the current zeitgeist of the parent company in Munich, which boasts a fashionably progressive and high quality ambiance after its recent renovation. An outerwear collection for men is scheduled to follow in the spring/ summer season of 2015. Munich-based agency Agentur Schwarte has been chosen as the distributor for the womenswear line and will present this collection to retailers for the first time during the Premium trade show in January. The retail prices will range from 400 to 700 Euros. In the Italian brand Mabrun, which is known for its high quality standards and technical expertise, Markus Hรถhn found the perfect co-operation partner for his company's fashion range, which is clearly focused on the highest quality standards regarding wool and loden fabrics. The approximately 30 items of the collection will be delivered in June and July 2014. "Our new brand is targeted at customers who are in line with the image and standard of the Lodenfrey flagship store in Munich. There are very few well-known names with such positive connotations. This obviously also benefits the products", Matthias Schwarte explains. www.lodenfrey.com

WWW.LUCKYDELUCA.COM MESSE BERLIN PREMIUM HALLE 3 STAND F14 14.01.-16.01.2014 DISTRIBUTION D/A MODERAUMFISCHER I MÜNCHEN/DEUTSCHLAND I 80805 MÜNCHEN OSTERWALDSTRASSE 10 I +49 179 5231505 I LARS@MODERAUMFISCHER.DE WWW.MODERAUMFISCHER.DE

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Alberto

Back in Berlin

The trousers brand Alberto, headquartered in Mönchengladbach, will return to Berlin for the Panorama trade show in January. Marco Lanowy, the co-owner and chief executive of Alberto, sees this as a deliberate statement in favour of Germany as a business location, especially as Alberto was only on display in the trade fair's showrooms last year. "The fact that we are a German family business with more than 90 years of experience is not only a seal of quality, but also a guarantee for a modern jeans culture", Lanowy says. "Our headquarters, our purchasing department, our sample sewing studio, our logistics facilities, and our creative teams are all based in Mönchengladbach. Our commitment to Germany characterises our core competence."

Alberto has a presence in 56 countries and an export ratio of 56%. The most important markets - alongside the German-speaking region - are the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, North America, and Russia. www.alberto-pants.com

Handstich - transforming from a product into a brand.

Handstich Alberto - men's trousers as core competence.

The Finer Details

A small selection of welted shoes marked the beginning of Handstich's success story. The production method of those shoes (hand stitched) is also the basis for the brand's name. One year later - for the autumn/winter collection of 2012 - Handstich added men's and women's jackets with special details and the same focus on craftsmanship to its repertoire. Now the company behind Handstich is taking yet another step by presenting its product range for women in a considerably more independent manner than before. In particular, the silhouettes of the women's collection have been fine-tuned; in terms of colours and materials they now stand out more in comparison to the masculine style of the men's jackets. Similarly, the collection as a whole has been upgraded with sweats and indoor jackets in, for instance, knitted and cut & sew styles. The typical details such as sleeve patches, leather applications, and special collar styles are just as present as in the outdoor jackets. Every season, the brand offers roughly ten shoe models for men and women, as well as up to 18 styles including nylon jackets combined with Steiner loden and wool jackets with leather elements.

The company behind the design and production of Handstich is United Fashion Service André Berger GmbH, while the distribution and marketing agendas are handled by Tradeworkers GmbH. Both companies are headquartered in Schloss Seefels on the shores of the Bavarian lake Pilsensee. Handstich currently has 160 points of sale including - among others - Different Sylt, Eckerle Munich, Schnitzler Münster, Helmut Eder Kitzbühel, Louis Copeland Dublin, and Pierre Thonon Liège. Alongside the German-speaking markets, Handstich is also available in the Benelux countries, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, and Ireland. The brand now wants to turn its attention to international growth in co-operation with suitable retail partners; it also wants to promote overseas exports. www.handstich.de

WP Store

Crossing Borders

WP Lavori in Corso, headquartered in the Italian city Bologna, is well-known in the fashion business as a company responsible for the import, distribution, and design of many national and international heritage brands. Only recently, its diverse portfolio was enhanced by the first international store in Seoul. This step is the result of a successful co-operation between WP Lavori and the Japanese distribution company for Woolrich and Baracuta.

A highly impressive three-storey glass building with 110 square metres of retail space on each floor offers sufficient room for Woolrich and Baracuta, as well as other WP Lavori brands such as B.D. Baggies and Avoncelli.

Furthermore, the new store also stocks external brands and private labels such as WP Denim. A café and a deli are located on the ground floor, where they introduce the Italian culinary philosophy to the locals. WP Seoul will be followed by further store openings in Tokyo and New York over the next few months. www.wplavori.com

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The first international WP Lavori store in Seoul is only the beginning.

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P&C

Welcome to Skyline Plaza

In August, P&C opened its fourth branch in Frankfurt in the newly built Skyline Plaza shopping centre, which is located in the "Europaviertel" district near the exhibition centre. The Düsseldorf-based group is an anchor tenant with an area of 4,300 square metres spread out over three floors. The ground floor houses brands such as Marc O'Polo and Tommy Hilfiger, while the first floor is reserved for premium and casual fashion for women by the likes of Marc Cain, Hugo, Pepe Jeans, and G-Star. The second floor focuses on menswear by brands such as Boss Black, Hugo, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Diesel. The shopping centre itself, which was planned by Hamburg-based ECE Projektmanagement, has 38,000 square metres of retail space on two levels.

It houses 170 stores including - among others - Esprit, Zara, H&M, Brax, Olymp, Benetton, Desigual, Colin's, Camp David, and Mango Kids. In addition, the shopping centre also offers gastronomic facilities, a public roof garden, and - from February onwards - a Meridien Spa fitness and wellness centre. www.peek-cloppenburg.de, www.skylineplaza.de Up and beyond - P&C is an anchor tenant of the Skyline Plaza shopping centre in Frankfurt.

Sölden and St. Anton - Napapijri opened store in Austria's ski Meccas at the start of the winter season.

Napapijri

Store Offensive

The sportswear brand Napapijri, which is an independent company under the roof of the ACO fashion agency, is in expansion mode. At the start of the winter season, Napapijri opened stores in Sölden and St. Anton and will follow up this move with new shops in Innsbruck and Vienna this spring. Reinhard Haas is convinced that the mono-brand stores strengthen the overall image of the brand: "We open shops where we can improve our image with good partners in good locations."

Haas knows from experience that the increased visibility also promotes sales in multi-brand retailers. In Eastern Europe - ACO handles the business from the Baltic states to Bulgaria - there are few alternatives to growth via own stores. Reinhard Haas: "Those countries often don't have a sophisticated retail structure with high-end multi-brand shops, which is why own stores are the way to go." No less than 25 of those were opened in 2013 in countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. And there are more to come… www.napapijri.com

Old and new - the bags offered by the online store MyStylecatch are not all brand-new.

MyStylecatch

The Most Stylish Catch

"The Latest", "Last Season", and "Vintage" are the three product categories of the online shopping platform MyStylecatch.com, which exclusively sells accessories with a twist. Insiders' tips such as Angel Jackson, Kim & Zozi, and Tanah Rhea, last year's collections by Givenchy, Prada, and Belstaff, or cult objects by grand names such as Chanel, Chloe, and Fendi - founder Joshi Gerstmair quite deliberately avoids the mainstream, but scours the fashion world for extraordinary items with a high style yield on a daily basis. His business philosophy is to supply a presentation platform for small businesses with high quality demands and excellent craftsmanship. www.mystylecatch.com

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Replay

Promoted to the Primera División

As FC Barcelona's sponsor for formal clothing and shoes, the contract Replay signed late last year gives the company direct access to football stars such as Lionel Messi, Xavier Hernández, and Andrés Iniesta for the next four years. Replay supplies the team with official outfits and mostly relies on made-to-measure items, which is an interesting content-related development for the collection. During official events, the players and staff of FC Barcelona will wear two complete looks in indigo blue, which will show a whole new angle of denim with fashionable slim fits and innovative materials. The first outfit consists of a suit made of blue-grey comfort denim, while the second is a tailor-made new wool suit with a dark blue herringbone pattern. Additionally, Replay supplies two coat models, classic Oxford style shoes, and a smart casual collection designed exclusively for FC Barca. The latter consists of jackets, jeans, and shoes. Finally, Replay has come up with an autumn/winter 2013/14 capsule collection for all FC Barca fans, which includes the Replay Denim Zero jeans and a matching denim shirt. www.replay.it/fcbarcelona

In its capacity as official formal clothing supplier for FC Barcelona, Replay presents a newly interpreted made-to-measure range.

From now on, the collars and linings of Marlino parkas will only be embellished by fur that is a byproduct of the food industry.

dfrost

Success at the German Design Award 2014 After the Red Dot Award and the iF Award, the “Swarovski X-Mas 2011” visual communication concept, designed by the Stuttgart-based agency dfrost, has now also earned a special mention for exceptional design quality at the prestigious German Design Award in the category “Architecture and Interior Design”. For the Christmas season 2011, the agency for visual marketing and retail design developed an iconic pattern in the shape of an ice crystal for the Austrian jewellery group Swarovski, which then characterised the international points of sale. Display window campaign, façade illumination, and in-store communication – dfrost once again proved its knack for innovative solutions and tailor-made concepts that have – in the past – also persuaded top brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Victorinox, and Porsche Design. www.dfrost.com

Marlino

A Question of Ethics

Yet another award won by the “Swarovski X-Mas 2011” visual communication concept by dfrost.

Fur and hide are as essential to fashion as fabric and yarn. However, these materials are highly controversial and have been polarising customers for decades. From 2014 onwards, the brand Marlino intends to put an end to the dissonance by committing itself to only using hides that are a by-product of the food industry - so mainly rabbit fur and lambskin. A statement issued by Dirk Nienaber, the managing director of Marlino, says that this step was - first and foremost - taken to make a clear statement against the terrible conditions that animals have to suffer at the hands of the fur industry, which has become almost impossible to regulate due to - among other factors - the rapidly growing luxury goods market in China. This corporate ethics statement is a huge advantage for the customers, who can now rest assured that the lambskins used for the hoods of Marlino's parkas, as well as the rabbit fur used for the lining, are from Europe and are completely free of chromium, formaldehyde, and azoic dyes. www.marlino.de

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agen cies One of the agency's best performers: the label J Brand.

Komet und Helden

A Store for Men

The credo of Komet und Helden for this season is to gain more depth, more sharpness, and to concentrate on the point. "We remain on track", says Michael Prues, the agency's sales manager.

The last winter was good to the Munich-based agency. "The sales at Woolrich were absolutely fantastic. We were sold out in the top-seller category in no time", Prues adds. "Blauer USA was very successful too; the retailers came through strongly." The latter collection has been back in the hands of the two designers Paul Harvey and Alessandro Pungetti - formerly at Stone Island and C.P. Company respectively - for two seasons now. The result is that the look is more earthy and US-like.

In addition, it is quite rewarding to take a glance "We remain on track." Michael at the smaller labels within the portfolio: Gilded Prues, sales Age, Pence, and the scarf collection by This Way manager komet To Heaven, which was added to the Komet und und helden Helden universe in October. The driving forces behind This Way To Heaven are Trevor Myles and Christopher Coleman, two Londoners from the old punk scene with a great network of artists, with whom they have realised some very expressive designs.

The public is also eagerly awaiting the re-opening of the menswear multibrand store owned by the agency owners Florian Ranft and Henrik Soller in Munich's "Residenzstrasse". The event is scheduled for March. The plan is to obtain 50% of the store's stock from within the agency, including brands such as AG, Jean Shop, Gilded Age, C.P. Company, and Hartford and Bowery. Additionally, the product range will be complemented by - among others - labels such as Churchs, Trickers, Red Wing, Mauro Grifoni, Harris Wharf, Barena, Giorgio Brato, and Vans.

Labels: Alain, AG Adriano Goldschmied, Baracuta, B.D. Baggies, B.P.D, Blauer USA, Bowery, C.P. Company, Diemme Footwear, JeanShop, Gilded Age, Gino-B, Hartford, Kindlein, Pence, Superdry Premium, The Artistylist, This Way To Heaven, Woolrich Agentur Komet und Helden GmbH, Munich/Germany, www.kometundhelden.de

Unifa

A New Roof

For the new season Unifa has moved into the former showroom of the furniture manufacturer Vitra, which is located on the ground floor of the "Plange MĂźhle". Once the renovation is complete in January 2014, it will showcase its labels and brands in new surroundings. Furthermore, the joint venture agreement with the parent company of the US brand True Religion was extended by another four years. This particular brand will remain in the "Backsteinhaus". There are a number of new additions to the Unifa portfolio. The T-shirt label Capture is one of these new additions alongside Viper Room, the apparel line of the eponymous legendary night club on Sunset Strip in Hollywood. The printed T-shirts are produced in the US and are delivered to music enthusiasts in LP packaging. The collection designed by New York-based David Lerner is also new. His sophisticated basics such as leggings, dresses, and shirts quickly claimed their space in the wardrobes of US celebrities.

Labels: 75 Faubourg, A. Hutching, Amor & Psyche, Capture, David Lerner, Dr. Denim, Ella Moss, Equipment Femme, Genetic, I love my Moment, J Brand, Juicy Couture, Les Benjamins, Les Eclaires, LNA, Mother, Plant with 2 Moons, Prey of London, Splendid, True Religion, Viper Room, Wildfox, Wildfox Jewelry Unifa Fashion GmbH, DĂźsseldorf/Germany, office@unifa-fashion.com, www.unifa-fashion.com

Nordic design - Mette Mickleit designs the trendy bracelets with the characteristic button as fastener.

The new season can come - the showroom of Komet und Helden.

CCT Collectionen Christian Teufl

Adorned by a New Label!

It is no secret in the fashion industry that small fine fashion and accessories labels from Scandinavian countries are gaining momentum significantly. Good for those who act quickly and secure distribution agreements. This is exactly what the agency of Christian Teufl did with the Danish accessories label by Mickleit based in Odense. The individuals behind the colourful armbands are Jesper and Mette Mickleit (both 50 years of age), who are in the process of starting anew (Jesper is a former flight attendant) with items produced by a socially sustainable plant located in the North of China. Christian Teufl moved his agency into new premises in Munich in June last year and also finished the new showroom in Salzburg. He has added by Mickleit to his portfolio for the German and Austrian markets. The collection consists of bracelets for men, women, and children. The purchase prices range from 9.50 Euros to 21.50 Euros with a 3.0 calculation ratio.

Labels Austria: 0039 Italy, 120% Lino, Alessandra Chamonix, by Mickleit, FTC, Furla, Grace, Hunter, iBlues, K-Way, Lauren Moshi, Lua Accessoires, Michael Lauren, Soisire Soiebleu, Schella Kann, St. Emile, Twin-Set by Simona Barbieri Labels Germany: by Mickleit, Furla, Schella Kann Collectionen Christian Teufl, Salzburg/Austria, Munich/Germany, teufl@teufl.cc, www.teufl.cc

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PREMIUM BERLIN HALLE 3 – STAND E04 www.deyk. com

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Agentur Kappler/Agentur Baessler

Focus on Integrity

Casual knitwear from Italy: Alpha by Massimo Rebecchi.

"We have integrity. That term expresses our attitude to the point", says Marcus Baessler, the owner of the eponymous agency in DĂźsseldorf. "We strive for a healthy balance of innovation and predictability to ensure that we can offer our partners both new products and security." Three design-oriented labels have been newly added to the portfolio of Baessler and its partner agency Kappler in Munich. These new labels are Italy-based Isabel Benenato with high-end Napa products and knitwear in a complete look, The Textile Rebels with street-style knitwear and sweats, and the elegant rock & roll style collection RtA Denim from Los Angeles. Then there are the existing collections, with which both agencies have been successful for quite some time. "Predictability applies to - among others - Hetrego, Original Vintage Style, Giorgio Brato, and its secondary line named WLG by Giorgio Brato", Marcus Baessler explains. "They are predictable regarding quality and logistics; the products are excellent and coherent."

Constanze Kappler and Marcus Baessler continue to work on improving its co-operation agreements with customers and suppliers with product training sessions and shop window designs. For instance, they initiated the shop window designs at George Gina & Lucy in Breuninger Stuttgart.

Labels: Ecoalf, George Gina & Lucy, Giorgio Brato, Gwynedds, Hetrego, Isabel Benenato, Liebig, Original Vintage Style, RtA Denim, Sawa, Swiss Chriss, The Textile Rebels, Tkees, Tyoulip Sisters, WLG by Giorgio Brato Agentur Baessler, DĂźsseldorf/Germany, www.agentur-baessler.de Agentur Kappler, Munich/Germany, www.agentur-kappler.de

D-tails Coppolecchia Reinartz Additions from Italy and Great Britain The agency of Patrick Coppolecchia-Reinartz specialises in Italian brands. His team will once again bring some exciting fashion collections to Germany for the autumn/winter season of 2014/15. A new arrival is a Tuscan collection titled "Alpha by Massimo Rebecchi". Retailers will be happy to hear that the minimum purchasing quantity is not particularly high and that customers can fall back on a warehouse service. Another new addition to the portfolio is the Naples-based menswear specialist Luigi Borrelli. The aforementioned offers finest shirts and jackets made in Italy, which are manufactured with a lot of attention to detail and utilising flawless craftsmanship. Daks, on the other hand, is the embodiment of chic. The women's fashion line will be re-launched in Germany in time for the upcoming season. The featherweight down jackets and vests by Duvetica from Italy will also be available in many colours for children. After all, even the youngest fashion enthusiasts want to keep warm during the winter.

Labels: 2 Me Style, Alpha by Massimo Rebecchi, Anna F., Daks, Duvetica, Happiness-Brand, Luigi Borrelli, Massimo Alba, Mosaique, Pollini, Route des Garden, Siviglia White, Spektre Sunglasses, Stokton, Veeschoo Agentur D-tails, Munich/Germany, info@d-tails.de, www.d-tails.de

The shop window of George Gina & Lucy in Breuninger Stuttgart, initiated by the agencies Kappler and Baessler.

agen cies Casual luxury for modern women - Dante6 from Holland.

Rolf Griesinger Internationale Mode

Relocation

The Munich-based agency of Rolf Griesinger found a new home in October 2013. Before the new season it moved into a new showroom located at the address "Kosttor 1", where the team has been running the store named Meindl Authentic Luxury since September 2012. The showroom and the office are now located above the store, which leads to significant synergy effects. However, the product range of the agency has not changed much for the new season. "We have focused on the tried and tested", says Martin Steckel, the agency's general manager. This includes in particular the Rotterdam-based Dante6 label of Evelyne Brekelmans, which the agency started distributing in spring 2013. The collection will be on display for the first time at the Premium trade fair in Berlin, where the agency will also present labels such as IQ+ Berlin, Bloom, and Flowers For Friends.

Labels (Southern Germany): Bloom, Dante6, FFC, Flowers For Friends, IQ+ Berlin Agentur Griesinger, Munich/Germany, office@griesinger-mode.de, www.griesinger-mode.de

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Continue the journey at Napapijri.com

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room with a view

Germany!

The decision wasn't easy. "When everything falls into place perfectly, one simply has to grasp the opportunity", Christian Obojes says. This is why his fashion agency - room with a view - decided to open a branch in Düsseldorf at the beginning of the new season. It will start off with two seasoned employees - Sophie Frohmader and Sabine Lischka - and at least five brands. The brands include Canada Goose, for which the agency will cover North Germany, and Zoe Karssen, as well as Essentiel Antwerp, Vita Fede Schmuck, and the New York-based denim label R13.

The feedback from customers who know the agency from its activities in Austria and Switzerland is very positive. Christian Obojes is not afraid that colleagues and friends in other German agencies might see him as a competitor from now on. "I think there's enough room for all of us", he says.

In Switzerland, room with a view is very successful with the brand Essentiel Antwerp, a Belgian womenswear collection that supplies top retailers with fashionable updates in the mid-price segment. The Austrian team, guided by showroom manager Martin Klösch, remains focused on its tried and tested course.

Before this magazine's editorial deadline, Moon Boot and R13 were the only new brands that this unit had added to its portfolio for the autumn/winter season of 2014/15. The owner of Moon Boot, namely the Italian Tecnica Group, also decided to hand the distribution in Germany to fashion-savvy agencies. Christian Obojes believes the classic brand has great potential: "This shoe is a real style icon and was almost exclusively available at specialised shoe and sports goods retailers until now." Nobody doubts that this will soon change, right?

Labels Austria: 7 For All Mankind, Aglini, Canada Goose, George Gina & Lucy, Giorgio Brato, HTC, Moon Boot, New Balance ,Peuterey, Pomandere, R13, Roque Ilaria Nistri, Swiss Chris, TKees, Textile Rebels, Tyoulip Sisters, Warm-ME, WLG by Giorgio Brato, Zoe Karssen Labels Switzerland: 7 For All Mankind, Aglini, Blonde No8, Frogbox, Giorgio Brato, HTC, Essentiel Antwerp, Pence, R13, Swiss Chris, Textile Rebels, Warm-ME, WLG, Zoe Karssen Labels Germany: Canada Goose (zip codes 10000 to 59999), Essentiel Antwerp, Vita Fede, R13, Zoe Karssen room with a view, Salzburg/Austria, office@roomwithaview.at, www.roomwithaview.at

These boots enjoy cult status - Moon Boot is new at room with a view Austria.

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The Tiger of Sweden brand is one of the three most important pillars of the Select Trading agency.

Select Trading

New Division: Franchise and Retail

Bernard Waage, the chief executive of Munich-based agency Select Trading, divides his company's product range - which can also be viewed in a new showroom in Düsseldorf since July 2013 - into three departments: women's outerwear, menswear, and shoes.

The aim of this structure is to offer his customers and brands a category-focused approach. "Only recently, we added a new division - Franchise and Retail - to our existing departments", Bernard Waage explains. In its capacity as franchisee for Tiger of Sweden - one of the agency's most important pillars alongside John Varvatos and By Malene Birger - Select Trading is currently on the lookout for locations in Munich and Berlin, which will then house the first two stores to be opened in 2014. At the same time, the agency is also on the hunt for potential franchisees for the brand By Malene Birger. "We can offer our brands a certain expertise in this field and are willing to help because we believe the co-existence of wholesale and retail is a future-oriented solution." In January, Select Trading will present By Malene Birger at the Premium trade show in Berlin and will showcase the Tiger of Sweden collection at the Bread & Butter trade fair. The brand John Varvatos will continue to be sold via the showroom in Milan.

Labels: By Malene Birger, John Varvatos, Preventi, Serafini, Tiger Jeans, Tiger of Sweden Select Trading, Munich/Germany, T 0049.89.125969550, info@select-trading.com, www.select-trading.com

CP Fashion

New Denims from LA

For the autumn/winter season of 2014, the CP Fashion team has added the premium denim collection of Italian designer Jimmy Taverniti to its portfolio under the name D-ID. D-ID, which stands for Denim Identity, was launched in Los Angeles and is already listed at the "who-is-who" of America's most renowned jeans retailers. "D-ID is inspired by the timeless freedom of the American West and the poetry of legendary Hollywood movies. We are sure that the collection will also be a success in Germany", Richard Oberstein, the chief executive of the agency, says.

The compact jeans line with skinny and boyfriend silhouettes made of Italian and Japanese fabrics is complemented by a range of traditional denim and D-ID stands for luxury denim inspired by life in Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. biker jackets, as well as shirts. The retail prices of the collection with roughly 70 items range from 189 Euros to 249 Euros at a calculation ratio between 2.8 and 3.0.

D-ID will be showcased for the first time at the Premium trade show in Berlin. Furthermore, the CP Fashion team is looking forward to celebrating the fifth anniversary of its co-operation with Silver Jeans Co. Labels: 1921, Des Artistes, D-ID, Jaggy, Joe's Jeans, Michael Stars, Pajar, Robin's Jeans, Silver Jeans Co. CP Fashion, Bad Säckingen/Düsseldorf/Munich/Germany, www.cpfashion.de

MABRUN.IT

Pitti Uomo | Florence Premium | Berlin Premium | Munich

07/10 January 2014 14/16 January 2014 15/18 February 2014

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In a different league - celebrities from the worlds of fashion, sport, and music are playing their part in the team assembled by Hero's shirts. You've got to be in it to win it!

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Stand by Fashion Agency

Young and Wild

In May 2013, Celine Klauser and Elvis Giglione founded their fashion agency Stand by in Munich. Their portfolio is growing, as you'd expect from a healthy company. Based on the belief that it is beneficial to have many different influences, the two fashion experts want to keep their brand portfolio as diverse as possible. The new additions to said portfolio are cool and Stand by hopes to impress the public with its new products at the Show & Order trade fair in Berlin and the Supreme trade show in Düsseldorf, as well as - of course - in its own showroom in Munich. One of the most exciting new brands is the slightly crazy T-shirt label Hero's Heroine. The individuals behind the brand are from Beirut and were initially a group of artists and musicians known as "different league", indicating that they operate in a league of their own. Their ingenious idea was to print the names of celebrities and numbers on the back of T-shirts, thereby suggesting they are all part of one large global sports team. The purchase price is 10.50 Euros (3.0 calculation ratio). Celine Klauser and Elvis Giglione are equally happy to welcome other new arrivals such as Gold Spider, which supplies blouses straight from Italy (retail prices from 159 Euros onwards), and are eagerly anticipating the new - slightly cheaper - product line by Barbed, the brand famous for its charismatic vintage parkas.

Labels: Ananda, Annie P., Barbed, Behind the Scene, Gold Spider, Good Works, Hero's Heroines, Made in Heaven, Miss Goodlife, Mono and Me, My T-Shirt, Officiana 36, Orciani, Saint Noir, San Francisco 976, Sartoria Tramarossa, Very Simple Stand by Fashion, Munich/Germany, info@standby-fashion.com, www.standby-fashion.com

Agentur Hoferer has added The Will Leathergoods, a bag specialist from the US, to its portfolio.

Agentur Hoferer Do good and speak about it. agentur.wagner, an established agency known as a reliable partner within the fashion industry, is turning its attention to modern means of communication.

Agentur Wagner

Charging into the Modern Age

Reinhold Wagner, the founder and chief executive of the fashion agency Agentur Wagne, has been the distributor of the Cinque brand for more than 25 years. It is an almost unprecedented long term partnership. Twelve years ago, the down-to-earth agency started adding new labels such as Swiss shirt specialist Artigiano to its portfolio. Maintaining good customer relations and growth were the priorities for many years - so far, so good. However, it was almost overlooked that Agentur Wagne has no Internet presence. "As of now, we want to communicate more", the agency announces and reveals that it started working on a website with creative Internet experts a few weeks ago. After all, the agency doesn't want to miss its chance to enter the modern era. We'll continue to monitor future developments.

Labels: Amorph Berlin, Artigiano, Cinque, MMX Germany, Phil Petter, Q1, Toupy Paris Agentur Wagner, Düsseldorf/Germany, r.wagner@agenturrw.de

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Specialists

Agency owner Marion Hoferer, whose Munichbased business also has a showroom in Düsseldorf, has no major expansion steps planned for the upcoming season. Her motto is to keep her agency small and distinguished, which means she does not want to scale up the business significantly. "I concentrate my efforts on true specialists that are focused on the right trends for next season. That is - and will remain - my speciality. I gladly leave the large complete collections for the other agencies. However, all suppliers have expanded their respective ranges for the upcoming winter, which is why I decided to take a larger showroom", Marion Hoferer elaborates.

The agency team is thrilled to have added Candice, a brand new blouse label launched by the fashion house Aglini, to the portfolio. Other new arrivals are The Will Leathergoods from the US, as well as a line extension involving scarves and other fabrics within the B.Belt collection.

Labels: Another Bag, B.Belt, Candice, Marlino, Montgomery, SassiCara, The Will, Zoe Karssen Agentur Hoferer, Munich/Germany, info@b-kleidung.com, www.modeist.com

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042 RIGHT NOW Colourful cashmere knitwear by Aprés is new at Moderaumfischer.

Free Mountain

A Different Perspective

"I can't do anything, but I know who can!" is the rather - at first glance - unusual motto of Andreas Schmied and his team for the new season. "We want to show that we don't attach too much importance to ourselves. Yes, we are observers, brand filterers, and trend checkers. However, the product is what counts at the end of the day." The main selection criterion is therefore a high sales ratio. "As a trade agency we perceive ourselves as a knowledge broker in the fashion world." The talent of the agency is to find manufacturers that create highly relevant brands with designs that create the most value and are therefore tailor-made for a fashionable clientele with sufficient purchasing power. The proof for the proposition that this talent yields success are the brands in the agency's portfolio, which include - among others - Deyk, Mason's, Inverni, and Handstich. The Austrian customers of Free Mountain can enjoy top sellers that usually sell out within the regular season. A new addition to the brand portfolio is Ilse Jacobsen.

Labels: Add, Bloom, Barradago, Deyk, Georg Maier, Gwynedds, Handstich, Icke Berlin, Ilse Jacobsen, Inverni, Ivi Collection, Luisa Brini, Mason's, Nurage, Sophie Free Mountain, Salzburg/Austria, office@freemountain.at, www.freemountain.at

Moderaumfischer

Slope-side

Free Mountain's Andreas Schmied.

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Fashion Factory by Mark Grütters/Panorama Europe

What a Portfolio!

The Düsseldorf-based agency collective consisting of Fashion Factory by Mark Grütters and Panorama Europe GmbH has crowned its search for new bestseller brands with success yet again. The French trend-label American College and the Swedish rainwear specialist Grundéns join the existing brand portfolio with immediate effect. American College only recently teamed up with Schott NYC for the extremely successful relaunch of the New Bomber Jacket MA-I. The cult jacket The MA-I bomber jacket developed into a mustis available in 18 colours and managed to develop into a have item for young top seller as early as the autumn season of 2013. In the fashion enthusiasts almost new season the look will be complemented by printed instantly. leather sneakers, high quality sweaters, and a few new jacket styles. The Swedish rainwear brand Grundéns was founded in 1911 to supply work clothes for fishermen and will present its first heritage collection “Grundéns Originals” in work-wear style this year. The agency collective will introduce both brands to the public at the Premium trade show in Berlin and in the L.O.C.K. Area of the Bread & Butter Berlin trade fair.

Labels: American College, Bailey of Hollywood, Espadrij l’Originale, Grundéns, La Botte Gardiane, Menil, Orcival, Rivieras, Schott NYC Fashion Factory by Mark Grütters, Düsseldorf/Germany, contact@ffbymg.com, www.ffbymg.com Panorama Europe GmbH, Düsseldorf/Germany, mail@panorama-europe.eu, www.panorama-europe.eu

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Finest cashmere and a touch of retro style – the knitwear by Aprés is Lars Fischer’s new brand for the autumn/winter season of 2014. The entire collection is produced by Philip Bennecke, who is also the driving force behind the successful cashmere jacket line My Herzallerliebst. High-end customers such as Frauenschuh and Reyer already had the collection in stock for the winter season of 2013/14, but now the distribution efforts are being intensified. “I am happy that I am allowed to represent the collection for the entire German market”, says Lars Fischer. The portfolio linchpins – Fratelli Rossetti, Lucky de Luca, and Barb’one – have numerous smaller innovations in their respective product ranges for the new season.

For instance, Lucky de Luca can offer new cuts for women and imaginative liberty prints for both sexes.

Lars Fischer continues to pursue his selective distribution policy, which favours owner-managed stores, for all his brands. “We supply delicacies; we are not a delicacy supermarket”, Lars Fischer explains.

Labels: Aprés, Barb’one, Fratelli Rossetti, Lucky de Luca Moderaumfischer, Munich/Germany, lars@moderaumfischer.de, www.moderaumfischer.de

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Agentur Schwarte

Less Can Equal More

“We like to focus on what’s most important, which is why we want to achieve further growth with our existing labels”, says Matthias Schwarte, the owner of the eponymous fashion agency.

“Furthermore, we only represent labels that we can identify with to ensure we also have an opportunity to establish new collections on the market.” The latter includes the new Lodenfrey for Women fashion line, which is produced under the licence of the company Mabrun and transforms the DNA of Lodenfrey into a cool modern collection including parkas and biker jackets made of loden material. Another new label is Daniele Fiesoli, which Schwarte represents in southern Germany. The main focus of the collection is handcrafted knitwear for both men and women, which is exclusively produced in Italy. The driving force behind this collection is Woolgroup Srl, which was founded by Daniele Fiesoli in the 1990s. One of the agency’s core collections is Parajumpers. “This brand has very innovative collections. Massimo Rossetti, the creative director, only recently created a new generation of masterpieces by Parajumpers”, Matthias Schwarte explains. Furthermore, the brand is in the process of expanding its knitwear segment and has committed itself to only using certified furs from Norway.

Labels: Armani Jeans, Daniele Fiesoli, Felted, Fil Noir, Just Blue, Lodenfrey, Luis Trenker, Parajumpers, Praio, Sundek, Vintage 55 Matthias Schwarte, Munich/Germany, office@agentur-schwarte.de, www.agentur-schwarte.de Daniele Fiesoli stands for cool knitwear made in Italy.

agen cies

The new Deluxe Distribution website offers extensive background information on its portfolio brands.

Deluxe Distribution

360 Degree Service Aco Deutschland

Room for New Additions

"We want to offer our clients a clearly structured brand portfolio and - at the same time - remain open for new additions", says Michael Schulz, a leading figure at Düsseldorf-based agency Aco. Among the portfolio brands are women's wear by Ki6 - How are you, as well as Ego, a casual women’s wear line by Manila Grace. The latter is already highly successful in its home country Italy.

The main focus of Aco is on brands such as the primary lines of Roberto Cavalli, Parosh, Frankie Morello, and Iceberg. The new creative director for the women’s wear by Iceberg from the spring/summer collection 2014 onwards is designer Alexis Martial, who previously gained experience at Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, and Paco Rabanne.

Other notable brands in Aco's portfolio are Contemporary Fashion by Just Cavalli, Versace Collection, Day Birger et Mikkelsen, and Pinko, as well as knitwear by Anne Claire, fur by Yves Salomon, and jackets by Geospirit.

Labels: Anne Claire, Day Birger et Mikkelsen, Dsquared Underwear, Ego, Frankie Morello, Geospirit, Iceberg, Just Cavalli, Ki6 - How are you, Manila Grace, Moschino Underwear, Parosh Mailand, Pinko, Pirelli P Zero, Roberto Cavalli Mailand, Rossoforte, Versace Collection, Who*s Who, Yves Salomon Aco Deutschland, Düsseldorf/Germany, info@acomode.de, www.acomode.de

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Innovative and feminine - the collection by Ki6 - How are you at Agentur Aco Deutschland.

Just in time for the next round of orders, the Berlin-based agency Deluxe Distribution has expanded its service portfolio. Customers can view all news and press clippings concerning portfolio brands via the agency's new HTML 5 website. Furthermore, Deluxe Distribution has also enhanced its returns management and customer service capabilities, as well as its financial department. Alongside the in-house marketing and PR units, the agency also optimised its warehousing and logistics processes.

"In order to be a strong and modern partner for the retail industry, we have positioned ourselves as a fully integrated service supplier, a 360 degree agency so to speak, which covers the entire country management for our brands", Ilya Morgan, the chief executive of Deluxe Distribution, explains. There will be no new additions to the brand portfolio this season, despite talks that were held in Stockholm, Paris, and Milan.

"We are open to high-end specialists positioned in the premium segment of the jacket and denim sectors", Morgan says while reaffirming that he is looking forward to future innovations from the aforementioned sectors of the fashion industry.

Labels: Eucalyptus, Friday on my Mind, Minimum, Minus, Moods of Norway, Schutz, Skunkfunk, United Nude, Junk de Luxe Deluxe Distribution, Berlin/Germany, www. deluxe-distribution.de

luigiborrelli.com

Milano MĂźnchen DĂźsseldorf ZĂźrich

via Morimondo 26 d-tails d-tails d-tails

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fairs GDS

An Anniversary

for the Current Issue A summer attraction for consumers - the Bread & Butter trade fair wants to open its doors to the general public.

Bread & Butter

Berlin Open

As of July 2014, the Bread & Butter trade fair wants to open itself to consumers and extend the event. The plan is to introduce two consumer days that follow one press day and two regular trade days, which will be, as before, reserved exclusively for industry and trade representatives. "The industry will have to communicate more with the consumers", Karl-Heinz MĂźller explains. "This is a development we have been observing for quite a while. The brands will have an opportunity to present their new products to their customers directly." There are no plans to put collections up for sale, but brand events or special campaigns may accompany the aforementioned consumer days. The Bread & Butter trade fair already expanded its communication concept by introducing an independent online magazine in November. The magazine offers product news and insider stories from within the industry. The trade fair organisers are also eyeing a new venue. There are plans to stage a Bread & Butter trade fair in Seoul, South Korea, in autumn 2014.

Bestseller Group will no longer be among the exhibitors in January. In the summer, the Danish company had occupied the complete Hangar 1 with approximately 6,000 square metres. The group has now decided to return to a previous venue, namely the Treptow Arena hall. This naturally leads to changes within the exhibition halls. Hangar 1 and Hangar 2 (formerly known as Upper Street) will no longer be used, but, in exchange, many street-exhibitors have decided to move into Urban Base. The structure of the other halls - with Urban Base, Urban Superior, and Urban Fashion - remains unchanged. New and returning exhibitors include - among others - Bench, PME Legend, Molly Bracken, and Puffa. Brands such as G-Star and Adidas will not be represented.

The L.O.C.K. and Fire Department sections will - once again - showcase the products of authentic labels. Among the new exhibitors in these areas are Blundstone, Closed, Brixtol, Hestra, Museum, Shinola, and Spiewak. There are also plans for a separate section for Japanese brands. 14th to 16th of January 2014, www.breadandbutter.com, www.bbb-mag.com

For the upcoming GDS trade fair in March, much will remain the same before the conceptual changes take effect from July 2014 onwards. In spring, the GDS will still be divided into eleven worlds. A variety of topics regarding shoes and trends are anchored in the supporting programme; these include seminars hosted by international guest speakers such as Nicoline van Enter (Design Academy Slem) that inform the audience about key trends in the footwear segment. Exhibition hall two hosts the Upper Style Show and GDS Trend Show fashion shows.

There is also an anniversary: the young design platform Design Attack can celebrate its tenth birthday. Under the guidance of Eddi Mackowiak, a creative forum for trend labels, junior designers, fashion, art, and music has been growing in the last 20 issues for the trade fair. The main topic in March is "Alpen Rockers Stadl", which is a mixture of idyllic rural elements and meaty rock sounds. 12th to 14th of March 2014, www.gds-online.de

The GDS will retain its traditional appearance in spring, but the new concept will take effect from July onwards.

What about Shoes

A New Shoe Trade Fair in Berlin

Berlin has added another trade show to its calendar. However, What About Shoes will not take place during the Berlin Fashion Week, but from the 21st to 23rd of February 2014 in the premises of the "Postbahnhof" at the local "Ostbahnhof". "What About Shoes will be the first trade fair to present a thought out, selected, and unique range of the most interesting, most important, and pioneering brands in the shoe sector. A concentrated and clearly structured presentation is paramount", Ben Hering and Miro Neumann, the organisers of the event, explain. "We want to offer a trade fair that specifically meets the demands of purchasers in the retail industry and that allows its visitors to grasp the significant industry trends at a glance."

More than 150 brands and distribution agencies are said to have expressed an interest; the first confirmations started arriving in November and came from brands such as Fred de la Bretonier, Fretons, Shabbis Amsterdam, Rokin, Ludvig Berlin, Shoestar, Greenboots, Nobrand, ShuShu, Floris van Bommel, and Fitware. Coinciding with the trade fair, the Berlin Shoe Days will take place for the first time, where exhibitors and newcomer labels can communicate with its customers during workshops, a blogger convention, and art exhibitions. Some of the latter will be organised in close co-operation with the Virtual shoeMuseum. 21st to 23rd of February 2014, www.whataboutshoes.com

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Premium

Matchmaking System

The Premium trade show is eager to improve its service portfolio and has developed a matchmaking system that aims to bring together purchasers and brands. During the registration process, the system uses relevant data to suggest suitable brands to the purchasers. A newly developed visual guidance system and a new exhibition hall design ensure easier orientation, as does the "VIB" (Very Important Buyers) starter pack for first-time visitors, which includes a "Premium Tour" in English, German, Japanese, Russian, and French. The latter explains the trade show's concept and introduces it via a tour of the premises.

For the current event in January, the Dissonance Area for international avant-garde collections has been moved and can now be found in the front building of the trade show alongside the showroom concept Essence of Premium. The vacated area in exhibition hall 7 is now a forum for curated premium brands supplying sophisticated womenswear. In addition, exhibition hall 4 now also houses shoes and bags.

14th to 16th of January 2014, www.premiumexhibitions.com

High quality and selective - the Show & Order trade show in Kraftwerk Berlin Mitte.

Show & Order

Reinforcement

Ingo Noack is the new marketing and business development manager of the Show & Order trade show in Berlin, which means a reinforcement of the management team assembled around initiator Verena Malta. In recent years, Ingo Noack was - in his capacity as product marketing manager - responsible for artists such as Wir sind Helden, Mando Diao, and Robbie Williams.

This is why the Show & Order trade fair will also be enriched by live music performances and live paintings by local and international artists. "New creative and fresh ideas move the strategic focus of the trade show in other possible directions and can be a breath of fresh air", Verena Malta says. The conceptual direction of Show & Order will also be expanded by the surface expansion, Verena Malta points out. "Particular attention is paid to accessories, which will - for the first time - be positioned on the middle level of the 'Kraftwerk'."

14th to 16th of January 2014, www.showandorder.com

The Premium trade show wants to offer its visitors orientation and service.

fairs

Panorama

Hotel Lobby

The Panorama trade show in Berlin is a marketplace for brands.

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The Panorama trade show strives to maintain its status as a "marketplace for leading brands" for yet another season and has now created a new area in the style of a lobby one would expect at a five-star hotel. On 3,500 square metres, this new space will showcase specialised fashion collections for women and men, as well as shoes, jewellery, and accessories.

Furthermore, individual suites create a showroom-like working atmosphere, while the Panorama Bar offers the exhibitors in the L'Hotel section an allround service in co-operation with Steigenberger Hotel Berlin. Yet another innovation is The Mall in the style of an exclusive shopping mall. This new area focuses on brand retail concepts ranging from flagship stores to shopin-shop outlets for exhibitors such as Marc Cain, Liu Jo, Stefanel, Oui, and Laurèl. The trade show also retains its usual structure by utilising exhibition halls A, B, and C, whereby "A" stands for the fashion universe of young urban women, "B" stands for Best Contemporary, and "C" stands for Casual Creativity. 14th to 16th of January 2014, www.panorama-berlin.com

The Denim that

KEEPS YOU WARM Thermolite® is a registered trademark of INVISTA

Wrangler Denim Performance launches true winter jeans for FW14.

By weaving denim with Thermolite®, Wrangler has created real jeans and jackets that provide warmth without weight.

Check out our event:

DÜSSELDORF - 30.01.14 For more information - wrangler_sales_germany@vfc.com

Wrangler-euroPe.Com

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Munichfashion Company

New Family Brand

ISPO Munich 2014 is where the sports industry shows its strength.

ISPO

It’s All About Health

At the end of November, munichfashion.company GmbH - known since 2007 as the organisers of numerous fashion trade fairs such as munichfashion.WoMeN in Munich and Supreme in Düsseldorf - announced that it will undergo a realignment process.

The eleven annual information and ordering platforms – nine in Munich’s MTC World of Fashion and two in Düsseldorf’s B1 - will be organised under the new family brand The Supreme Group with immediate effect.

At the same time, the trade fairs have been renamed as follows: Supreme Women & Men Düsseldorf (formerly Supreme), Supreme Women & Men Munich (previously munichfashion.WoMeN), Supreme Kids and Supreme Body & Beach. Additionally, Supreme Kids Celebration and Supreme Tracht & Country have been added to the portfolio. Munichfashion Company GmbH, headquartered in Munich, will remain unaffected by the new family brand. “Establishing the trade fairs under a family brand is a logical step to ensure that all our successful trade fairs have a common, consistent appearance”, says Aline Schade, the sales director who will remain responsible for all future events. The previous website www.munichfashioncompany.de is already showcasing the new image and creating excitement for the two kick-off dates: Supreme Women & Men in Düsseldorf from the 1st to 4th of February and in Munich from the 15th to 18th of February 2014. www.munichfashioncompany.de

“Health & Fitness” is a topic that is becoming more and more important in times of burnouts and game consoles. This is why the trade show ISPO Munich 2014 has made exactly that topic its main theme.

For the first time, there will be an entire exhibition hall dedicated to health, which means this particular section of the trade fair can be newly structured and clearly segmented. Strength and gym training, running, functional training, indoor cycling, nutrition, and prevention – countless disciplines are on display and can even be tried out at numerous action points and during various courses. To ensure that the trade show also generates awareness alongside attention, the full-day supporting programme includes specialist lectures and expert panels. The core themes of these events are “Sports Shoe and Game Consoles” and “Health at Work”. The visitors will also be given opportunities to exchange experiences and make new contacts during “meet & greet” sessions with athletes and industry-related get-togethers. ISPO Munich 2014 – health, sport, and lifestyle under one roof.

26th to 29th of January 2014, www.ispo.com fairs

The new web presence of The Supreme Group highlights the individual events with uniform colour codes and displays all important information at a glance.

Retail Future Home is a co-operation between Mode­ fabriek and Studio

by Judith ter Haar.

Gallery's Int. Press and Buyers Preview is a smallscale fashion event exclusively for international press representatives and purchasers.

Modefabriek

A Glimpse of the Future

Gallery’s Int. Press and Buyers Preview

Kicking-off Copenhagen Fashion Week The Gallery's Int. Press and Buyers Preview, which is scheduled for the 28th of January 2014 in Hotel d'Angleterre, is the perfect start to the Copenhagen Fashion Week and offers an excellent opportunity to take a close look at selected items by fifty Scandinavian designers. Alongside established names such as Wood Wood, Hope, Carin Wester, and Ann-Sofie Back, the event will also showcase Our Legacy, Common Affairs, and Rasmus Wingaard as this year's newcomers. Additionally, trans-regional designers such as Kitsuné Tee, Max.Tan, Damir Doma Silent, and WLG by Giorgio Brato are also present. No wonder that the Gallery's Preview has earned the status of the most significant order platform for Scandinavian fashion worldwide and that it is considered to be one of the most sought-after shows alongside Pitti in Florence and Las Vegas USA. This is most certainly proven by visits of renowned stores such as Barneys, Luisa Via Roma, Harrods, and Galleries Lafayette. 28th of January to 2nd of February 2014, www.gallery.dk, www.cfw.dk

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This year’s winter edition of the Modefabriek trade show in the Amsterdam RAI is scheduled for the 26th and 27th of January 2014. Two projects are set to make their first appearance: Retail Future Home and Food Market. Retail Future Home is an interactive installation – an experimental environment so to speak – that allows the visitors to test and experience new developments and visions for diverse segments of the retail industry. The project will be implemented with the assistance of Judith ter Haar and her agency “Studio by Judith ter Haar”, which was founded in 2013. Food Market – the second new project – latches on to a current trend: the rising passion for and attention to food. Innovation, quality, creativity – all the attributes that solely applied to fashion and lifestyle up until now, are becoming increasingly important in conjunction with eating and culinary pleasures too.

Inspired by markets such as Eataly in Barcelona, the Food Market at Modefabriek is set to transform the trade show into a culinary hotspot.

26th to 27th of January 2014, www.modefabriek.nl

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want it E.vil

E.vil

Personal Development

Vingetorix

Vingetorix

Of Course It's Waterproof!

Is it possible to produce waterproof jackets without solely relying on laminates? This particular challenge was accepted by producers of fire hoses and water containers in the 1930s. The fabric was adapted for the overalls of British paratroopers during World War II, but failed to meet the high requirements of modern times. The tradition-steeped Zurich-based textile company Stotz Textilien has been supplying armies around the globe with a similar fabric since the 1960s. In 1990 - upon request by the United Kingdom - it developed EtaProofÂŽ, a functional fabric made of the densest biological cotton worldwide. Today Stotz, which still produces in Zurich itself, is the only supplier of this natural textile. The company launched its first range of jackets for women and men made of the unbelievably soft fabric under the brand name Vingetorix in 2011. The jackets won product design awards almost instantly. The range includes a Basic

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E.vil, a sister label of Queen of e.vil, aims to be more than just a brand. It sees itself as a revolutionary fashion movement. The shirts and oversize pullovers created by New York-based designer Aimee Zarabi want to achieve the extraordinary. The goal is to express and communicate a large variety of personalities. Classic or rock & roll, colourful or dramatic, humorous or intelligent - E.vil boasts its own unmistakeable look that has already convinced stars such as Madonna and Giselle BĂźndchen.

No wonder the label has become so popular in the US. Eye-catching skull prints, extravagant letterings, and elaborate rhinestone applications are very effective buying incentives. Depending on the item, the cost prices average at 71 Euros with a calculation factor of 2.6. The label launches four collections per year, which are showcased at the Premium trade fair in Berlin to enable the brand to conquer Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in the future.

E.vil, New York/USA, T 001.212.7777066, order@queenofevil.com, www.queenofevil.com

heart of the exclusively hand-made brand. The three daughters are now taking over the business step by step.

Eleonore - the oldest daughter - resides in Los Angeles and is responsible for the new film division. Sophie opened the only (until now) store outside Zurich in Los Angeles, and also takes care of the photographic representation of the brand. Anna - the youngest daughter - is the Creative Director, designs the new looks, and will establish the next foreign store in Calcutta, India. Retail prices: from roughly 41 Euros for a tote bag to roughly 1,041 Euros for a coat.

En Soie, Zurich/Switzerland, T 0041.44.2124740, info@ensoie.ch, www.ensoie.chl ŠLinda Suter, Palacio Illingworth

Collection that is in production constantly, as well as a few new styles per season.

Retail prices: from 478 Euros for the Basic Collection to 718 Euros for padded styles.

Vingetorix, Zurich/Switzerland, T 0041.44.3665124, info@vingetorix.ch, www.vingetorix.ch

En Soie

The Rabbits Dance...

En Soie only adopted the cute logo with the dancing rabbits after Monique Meier, who had acted as chief executive for ten years at that time, took over the company together with her husband, Dieter Meier, and started designing foulards, fashion, and accessories. Until then the company founded in 1984 - had primarily focused on the silk trading business. As a former working student, Monique Meier sees rabbits as the embodiment of renewal and therefore perfectly suited to represent the creative

En Soie

W W W. D U A L I S M . D E S C E N T E . C O M

FA L L W I N T E R 2 0 14 PREMIUM BERLIN / HALL 3

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Erfolg

Bobi Black

After three years of fashion classes in Bern, Sandrine Voegelin and her founding partner had had enough of the "fashion fuss". The young female designers also didn't think it was sensible "to design yet another product that nobody really needs". Therefore they decided to redefine existing values and started to newly decorate finished textiles. Their ideas struck a chord, which meant they needed to reproduce and subsequently had to manufacturer new products after all. Their first pieces were underwear for men and women, and an instant success. Today the collection is complete. Walter Reinhard joined Sandrine Voegelin as a marketing expert. The brand offers tops, as well as trousers and skirts for women and men. All pieces are made in Switzerland and manufactured to last for generations - just like the successful owners intended it to be. The label has been around for 20 years now and operates five stores in Zurich (2), Bern, Luzern, and Basel. An end of the success story is not in sight.

Retail prices: from 54 Euros for a shirt to 332 Euros for a pullover.

Erfolg, Basel/Switzerland, T 0041.61.2622400, mail@erfolg-label.ch, www.erfolg-label.com

Bobi Los Angeles has developed into a highly successful brand since its incorporation in 2006, which is why Genexus International, the parent company, decided to expand it with a premium label. Bobi Black stands for high quality at an appropriate price. The label is defined by new production techniques and elaborate design details. Furthermore, the dresses designed by Kate Stanley have a clean and elegant look, which is nevertheless sexy and fun, thereby perfectly complementing the Bobi Los Angeles brand. The purchase prices range from 50 Euros to 100 Euros with a calculation factor of 2.7. Resort/Spring 2014 was presented as the first of four collections per year at the trade fairs Premium in Berlin, Modefabriek in Amsterdam, and Pure in London.

Various stores in Germany and Italy already stock Bobi Black, so there's a very good chance that the young premium brand will be able to match the success of Bobi Los Angeles.

Genexus International Inc., Torrance/USA, T 001.310.5327300, info@bobitees.com, www.bobiusa.com

The Right IdeA

Premiere

Tersoni

Sartorial Upgrade When Götz Saeuberlich starts speaking about his shirtpolo idea, the enthusiasm is truly contagious.

After studying economics, he completed a trainee programme at Peek & Cloppenburg before transferring to a management consultancy. In 2014 he finally set up his own business by presenting the first Tersoni spring/summer collection during the

Erfolg

Tersoni

114 style in progress

Bobi Black

Premium trade fair in Berlin. "Tersoni is - in a manner of speaking - primed as a sartorial update for the polo shirt segment by combining the good aspects of a polo shirt with the even better aspects of a shirt to create a unique new product", Saeuberlich explains. All models have a shirt collar, a top made of Piqué material, and sleeves that can be unbuttoned. Some models even boast a breast pocket handkerchief in the same style as the collar. The brand has a very selective distribution policy that specifically targets high-end menswear outlets and boutiques such as Michael Jandral and Schlösser in Hannover, Diehl & Diehl in Frankfurt, and Franz Sauer in Cologne. Götz Saeuberlich went on the first distribution tour himself, but the brand is now on the lookout for partners, also on an international level. Tersoni's first collection includes 40 different shirtpolos with retail prices ranging from 149 Euros to 219 Euros and a calculation factor between 2.8 and 3.0. The entire range is exclusively manufactured by longestablished Italian companies, which is proven by the hand-written dedication added to the hangtag of every shirtpolo by the respective seamstress.

Tersoni, Berlin/Germany, T 0049.30.43727556, info@tersoni.com, www.tersoni.coml

STEAL MORE MOMENTS. ©2014 New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.

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La Contri

La Contrie

Paris in the Bag

Münchner Manufaktur

Münchner Manufaktur

Highly Exclusive Authentic, value-conscious, and innovative - Münchner Manufaktur stands for exclusive fashion items that combine Alpine traditions with the modern age. The label, founded by Birgit Oberbigler in 2013, will present its second fashion collection for the spring/summer season of 2014. What are the special features of the blazers, jackets, and frock coats designed by the young brand? Customers can expect extraordinary materials, individual details, and perfect craftsmanship. Additionally, the items boast expressive colours and complementary linings. From the conception by experienced designers to the uncompromising quality control process, every product line meets the highest manufacturing standards.

The brand presents two fashion collections per year at the Tracht & Country trade fair in Salzburg, whereby the retail prices range from 299 Euros to 429 Euros. The production volume is kept low intentionally to preserve the label's exclusivity. Münchner Manufaktur is - among other locations - available at Exclusive Tracht in Munich and Trachten Wenger in Salzburg.

Trachtenagentur Oberbigler & Scholz GbR, Prutting/Germany, T 0049.89.416148562, birgit.oberbigler@trachtenagentur.de, www.muenchner-manufaktur.de

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It's easy to get a little carried away while watching the atmospheric short film on the website of Paris-based leather accessories manufacturer La Contrie. The film introduces Edwina de Charette, the congenial founder and designer of the brand. It highlights her passion for beautiful handbags and her elegant store, which is located a mere stone's throw away from Colette in the 1st Arrondissement. Utilising traditional craftsmanship, the label manufactures bags and accessories collections that newly interpret the classic shapes of the charismatic Parisian luxury chic in innovative colour combinations. Depending on the quality of leather used for the items, the prices range between 690 Euros and 3,250 Euros. Accessories such as bracelets, belts, and cases can be purchased at prices between 43 Euros and 970 Euros. Custom made products upon customer request are paramount for Edwina de Charette, which is why the European expansion of the brand has so far been less of a priority. Currently La Contrie has cooperation agreements with stores in Seoul and Osaka. However, the label is planning to conquer Europe in the near future.

La Contrie, Paris/France, T 0033.1.49270644, edwina@lacontrie.com, www.lacontrie.com

per year, which range from ethnically inspired bangles to massive chain bracelets and are presented at the Premium trade fairs in Berlin and Munich. Depending on your item of choice, the retail prices span from 30 Euros to 300 Euros, whereby the company calculates with a factor of 2.6. As a general rule, repeat orders have a delivery time of two to four weeks. Short-term production is possible upon request. Vain Luxuries has been available for purchase in an in-house store at House of Capulet on the "Gärtnerplatz" square in Munich since summer 2013. Furthermore the label is stocked by Jelmoli in Zurich, Lodenfrey in Munich, and many other renowned stores in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

House of Capulet, Munich/Germany, contact@vain-luxuries.com, www.vain-luxuries.coml

Vain

Distinctive Character Vain Luxuries was founded by designer Nina Heyd as a subsidiary of the high-end jewellery label Capulet in 2011. The adjectives that best describe the hand-made extravagant pieces designed by Nina Heyd herself with great attention to detail are eye-catching, unconventional, and glamorous.

The label creates three collections

Vain

www.marlino. de Tim is wearing parka rEX

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Loup Noir

Of Wolves and Silk Loup Noir, the brand developed by the two Stuttgart fashion enthusiasts Jens Heimerdinger and Sascha Freyberg, first surfaced in the retail industry in December 2010. Right from the start it was accompanied by reference stores such as Le Bon MarchĂŠ in Paris. The first collection for the spring/summer season 2011 mainly consisted of silk scarves, but the product range has since been broadened with additional product groups such as bags, leather accessories, and bracelets.

The essence of all items lies in the selfdesigned detailed print motifs, which are based on historical copperplate etchings that are newly interpreted with brilliant colour combinations. The scarves - printed on both sides - are made of Saglia silk, silk-wool Jacquards with chintzes finishes, micro-modal/cashmere blends, handrolled chiffon, and crepe-like silk gauze - all exclusively from Italy. The bags are either made of coated canvas or Tuscan cowhide and can be designed according to the customer's individual wishes. The purchase prices range from 66 Euros to 92 Euros with a recommended calculation ratio of 2.7. Loup Noir is already present in more than 20 countries. Apart from an agency in the Netherlands, the distribution is still handled by the company's founders. From the spring/summer season of 2014 onwards, the brand will also be stocked by Apropos in Germany.

Loup Noir, Stuttgart/Germany, T 0049.711.9455465, welcome@loup-noir.com, www.loup-noir.com

Loup Noir

Wewood

Wewood

Watches Made From Reclaimed Wood You may ask who needs a watch to tell the time in the modern mobile phone era. The answer is simple. Today a watch is a fashion statement, or - in this case - a statement in favour of the harmony between style and sustainability. Italian designer Alessandro Rossano already demonstrated that he knows how the fashion world operates with his shoe label Dude. With the unconventional beauty of his wooden Wewood watches he contributes to the toughest task of the current century: resource conservation. Wewood watches are manufactured from the leftovers of industrial wood production, albeit only the most precious leftovers. Mahogany, ebony, and guaiac create a colour range from elegant brown to army green. Rossano started experimenting with wooden watch cases in 2010 with the financial backing of two investors from the US. The launch on the German market was handled by the local distribution company Avatar Merchandising. A cooperation agreement with American Forests means that a tree is planted for every watch sold. Therefore customers can not only rest assured that they are not contributing to deforestation, but actually contributing to reforestation. Naturally the renowned clockworks by Miyota ensure that one can always read the correct time on all Wewood watches.

Avatar Merchandising GmbH, Hamburg/ Germany, T 0049.40.853790-0, wewood@avatar-merchandising.com, www.wewood.de

Kinder und Tank

Because Modal is Softer‌ The Berlin-based newcomer brand Kinder & Tank has three good arguments: a new fabric idea as an alternative to cotton, a shared cultural heritage, and a pretty cool name. In September 2013, Ezra Kindermann and Boris

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Tankilewitsch - whose Jewish grandparents were part of the textile industry in the early 1920s and passed on their love for fabrics to their grandchildren - presented their first fashion collection consisting of T-shirts, shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts, and boxer shorts. Every design was strictly limited to 100 units. They used a material called bio-modal from Austria instead of cotton. The new fabric can be made light as a feather due to a special production process and is produced CO2 neutral thanks to the symbiotic "Edelweiss Procedure" developed by Lenzing.

Not loud designs, but the high wearing comfort of the fabric is the main focus of Kinder & Tank.

The brand instantly managed to get its products into renowned streetwear stores such as Superconscious and The Shit Shop in Berlin, as well as Pigeonhole in Perth/Australia. In the second season, the label added Australian cotton to its materials portfolio to increase the shape stability of its products. In retail the items range from 13 Euros to 37 Euros with a calculation ratio between 2.5 and 2.6.

Kindermann und Tankilewitsch GbR, Berlin/Germany, T 0049.176.23897107, www.kinderundtank.com, boris@kinderundtank.coml

Kinder & Tank

Floris van Bommel 9th generation shoemaker since 1734

• 60 SAISONABHÄNGIGE MODELLE AUF VORRAT (SO LANG DER VORRAT REICHT) • KOSTENLOSER VERSAND AB ZWEI PAAREN • 30 STANDARD MODELLE AUF VORRAT (DURCHGEHEND) • LIEFERUNG INNERHALB VON ZWEI TAGEN Berlin: Bread & Butter, What about shoes, Düsseldorf: GDS, Hamburg: Hamburger Orderpremiere (SOC) , Hannover: Shoes and More, Mainhausen: ANWR First, ANWR Fashion Day’s, München: Essenz - Contact: Sales Support (deutschsprachig), T. +31 13 51 36 930, E. vertrieb@florisvanbommel.de

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Gabs

Gabs

The Bag Needs to Live... ‌is a term made famous by the casting show "Germany's Next Top Model" that actually applies to the Gabs product range. They are true marvels of space and shape that can be adapted at will through the use of press buttons.

Even the brand name symbolises transformation; the word bags is simply transformed into Gabs. The product range also includes a line of classic shopping bags. These may not be transformers, but many of them can change their design. In total, Gabs offers more than 3,000 colour combinations and prints. The items are exclusively produced in Italy using local leather, while some of the shopping bags are made of PVC. The driving force behind the brand is Franco Gabbrielli, who founded the label in 2000 in Florence. He is the son of Vittorio Gabbrielli, the founder of the luxury brand Beghè, who clearly seems to have passed on his leather know-how to his offspring. In 2005, he merged his business with the established Italian manufacturers Campomaggi and Caterina Lucchi to form Gruppo Emergenti Italiani. Gabs entered the German market in 2008 and is available at stores such

as Corvus Wohnitäten in Regensburg, Horstmann und Sander in Hannover, and Karstadt. In 2009, the company expanded into countries such as Russia, China, South Africa, and Canada. The purchase prices of the bags range from 70 Euros to 80 Euros with a calculation ratio of 2.6.

Gabs, Carlo di Cesena/Italy, T 0039.0547.373077, info@gabs.it, www.gabs.it

Mono & Me

From Neck to Toe Protestant clarity meets Catholic playfulness. Swedish designer Camilla Brindfors founded her jewellery label Mono & Me in Barcelona back in 2010.

Mono & Me aggressively promotes the lightness of costume jewellery aesthetics. Necklaces and bracelets made of colourful cotton threads are combined with pendants depicting religious motifs such as crosses and skulls, or more romantic motifs like stars and hearts made of silver, gold, and the mineral howlite.

Today Camilla Brindfors enjoys a global presence with her jewellery range. She supplies - among others - Bloomingdale's in New York, and Colette in Paris.

Even famous performing artists such as Kanye West and Shakira have taken

to the stage wearing Mono & Me jewellery.

However, Germany still needs to be classified as an "emerging market" with no more than three stores. Towards the end of 2013 Brindfors added espadrilles and a T-shirt collection to her product range. The T-shirt project titled "I am mono" pursues a "non size" policy to take a stand against the skinny craze and anorexia.

The espadrilles follow in the footsteps of the carefree cheerfulness of the jewellery with contrasting memento mori motifs. The retail price for suede espadrilles is 90 Euros, while the jewellery items range from 8 Euros to 70 Euros.

Mono & Me, Barcelona/Spain, T 0034.699.445234, info@monoandme.com, www.monoandme.com

Ajoofa

T-Shirts Designed by a Monkey An Orang-utan named Barito, who resides in the zoo of Krefeld, is the prime T-shirt artist at the label Ajoofa. The paintings he creates as part of an animal occupation programme are the basis of the T-shirt prints. Customers can choose from eight motifs in up to three colours for adults (retail price 39.95 Euros) and children (retail price 24.95 Euros). The Ajoofa founders Yvonne Kaltenecker and Marcus Handvest attach a lot of importance to ethical and ecological factors for the production process of their GOTS-certified textiles. These factors include the selection of bio-certified cotton, fair wages for producers and biological cotton farmers, and humane working conditions. The label reserves 5% of its turnover for aid projects that support animal, nature, and species-relates causes. Furthermore, it donates 2% of its net proceeds from this particular product range to the zoo that houses their designer Barito to secure the financing that enables the animal occupation programme to continue.

Ajoofa GmbH, Ulm/Germany, T 0049.731.14397440, hallo@ajoofa.com, www.ajoofa.coml

Mono & Me

Ajoofa

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www.iqplusberlin.com

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ByDanie

The Offspring of an It Girl Her fashion collection looks like the artful prop pool of a New York-based star stylist.

Danie Bles is the Netherlands' number one It Girl and also one of the most famous stylists for celebrities. Her first fashion collection for autumn/winter 2013 does not only combine all the must haves from fashion capitals across the globe, but is also - for want of a better word - fun. The common theme is her incredible know-how regarding look creation and the combination of expressive fashion

items. If you decide to purchase from ByDanie, you get additional service free of charge; the website offers individual styling tips for every single item of the collection. Every year, the designer keeps the shelves interesting by launching two fashion collections with two delivery dates and two flash programmes with one delivery date each. The items are available via outlets such as Oscar und Paul and Mohrmann Basics in Munich, Raak in Amsterdam, and ByMarie in Paris and St. Tropez. After the launch of the spring/summer collection for 2014 in Germany, the company intends to expand into England next. With retail prices ranging from 49 Euros to 549 Euros at a calculation ratio of 2.7 ByDanie has already won over no less than 75 premium boutiques, mostly located in the Netherlands and Belgium. And one thing is certain; the lively It Girl from the Netherlands is only just getting started‌ ByDanie, Amsterdam/Netherlands, T 0031.20.4083220, anouk@bydanie.com, www.bydanie.com

Wood'd

Beautifying Beauty It's an audacious venture. The Italian brothers Andrea and Stefano Aschieri are attempting to make a style icon even more beautiful. Their label Wood'd started manufacturing iPad and iPhone accessories made of wood and leather in 2012. The product range - which includes mobile phone cases, flip cases, and even Hi-Fi stations - creates a new aesthetic setting for Apple products that easily surpasses the elegance of the original design. Wood'd does not use natural materials to merely counter technology with a more rustic style.

The geometrical patterns of their wood designs follow in the footsteps of the sophisticated practicality that defined the Arts-and-Crafts movement. The distinct shapes are cut into the wood with a

ByDanie

Wood'd

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Maison Mollerus

laser. Every item is then polished by hand to vitalise the surface. Alongside the Apple accessories, the brothers also extended their product range to include mobile phone stands, pencil cases, magazine racks, and even a baseball cap made of wood and tweed (in cooperation with Atelier Carlotta Sadino).

The retail price for a simple wooden iPhone case is 25 Euros, while a Hi-Fi station including speakers costs 120 Euros.

Wood'd, Arconate/Italy, T 0039.0331.461902, andrea@woodd.it, www.woodd.it

Maison Mollerus

From Hand to Hand There's a time when every daughter steps out of her father's shadow‌ Maison Mollerus has not reached that phase just yet. Ernst Mollerus - the founder of the bag label with the striking phoenix in its logo - still visits the office regularly and looks over the rather tall shoulder of his - as he calls her - "little daughter". Nevertheless, Mirijam Mollerus managed to persuade her father to move out of the rather, let's say, functional TMC (Textil und Mode Center) in Zurich, where the company had a showroom since its founding back in 1984. A chic location in Erlenbach on Zurich's Gold Coast seemed more appropriate to the 40 year old chairman's daughter for the ambience of an elegant and open-minded brand. This is where the label now has its first 100 square metre flagship store, including a warehouse and office space. The female customers are delighted and the spacious Maison Mollerus store has developed into the new hotspot on the shore of the lake, for both traders and end customers alike. Retail prices: accessories such as a credit card case from 69 Euros, bags from 99 Euros, suitcases from 399 Euros.

Maison Mollerus, Erlenbach/Switzerland, T 0041.44.8292867, info@mollerus.com, www.mollerus.coml

www.bluefireco.com

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using various natural fibres that are dyed using a special dipping method for four hours at 95 degrees.

European Culture, Milano/Italy, T 0039.02.47718104, info@dfpinternational.it, www.european-culture.it

Fritzi aus Preussen

Leather-free

European Culture

European Culture

Straight From the Pot The driving forces behind the fashionably young collection for men and women by European Culture are "old friends" with a vast pool of know-how. The private brand of Italian fabrics company DFP International has been internationally active in more than 20 countries for roughly 15 years, and has been present in Germany for approximately ten years in - among others - stores like Daniels in Cologne, Comme & Siggel in Berlin, and Lunatic in DĂźsseldorf. The collection's pieces are characterised by a very special production method. With two main collections per year and an extensive NOS programme DFP International, which exclusively produces in Italy, gives its customers a high level of flexibility. The purchase prices range from 21 Euros to 120 Euros with a calculation ratio of 2.8. Creative Director David Peppicelli, who runs the family-owned company in the second generation, achieves the characteristic look of the brand - alongside Fashionproof and Ecu e Avantgardenim the third private brand of DFP International - by

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A witty name with cool products.

Franziska Adler, who founded her label in 2008, has committed herself to bags and accessories manufactured in accordance with vegan principles; an idea that was honoured with the Vegan Fashion Award by the animal protection organisation PETA Deutschland e.V. in October 2012. From a fashion point of view Fritzi aus Preussen focuses on a timeless urban design principle, which has led to casually elegant shopping bags, handbags, and purses made of polyurethane with a leather-look finish.

This approach has so far persuaded 650 customers in Germany, as well as another 150 spread out over markets such as Austria, Switzerland, the Benelux countries, Norway, Denmark, France, Italy, and Spain. The design studio based in the centre of Berlin produces five collections and one or two special series per year. These consist of up to 13 bags with retail prices ranging from 14.80 Euros to 29.60 Euros with a calculation ratio of 2.7. The retail prices of the shoes - which complement the initial product portfolio from spring/summer 2014 onwards - range from 11.95 Euros to 21.95 Euros with a calculation ratio of 2.5. The label name is, on the one hand, the nickname of the young designer, but is, on the other hand, also a tribute to "Old Fritz" of Prussia.

Fritzi GmbH, Hannover/Germany, T 0049.511.56957501, office@fritziauspreussen.de, www.fritziauspreussen.de

Il by Saori Komatsu

3D Knitting

The Japanese knitwear brand Il by Saori Komatsu utilises a technology named "wholegarment" to produce high-end seamless clothing. The entire item is knitted three-dimensionally with a single thread, meaning that all of the usual other structural components are no longer needed. Another reason why this technology produces such exquisite pieces is that Il by Saori Komatsu has committed itself to using a blend of high quality natural fibres such as silk, linen, and cotton, which give the knitwear a soft texture and a narrow volume.

The fashion collection offers a truly nonchalant look with items that feel light and gentle to the skin. Il by Saori Komatsu can be purchased online in the Elle Shop and at Zozotown, as well as in a number of international multibrand stores such as 4 Jahreszeiten in

Fritzi aus PreuĂ&#x;en

Il by Saori Komatsu

Vienna, AB33 in Paris, Legacy in New York, and Satine Boutique in Los Angeles. The retail prices range from 150 Euros to 450 Euros.

Il by Saori Komatsu, Milan/Italy, T 0039.02.36564045, info@jksmilano.com, www.iliannloeb.coml

Foto: Irene Schaur

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stores such as Net-a-porter, Colette in London, Selfridges, The Corner, Bungalow, and Jades.

The strongest export markets are Scandinavia, France, the UK, and Germany. BLK DNM will expand its colour scope with new colours, materials, and prints for the upcoming season.

BLK DNM in Stockholm, Ulrika Nilsson, Stockholm/Sweden, T 0046.867.88300, sales@blkdnm.com, www.blkdnmcloseup.com

B.Belt

Itgirl Berlin

Perfectly Dressed

B.Belt

“A� with Distinction The belt collection of German label B.Belt has expanded its product family. The brand, which exclusively produces in Germany, will add a cloth and scarf range to its belts and bags from spring/summer 2014 onwards. The common distinctive features of the scarves, which are produced in Italy, are the striking prints that derive from the company's belt designs. A special highlight of every scarf is the use of star or rivet elements, which do not only form delicate patterns, but also exciting visual effects. B.Belt plans two collections with purchase prices ranging from 60 Euros to 90 Euros at a 2.7 calculation ratio, as well as a small NOS programme with a few selected prints. Marion Hoferer, the representative of B.Belt, is targeting the aforementioned product range expansion at specialised fashion retailers and high-end fashion stores.

Agentur Hoferer, Munich/Germany, T 0049.89.15985591, info@b-kleidung.com, www.bbelt.de

BLK DNM

On His Own Account Johan Lindeberg worked for Diesel with Renzo Rosso from 1990 to 1996. Lindeberg then acted as creative director for the J.Lindeberg brand before moving on to William Rast, the fashion line of Justin Timberlake, in the same capacity in 2007. The BLK DNM (Black Denim) line, which was founded in 2011, is once again a project on his own account. It's cool and a little rock & roll with a healthy shot of New York spirit. "I wanted to create something really personal", Johan Lindeberg says. "A brand with depth, as well as its own culture and aesthetic sense, that is inspired by my own life." The fashion collection for men and women has three focal points: jeans, leather jackets, and tailoring.

The retail prices of the leather jackets, for instance, range from 600 Euros to 800 Euros at a calculation ratio of 2.8.

The brand runs one store each in New York and Stockholm, as well as roughly 400 points of sale across the globe in

Creating the favourite clothing item of the modern trend-conscious woman, that is the aim of the Itgirl Berlin label. The name combines inspiration, lifestyle, and internationality. Three different body heights, shape optimised cuts, and soft textures - every pair of Itgirl Berlin jeans, which are manufactured in small Italian workshops using high quality tried and tested materials, is a specifically tailored unique item of clothing. In retail, the basic models range from 169 Euros to 199 Euros, while the more elaborate items range from 219 Euros to 269 Euros, at a calculation ratio of 2.7. Delivery times can be defined individually and NOS items can be supplied upon consultation. Flexibility regarding product range configuration and order volumes, as well as product training and non-bureaucratic complaint handling, are additional services. Itgirl Berlin's two annual collections are available at outlets such as Kaiser in Freiburg, Sieben in Nuremberg, and Lin & Co. in Rosenheim. Tops and accessories will complement the existing product range in the future.

Econ Commercial Company GmbH, Zug/Switzerland, T 0041.41.7232482, contact@itgirlberlin.com, www.itgirlberlin.coml

Itgirl Berlin

BLK DNM

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three-2-one.com

14 – 16 January 2014 Stand B-10.05

Meet us at fairs: Panorama Berlin Modefabriek Amsterdam CIFF Copenhagen New York MRket Dallas Market Chicago Collective West Coast Trend Show Los Angeles Charlotte, Southern Men´s Market Las Vegas Market CPM Moscow Hot 1 Salzburg Hot 2 Salzburg Fashion Salzburg ÖSFA Salzburg Next Season Poznan Showrooms: Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach, Eschborn, Sindelfingen, München Worldwide: FR, CND, USA, NL, DK, SE, CH,NO, BE, AT, PL, RUS, IT, GR, IRL, J

www.alberto-pants.com/collectionreport

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Mackage

Waisted Lady There are two renowned jacket collections from Canada; one of them is named Mackage and offers a fashionable urban product range for both men and women. The exclusive outerwear is defined by coolness and attention to detail such as leather trims on pockets, on zip seams, as well as waisted down styles. "The fittings are absolutely perfect and the jackets are sure to keep you warm", says Regis Benabou, who distributes Mackage via his agency MAB in Germany, where the brand is already available in stores like Jades and Stierblut. Mackage was founded in Montreal, Quebec (Canada), in 1999 and its product range also includes leather handbags alongside outerwear for men, women, and children. In the summer the collection will also include blousons and trench coats made of - for instance - goatskin. Mackage operates 300 stores in its homeland Canada; in addition the brand is available in more than 20

BooRoo

other markets, especially in the US. In the German-speaking area Mackage is stocked by Jades and Stierblut, as well as Fidelio in Zurich. The retail prices of the down jackets range from 800 Euros to 1,200 Euros with a calculation ratio of 2.6.

App Group, Justine Anania, New York/US, T 001.212.391.5287, justine@appgroup.ca, www.mackage.com

BooRoo

Quality, Comfort, Responsibility BooRoo Shoes, founded by a global team in 2001, is a label that is not only fun, but also honest and socially sustainable. The special feature of the boots is the decision not to use the usual sheepskin blend. The company uses high-quality cowhide - a by-product of the meat industry - and certified merino wool. These materials do not only ensure great wearing comfort and climate regulation, but also protect animals and the environment. BooRoo focuses its distribution activities on colder regions; subsequently the winter collection is sold in England, Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, France, Russia, and the Baltic states.

The purchase prices range from 40 Euros to 64 Euros and are calculated with a factor of 2.5. NOS and re-orders are reserved for existing customers to avoid full warehouses. The boots designed by BooRoo are showcased at the Premium and GDS trade fairs, and are - among others - avail-

able at Zeitzeichen in WĂźrzburg, Peoples Place in Mainz, and Bartu in Munich.

Freemark Enterprises GmbH, Erlenbach/ Switzerland, T 0041.44.5429070, info@freemark.net, www.freemark.net

Nation LTD

Made in America The history of the Nation LTD label started in 2005, when Jen Menchaca found the perfect white T-shirt in her father's wardrobe. Ever since she has dedicated her life to design essential super-soft basics that win over the public with a look that is clean, uncomplicated, and vintage. Finest cotton and cotton blend fabrics ensure highest quality levels. Classic pieces in black or white are complemented every season with items in trendy colours or with special details such as zippers and leather inserts. The cost price averages at 53 Euros and is calculated with a factor of 2.6. The shirts, dresses, and trousers of the current collection can be viewed at the Premium trade fair in Berlin. All products are in stock, which means that their availability is guaranteed at all times.

The label is still building its distribution networks in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Ennsmann in Salzburg/Austria is among the first retailers in those particular markets.

Nation LTD, Los Angeles/USA, T 001.213.6226186, customerservice@nationltd.com, www.nationltd.coml

Mackage

Nation LTD

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Bonobos

Made for Men

Fil Noir

The idea behind Bonobos can be described with two words: It fits! The company's founders, namely Andy Dunn and Brian Spaly, were of the opinion that American chinos make the bum look a little too fat, while European slim-cuts tend to pinch the muscles built up during hours in the gym. Out of necessity they developed their own perfectly cut men's trousers from the comfort of the flat they shared during their university days. Within a year the new product was awarded the "Best Men's Pants" title by the New York Magazine. Shirts, suits, shoes, and bags are now also part of the range. Again the main focus is on the accuracy of fit. They don't mind making your life a little easier either. Chic non-iron shirts are an integral part of every collection. Bonobos takes up the male reluctance to dress up nicely in some of its model names and colours in a tongue-in-cheek manner. From a style point of view the Weekday Warriors are placed between chinos and suit trousers and come in five colours ranging from Monday Blues to Friday Greys. Men don't even have to queue up to get their hands on these desirable trousers; Bonobos was launched as a pure online brand in 2007 and can also be purchased at Nordstrom since 2012. www.bonobos.com

the collection, stems from Italy's Prato knitwear cluster and is targeting internationalisation under the leadership of the founder's three children. The company currently generates 70% of its business on its home market. "We want to lower that contribution to 50% or less with a string of measures", Paolo Rossi explains. The best argument the knitwear specialist has is its service. Existing customers can re-order and exchange goods online.

In times like these, the company aims to offer the retail industry a "personal and financial advantage" and prove itself as an understanding partner.

High calculation factors between 2.8 and 3.0 still result in a comprehensible price/performance ratio throughout the broad range of the brand. Women's and men's knitwear, as well as an exciting range of jerseys and T-shirts in summer, were enough to persuade Patrick Coppolecchia-Reinartz's agency D-Tails, the brand's representative in Germanspeaking countries. Trade show appearances are planned in Florence, Berlin, and Madrid to boost export figures. So what about the style, you ask?

It's modern, sophisticated, and elegant - without being too unsettled.

Alpha Studio, Franco Rossi Srl, 59015 Comeana/ Italy, info@francorossi.it, www.francorossi.itl

Alpha Studio

Zeitgeist Identified

Fil Noir

Quality First "Quality first" is the motto that Swiss Hest GmbH, based in Radolfzell, promised to live by right from the start, when it took over the license for the shirts by Italian fashion house Manzini under the brand name Fil Noir. The second men's shirt collection will be presented at the Bread & Butter trade show. The shirts are mainly made of classic two-ply yarns that are supplied by renowned Italian weavers such as Albini, Canclini, and Monti. The designs are translated into unobtrusive patterns, discreet details and finishes, and fashionable figurehugging silhouettes. All shirts are vintage-style washed and sport the black lateral seam as a distinctive mark. The brand is already available in stores such as Bazar Royal in Leipzig and White Cube in GĂźtersloh, as well as Goldener and Appenzell. The purchase prices of the shirts range between 29 Euros and 58 Euros with a 2.7 calculation ratio, whereby the core price level lies between 33 Euros and 40 Euros.

This positions Fil Noir in the same environment as brands such as Aglini, Salvatore Piccolo, and B.D. Baggies. For the autumn/winter season of 2014, the brand plans to increase its presence in the German-speaking markets via a selective distribution structure. www.fil-noir.com

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Alpha Massimo Rebecchi will trade as Alpha Studio from the spring/summer 2014 season onwards. The company severed ties with the renowned Italian stylist to pursue completely new goals.

Franco Rossi, the company behind

Bonobos

Alpha Studio

W W W. 0 0 3 9 I TA LY- S H O P. C O M

BERLIN · MÜNCHEN · DÜSSELDORF · HAMBURG · STUTTGART

076 THE LONGVIEW

"We have always done what the customer wants"

The news that Eickhoff on the Kö is closing left nobody in the industry untouched.

Albert Eickhoff has always claimed a leading role in the German fashion trade. He made the name of luxury brands and thereby made a name for himself. In this Longview, the 78-year-old speaks about his achievements, the market change, and the future of the luxury fashion trade.

Interview: Stephan Huber.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper.

Photos: Peter Schaffrath and Archiv Eickhoff

style in progress: Mr Eickhoff, you've experienced a turbulent time after announcing that you'll be closing your store on the Kö. The decision surely wasn't a spontaneous one, but the result of a long train of thought.

Albert Eickhoff: Naturally one doesn't make a decision like that overnight. We pondered it for a long time; the first talks were held in summer. At the beginning of November we then received permission from Dior to announce that we are closing and have inked a ten year rental agreement with Dior. At first we only told our closest friends, who we invited to a dinner to mark the occasion. However, the news was somehow leaked to the press anyway. It was mentioned between the lines in "Rheinische Post", then it was in "Bild" after that the news made it into "WAMS", "FAZ", and "Süddeutsche Zeitung". Everybody was writing about it and nobody had anything negative to say.

During such a long career, does one sometimes stop and think how it may end?

No. We weren't aware of the repercussions. It was - I am proud to say - a shock for the fashion industry, even for Düsseldorf and its surrounding areas. Nearly 114 style in progress

everyone approached us about it.

Just yesterday at the theatre box office, the man behind the counter told me that he is shocked.

I told him how old I am and argued that everybody has the right to step down at some point.

I wanted to make sure that I step down with dignity.

Isn't there a time when one receives offers that one cannot resist?

Absolutely. We have a strong bond with Dior; we have co-operated for 18 years and see the brand as an absolutely trustworthy partner. In summer, we met with Sidney Toledano, the director of Dior, for lunch, which is when he told us that we should be aware that there will be no more multi-brand stores in five to ten years, only department stores and mono-brand stores.

That gave us food for thought.

Running a store at a level with so little air to breathe is always a struggle. One has to deal with terms, collections, exclusivity, competitors, and the constant pressure from suppliers. Eickhoff is now managed by your daughter and your son-in-law. Maybe she doesn't want to face this struggle anymore, especially as it isn't getting any easier.

Those were the exact reasons for

my daughter's decision. I would like to explain it using a very successful luxury brand as an example. If we purchase there, we first find out the minimum budget and what we need to buy. In this case, the minimum budget for bags was 45,000 Euros. Then we ask how many of the best bags we are allowed to purchase. The answer was six, even though we naturally would have preferred to buy 20 of the best bags. Even the quantities for the second and third best bags are precisely defined. That goes on until we have reached a mere 50% of the minimum budget and from then on we have to take unmarketable bags off their hands. When I first started in the purchasing department at 21 years of age, my former boss said to me: "Eickhoff, always blank out the heads and legs of the girls when you are at a fashion show. Focus solely on the item of clothing; they are only out to deceive you." Literally spoken: What use is a cow that gives a bucket of milk, when it knocks it over with its tail?

Basically, the luxury brands have reversed the relationship between buyer and seller. In my humble view of the world it is still the customer who is allowed to decide.

Albert Eickhoff always wanted to be the master of his own decisions, but the distribution policy of many brands in­ creasingly restricted his entrepreneurial freedom. Eickhoff drew his conclusions and acted accordingly.

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078 THE LONGVIEW

We were able to configure our product range independently our entire life. In the old days, I would travel to Florence with my wife and, if we found something great, we sent all the traders we were on friendly terms with there too. For example, I discovered Iris von Arnim 35 years ago. She had a small stand showcasing some angora pullovers with knitted houses on them at the Igedo trade fair in Düsseldorf.

I liked them and we placed an order worth 7,000 German Marks - that was a lot of money back then. I called Iris after three weeks to find out why we hadn't received our pullovers yet, but she informed me that she hadn't even commissioned them yet due to a lack of funds for yarn. I immediately sent her the 7,000 German Marks in advance.

That was the start of our special friendship. We have always had an incredibly good sense for successful products. Our sales rates were very high, also in the case of Iris von Arnim. She told us in summer that she will have a sales area at Breuninger Düsseldorf.

That was one of those moments that led to our decision.

There aren't many people on this planet who have - like you - been in the inner circle of luxury fashion for such a long time. This world has changed radically over the last few years.

This change has come along gradually over all those years.

We were so carefree. We used to call ourselves "First in Fashion" and before that "Avant-garde of Fashion", a community of 24 trade partners from Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It was incredibly pleasant.

I was allowed to be president for many years. I gave great lectures; that was a hobby of mine. To build up these colleagues - especially the ones in Germany - and to propose strategies for them, that was my world.

It sounds as if this world was once characterised by a great togetherness. Today, the world of luxury fashion is as brutally capitalist as one can imagine.

The first luxury brand to push forward with its own retail strategies was Dolce & Gabbana.

We co-operated fantastically with Dolce & Gabbana for a very long time, but the brand is 114 style in progress

on the lookout for premises to house its own stores in all great locations across the globe. The second brand was Gucci, which was quite a spectacle with Tom Ford back then. My son-inlaw and I flew to Florence in the mid-1990s and purchased for 40,000 German Marks.

Alongside Linette and Theresa, we were among the first three customers from Germany. When Tom Ford created the second collection for Yves Saint Lauren, it was only really successful for us for a season. We purchased one specific jacket 30 times. That was quite something, to dispose a jacket 30 times! It was always our strategy to purchase the right goods in the right quantity. We bought on our own terms. Now you only get conditions. Over the last few seasons, we have been told in written form exactly what we have to buy.

That means the business was no longer fun…

It is less and less fun. It is, of course, also a personal disappointment when companies that you have co-operated closely with for decades suddenly open their own stores. We have within the meaning of word - generated a lot of business for them. Dior, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana are the three major brands in our eyes. By the way, Gucci also put in a bid for our premises; our location is the best on the Kö. We decided in favour of Dior. I cannot think of a better brand to succeed us.

"I would prefer a larger store today. Customer-friendly, but not for the masses – a store that showcases an exclusive segment. That would be my store of today."

Eickhoff was always very exclusive concept and deliberately excluded certain demographic groups. On the other hand, there is the dictum of "democratic luxury". Does this term mean anything to you?

For me this term means that we need to have a very broad product range today and that we need to be comparable with chains such as Zara or H&M. That's impossible. We have always generated excellent sales on our 900 square metres. However, we could never be cheap, not at the high standards we have always defended.

Does the classic female customer that helped make Eickhoff successful still exist?

She still exists among the older generation, yes. This particular type of customer is very, very loyal.

Is the idea that every city in the world will have more or less the same brand stores still exciting? Is that what we really want?

I don't really know. We simply pulled the emergency break for ourselves. If we can get a

Do you - as a highly experienced specialised retailer - share the brands' view that fashion will not need the specialised retail industry in the future? I, for one, don't share this view at all.

I don't share that view either.

However, the market situation has changed significantly in the absolute luxury segment. We didn't have any noteworthy competition in Düsseldorf for a long time. We noticed that something needs to change when the first mono-label stores popped up. One has to adapt to this development, one has to submit to it. We are stepping down with conviction, but as the number one. Our sales here are outstanding, right until the last day. We make a profit every day; we don't know losses.

Display window and chocolate marshmallow - both the Eickhoff family and its company always knew how to present themselves with the utmost style.

W W W. E S S E N T I E L - A N T W E R P . C O M

080 THE LONGVIEW

good rental fee that equips us well financially, why would my daughter not decide to let go at the same time? She decided to do just that in the end.

I would like to turn to a highly important core competence of the specialised retail industry. Am I wrong when I claim that salespeople are the most underrated elements in the fashion business?

"It was always our strategy to purchase the right goods in the right quantity."

I would say, not really. Today, good employees are worth their weight in gold. We have many excellent employees and we are helping them to get good positions after Eickhoff closes in May. What turns a good saleswoman into an excellent one?

A good saleswoman is an excellent one when she serves completely, meaning that she sells the customer a full outfit that looks great. For us an excellent saleswoman is also absolutely loyal and always works with Eickhoff's best interests in mind. When the press broke the news that we will be closing before we could confirm the news ourselves, our

Brigitte and Albert Eickhoff in Vogue, photographed by Ralph Mecke.

114 style in progress

employees continued to generate excellent sales despite the shock.

How important was your staff for the success of Eickhoff?

Our employees are invaluable!

Let me tell you, the good ones and very good ones also earned accordingly.

Why does a career in fashion retail have such a low public perception? This seems to have been the case in the past too. I once read that your father wasn't too happy with your career choice.

I come from an academic family and all my father's brothers had very special careers. The first was a chief physician at the hospital in MĂźnster, the second was the municipal construction director in MĂźnster, and the third was a headmaster. My father had to take over the village-based Eickhoff trading house with food, drugstore products, wood, and steel. He would have preferred to see me amongst those academic relatives, but that was not my destiny. My father then suggested that I should become a watchmaker, but I told him

that isn't me and isn't what I want. He was quite perturbed as it wasn't commonplace to contradict your elders back then. My parents were utterly bewildered when I told them that I want to work in the fashion industry. My father asked the mayor of the neighbouring town Lippstadt which fashion company would be suitable for my training. He was told there is only one store in Lippstadt and that is Giesecke & Brandt. He was told that I would be a winner if I get in there. After a short trial period, I got the job.

One topic that has often been discussed in connection with Eickhoff is the subject of schedules and rhythm in our industry. You set your own standards by designing a season rhythm that suits your business. Do you understand that others weren't too happy about that?

I was a very New York-oriented retailer. I noticed more and more that America was far ahead when it came to fashion seasons. I wanted to keep up. We already

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www.habsburG.co.at

082 THE LONGVIEW

"If you want to understand the system behind the fashion industry and want to generate sales, then you have to get in early."

had 80,000 Euros worth of Dior goods in our house at the beginning or the middle of November.

It is a little like the story about the hedgehog and the hare - I am already here. We had to be the first. And we had to sell out early, at the latest by the 1st of November, if we wanted to comply with the supply rhythm of our largest partners. So we couldn't wait or merely stock partial ranges. However, my daughter didn't want new goods in the store before the 3rd of November, so we served our customers from our office on the 7th floor, where we had temporarily stored the new goods. We have to display the goods when our customers want

to see it. We have always done what the customers want.

But does the average customer understand an autumn/winter window in May?

No matter whether customers understand it or don't want to understand it, they are definitely animated to have a look at what we are putting on display in that window. The large newspapers always write about Eickhoff that "he showed the trends first". I defined those trends too. If you want to understand the system behind the fashion industry and want to generate sales, then you have to get in early.

Based on everything that I have read about you, I'd say that - at the end of the day Albert Eickhoff is a trader with heart and soul who has selling in his blood. If you were now in a life phase during which one leans towards self-employment in this completely different market environment, which kind of shop would you open? I am convinced that you'd opt for the fashion retail industry again.

slightly palpable break in the background.

With which brand did one earn the most money?

First on the list is Brunello Cucinelli, mainly because we were among the first customers and knew - and still know - exactly how to interpret the brand.

What will you do when Eickhoff has closed down?

I will keep my office here, my anteroom, and my secretary and answer my private mail.

You are used to the grand stage. Will you miss the spotlight?

I have thought about this for a very long time and I think I will get used to it. Also, my wife, who is a very special lady, wants it. I want to travel a lot with her, to Salzburg, Florence, and Capri.

I am the mayor of Capri, which is where I live. I still have a lot of plans and hope I can realise all of them.

Thank you for the interview!

I have always been brave, in every phase of my life. Maybe I would be brave enough to open another store, but I am tired now. I think I have every right to say that at 78 years of age.

You targeted a market gap back then. Where is this gap today?

I would prefer a larger store today. Customer-friendly, but not for the masses - a store that showcases an exclusive segment.

That would be my store of today.

Is there a current retail concept out there that excites you?

It certainly wouldn't be a boutique again, even though 10 Corso Como by Carla Sozzani is a truly fascinating concept. I am more excited by the larger players such as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

I'm sure it’s difficult given your huge pool of anecdotes and experiences, but do you have a unique encounter, a favourite collection, or a favourite designer?

Happy days - the couple Albert and Brigitte Eickhoff on Capri.

114 style in progress

Yes, that would be Raf Simons. I had the feeling that he couldn't express himself fully at Jil Sander.

He found the perfect partner in Dior; it is a perfect fit. There he has artistic freedom with a

In 1961, Albert Eickhoff and his wife Brigitte opened their first own fashion store in Lippstadt. The first branch opened in Bielefeld in 1974, followed by the first step onto the Kö shopping street in 1981. The shops in Bielefeld and Lippstadt were sold in 1995 to enable the sole focus on the Eickhoff premises Kö 30, which was gradually expanded to 900 square metres. In 2006, Albert Eickhoff handed the management of the business on to his daughter Susanne Asbrand-Eickhoff and his son-in-law Stefan AsbrandEickhoff.

The Eickhoff store will be closed down on the 31st of May.

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084 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

Only Bad Salespeople Are Expensive!

An opinion piece by Stephan Huber, editor-in-chief style in progress

I

t is no coincidence that Willy Oergel, the chief executive of Breuninger, focused his speech at the opening of his company's spectacular new flagship department store in Düsseldorf's Kö-Bögen on his employees.

The recruitment of the store's more than 300 employees was a process that resembled a campaign planned with almost military precision. The reason for this immense effort, that also affected nearly all direct competitors, is quite obvious: the staff is the decisive factor regarding the future of the specialised retail industry. This may sound a little dramatic at first glance, but it is actually a simple conclusion of fact. I have already discussed the reasoning behind this perception many times, but I'm more than happy to sum it up once more. When a customer buys something he or she does not really need, he or she does not merely want the product itself. This is certainly not a groundbreaking new realisation. The term "experience shopping" is older than me - and I myself have been around for a few decades. The main question is what experience a customer is looking for and who can supply that experience 114 style in progress

at which quality standard. We human beings are communicative by nature, meaning that we love hearing or telling a good story, we love being addressed personally and as equals to experience - in short - the real "human touch". This offers the specialised retail industry a tangible advantage that can justify and secure its position in a competition situation that has led to questions regarding the entire industry's sustainability.

This advantage stems from truly excellent sales staff. So that's the theoretical angle covered. The reality clearly shows that not only are many retailers not aware of the importance of this particular resource, but also that society as a whole belittles this trade with a lack of respect and a string of conceited prejudices. Just to make one thing perfectly clear at this point, the retail industry itself must take a lot of the blame for this development. The strategy of increasing yields by cutting labour costs was not only pursued by large department stores and price-aggressive suppliers. Qualified staff with adequately remunerated full-time jobs were seen as a luxury.

After all, it's just as easy to fold pullovers on a part-time basis.

A

n education policy debate that has persuaded our youth for decades that employment and education biographies beyond academic honours - or at least A-levels are a direct route into a professional dead-end also contributed significantly to cementing a certain public perception of people working in retail: "Sales assistants are … well … umm … a little limited."

However, every person who earns his or her keep by selling something to others knows that this profession does not only require inherent talent, but also - more importantly - a high level of intelligence. Good sales assistants are not merely required to like people, they have to be able to read them; they need to be psychologists, self-confident, and also capable of serving at the same time. They have to be willing to learn constantly, show sincere interest in others at all times, love to communicate, and - finally - have the ability to meet disappointments with a friendly smile.

This proves that excellent salespeople need to be highly qualified, which also means they need to be encouraged within these necessary qualification parameters and also be remunerat-

ed accordingly. They are worth their money; only bad sales assistants are truly expensive. any who share my sentiment in principle may now ask where one can find such qualified sales personnel without stealing it from others. It takes an enormous amount of effort to persuade young people who are both ambitious and intelligent that a decision to pursue an education in the fashion retail industry is not a stop-gap, but a real career opportunity with many exciting options, even including self-employment. Targeted lobbying by the trade representative association is essential to improve the public perception of this career. We also need adapted key education elements and modules, as well as structured qualification and self-improvement programmes.

The specialised retail industry needs to be in a position to fight for the brightest minds available. Additionally, the industry should instantly start to support and value the evident talent of many of its existing employees. They will be vital when it comes to competing for customers in the future.

M

–›

Austria Fashion: Room with a view, Salzburg - office@roomwithaview.at Shoes/Sport: Rene Obojes, Fabrik 13, Innsbruck - rene@fabrik13.at

Germany Prettywear, Angelika Martin - angelika.martin@prettywear.de

Contrary to common clichĂŠs, selling fashion is anything but trivial. It is often a question of emphatic skills.

114 style in progress

WHAT'S THE STORY 087

What People Business

– You're a Shop Assistant?!?

They merely fold pullovers, don't make a lot of money, and - on top of it all - they have near to no career opportunities. There are many negative clichĂŠs surrounding the shop assistant profession. However, customers have never been more demanding than today, which makes serving them equally as demanding. It's time to take a close look at all the prejudices.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper.

Illustrations: Katjana Lacatena/ CarolineSeidler.com.

Photos: Dialogue partner

Dollinger, an established medium-sized retailer with a brand portfolio ranging from Brax via Napapijri to Luisa Cerano, runs 23 outlets in South-East Bavaria.

It employs 150 sales advisors - of which a large number have been at the company for many years and has built a strong customer base. "Our shop assistants are our connection with our customers, which is why we rely on them heavily", Sebastian Proft, the chief executive, explains.

When he took over the family business together with his wife in November 2012, he quite deliberately decided to stick to the classic trade concept. "It's certainly cost-intensive, but it also differentiates us from our rivals. Our sales assistants are and always will be - our most important success factor."

Back-breaking Job

So the profession is vital for the industry, but the job has a really bad image. Even though one is fortunate to deal with beautiful items in the fashion business, the sales assistant's job is exhausting and demands constant direct contact with customers by standing in the store all day long.

Then there's also the social image of the stupid salesperson. "Shop assistants are definitely not stupid, especially as the demands in the high-end fashion segment are so high", says Uwe Maier, the chief executive of Bungalow in Stuttgart. "I prefer the term advisor anyway. After all, we don't want a scenario where the customer looks for a blue blazer,

the shop assistant hands it over, takes the cash, and then says goodbye. We want to communicate with our clientele beyond the sale process; that's our main strength."

However, generalisation is commonplace. "If you want to judge a salesperson, you need to differentiate between mere goods placement - at, for instance, discount stores and vertical market participants - and real service suppliers with extensive knowhow", says Harm Hesterberg, who - together with his brother Cord - runs the 1,600 square metre Stiesing store in Bremen with 54 shop assistants. "Alongside brands such as Stone Island, Brioni, and Kiton, we work a lot with unknown labels. This means we need qualified and well-informed employees."

The act of selling has also become more demanding in itself, mainly because customers are more informed and the competition has increased. This means that know-how regarding quality levels, brands, and fits now needs to be complemented with emphatic skills. Harm Hesterberg describes how shop assistants at Stiesing have to act like good hosts: "After a polite welcome, the shop assistant remains in close vicinity of the customer without being too pushy. If the customers signals an interest in a product, the salesperson should supply information before retreating again. This - potentially non-verbal - communication between customer and sales assistant can be seen as the most style in progress 114

088 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

of our customers' winter holiday experience, which is why we prefer to train the attitude rather than the behaviour", Ambros Strolz emphasises. "We don't want our salespeople to seem over-trained. We don't want standardised phrases like many US retailers prefer. We want nice small-talk; that's important for our image. It's a matter of emphatic flair."

important aspect. However, this interaction requires a certain amount of experience and sensitivity."

Extroverted Personalities

Sebastian Proft, chief executive of Dollinger Moden: "Working in retail is a back-breaking job. It's not easy to work the sales floor nine hours at a time."

Harm Hesterberg, chief executive of Stiesing: "We try to transfer our enthusiasm for our business to our employees. We want them to contribute and want them to be proud of working at Stiesing."

114 style in progress

How hard is it to find new and talented people for this challenging job? Andreas Weitkamp, who manages the fashion house Schnitzler in MĂźnster, says it is incredibly hard. "I believe the reason is a social problem. One problem is that manners have deteriorated significantly over the last few years; the other is that a job in the retail industry doesn't earn enough recognition in our society." Andreas Weitkamp does not pay much attention to school grades, mainly because he believes the most important property of an employee is the personality. His company is willing to invest in this belief. "We do a lot for the personality development of our employees. We invite our staff to the theatre, to the museum, and to city tours", Andreas Weitkamp, whose company currently has 15 retail apprentices on its books, reveals. Personality is also at the top of Harm Hesterberg's list of priorities when it comes to his sales consultants. Just like at Schnitzler - Stiesing's excellent customer magazine, which focuses on the individuals that characterise Bremen as a city, specifically emphasises personality as a character trait. Naturally, Hesterberg wants his employees to be equally extroverted. "If we notice during the initial interview that an applicant manages to capture our attention, enjoys approaching people, and makes others feel at ease, then that applicant is obviously an excellent fit."

The problem of keeping good employees on a long term basis is even more acute at Strolz in the Austrian town Lech. The company runs a large parent store with twelve departments in the renowned skiing destination, as well as an additional branch, a snowboard shop, and three ski rental stations. Strolz's main business is focused on the winter season, during which the core staff of 40 employees swells to a workforce of 140 individuals,

Zero Career Opportunities?

Andreas Weitkamp, chief executive of Modehaus Schnitzler: "A good salesperson has three jobs: business administrator, psychologist, and improvisation artist."

usually by adding young employees between 18 and 30 years of age. "Many young people use the longer vacation times to travel, possibly to Australia, for a few months. Some decide to work in summer holiday destinations or in Germany", Ambros Strolz, the chief executive, explains. "We always manage to get the team back together, but it's certainly not easy to retain employees for several seasons, mainly because many want a permanent position." Furthermore, the nearest city is 40 kilometres away, which makes it even more complicated for young people, whose family and friends often live far away. This is why Strolz tries to make its jobs more attractive by supplying appealing room and board. The workforce is trained 14 days before the season starts, whereby the most important aspects are product-related knowhow and correct conduct during the sales process. "Strolz is part

Is a career in fashion retail a job without perspective? Smaller retailers normally have flat hierarchies, which means there are few promotion prospects.

However, the further training of employees does not only rely on the education of the retailer and his motivational skills in smaller companies. These aspects can easily fall behind during everyday business. Ambros Strolz is eager to point out that there are promotion prospects within companies that have reached a certain size: "One can rise through the ranks relatively quickly in our company. A salesperson can be promoted to a department head or product range supervisor, which is the link between the purchasing and sales departments. These jobs allow employees to influence product presentations, conduct repeat orders, and take part in the sorting process." Even though the industry does not offer the same titles as an academic career, dedicated retailers like Schnitzler are resourceful when it comes to sales staff development.

For example, the company offers supply training sessions and personal training with a renowned coach for up to 15 people every year. These sessions are specifically designed to meet Schnitzler's needs. "We want to be perceived as different to all the other stores", Weitkamp makes clear.

Harm Hesterberg is equally dedicated to continuously raising Stiesing's profile. One item on the medium term agenda is to change the fact that the company is currently not part of any trainee programme. "If we do it, we want to do it properly. We want to ensure that we can earn a good reputation that proves

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090 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

No way up? Depending on the size of the company, salespeople in the fashion industry have opportunities to promote their own career.

Ambros Strolz, chief executive of Strolz: "The best products are useless if your sales staff is not dedicated."

114 style in progress

that everybody who decides to join Stiesing gets an excellent education", Harm Hesterberg says. "Ideally, our apprenticeship would include a one year foreign exchange programme for more international flair, from which both Stiesing and the employee can benefit."

Many things can be learned, but some things simply can't. The latter includes the ability to close a sale, to get the purchase on record. Harm Hesterberg stresses that selling high-price products needs a completely different set of skills altogether: "One needs extreme sensitivity to know when the perfect moment to suggest a

Brioni suit worth 2,000 to 3,000 Euros has come. Shop assistants with the instinct to identify customers who are willing to spend big are extremely rare."

Badly paid?

Service is the main selling point of the stationary retail trade, which means the same applies to the individuals who provide this service. Are these individuals remunerated appropriately? Most retail employees certainly aren't.

This is probably why the industry is losing so many sales talents to business segments that offer significantly higher rewards for excellent performances. "The ve-

hicle industry has high margins that enable the retailer to pay his employees more. We don't have that luxury in the fashion industry", Hesterberg explains.

Nevertheless, top fashion salespeople can earn 3,000, 4,000, or even 5,000 Euros a month.

However, Harm Hesterberg makes clear that the situation needs to change in the medium to long term if the stationary premium retail industry wants to survive. Can multi-brand fashion retailers pay more? "That is highly unlikely given the current calculation models", Hesterberg says. This is why he wants to increase the focus on a specific

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092 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

The majority of people in the fashion retail industry are not paid high wages. However, dedicated top salespeople in the Premium segment can earn between 3,000 and 5,000 Euros per month.

product range configuration including manufactory brands that are willing to enter special partnership agreements with Stiesing. The respective high quality products would then not be available everywhere and therefore be more desirable to the customers. "With manufactory brands we can raise the calculation ratio to between 3.5 and 4.0, which would enable us to invest in the best available sales team. It is not enough to simply make a product more expensive. No more than 10% of rational people are willing to pay more just because of an excellent service level."

114 style in progress

Commissions - a Matter of Principle

Commissions offer dedicated sales staff an opportunity to earn more money. "Monetary incentives work, mainly because they ensure that the sales assistants generate an interest in their sales figures", Sebastian Proft explains. "It is important for them to understand how their performance is measured. They need to get a feel for the subject and work on it every day." This is why Dollinger introduced a special bonus model in August 2013. The employees have the possibility to waive a small portion of their respective wages and - in exchange - choose

between an individual and a group premium. This improves their standing considerably. "If the team is homogenous, the group premium has the potential for harmonious co-operation. On the other hand, a dedicated sales assistant can easily get frustrated if he or she has to constantly drag along less dedicated colleagues."

Ambros Strolz has quite deliberately decided against individual bonuses. Instead, his company offers a group bonus at the end of the season. "If you have a few sales sharks on your team, it is impossible to create the casual atmosphere we are so famous for", Strolz points out.

The Human Factor

No fashion retailer can afford to offer bad service, or to not invest in the own team. After all, personal service is the one thing that online retailers cannot supply. "I don't think it's too detrimental if a single store decides against advertising a lot. I also believe that the structure of a shop is not too important in comparison", Sebastian Proft says. "However, every customer notices instantly whether the mood in a store is good or bad. Customers can sense if a team can work together." Ultimately, it all depends on the human factor.

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094 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

"We Are Service Providers" Uwe Maier worked at Stuttgart-based fashion house Holy's for no less than 15 years - first as a purchaser, then as managing director - before opening his own premium store Bungalow.

He explains what it takes to be a good salesperson in this interview with style in progress.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper.

Photo: Bungalow

Mr Maier, what is the main requirement to successfully sell fashion at Bungalow?

However, specialist knowledge is not the only thing that counts.

We don't simply sell fashion.

One of our main strengths is that we communicate to a far greater extent than normal. This means the salesperson has to be on par with the customer; he needs personality and lifestyle. If an applicant is suitable has very little to do with educational background, but more with what he has made of it. Did he stick his neck out at school by acting as form prefect?

Was he active in any kind of clubs? These activities prove that the applicant has courage and doesn't hide behind others.

Social skills are just as important.

If a customer enters the store, a salesperson who approaches with a smile is much better than one who comes across as arrogant and merely wants to show off his know-how. A shop assistant also needs to be able to assess whether a customer wants to be addressed formally or informally. A casual type is brave enough to address an older customer informally, which the latter may even find quite cool. A younger customer, on the other hand, may want to be addressed formally to feel more respected.

Has it become more difficult to sell fashion?

Well, the typical customer has definitely become more demanding. He has all the possibilities and could also simply order online. However, if I want to buy a cashmere pullover for 700 Euros, I'd want to touch it briefly first.

Online shopping doesn't offer a shopping experience, doesn't offer any service, and doesn't highlight how I could combine the product with other items.

The job is demanding, but it doesn't pay well.

I thought long and hard whether the fashion retail industry is the right choice for me. My father, who was also in retail, told me not do it because of the huge workload and low income. I soon noticed that this is simply my thing. However, a career in sales is not recommendable if money is the main objective.

How about promotion prospects?

Even small companies like ours have certain fields in which salespeople can distinguish themselves. These areas include personnel planning, the re-order business, and visual merchandising. I have often seen employees blossom after they were given a task.

Salespeople are expected to be on par with their customers.

However, they can't afford all the beautiful products.

I am absolutely aware of that problem! We all look like superstars and we are close to being struck dead by our Bottega Veneta wallet‌ That is simply not the case. We are service providers. We are on the one side, the customer is on the other. We try to set a good example for our employees. However, it is always great to see the customers value the goods. It is a great feeling when a customer shakes your hand and leaves the store happy after three or four hours of consultation. That's when I know we've done a good job.

Do you have the impression that the stationary trade industry has identified personal service as an opportunity?

I don't know whether the entire industry has identified that chance, but I definitely have. I have always seen the staff angle as a vital focal point, even during my time at Holy's. Every salesperson in this business segment needs to be expertly trained.

In 2006, Uwe Maier opened the store Bungalow in Stuttgart together with Michaela Bohl, Pit Reichert, and Lars Presche. It is known for a product range consisting of fashion highlights by brands such as CĂŠline, Lanvin, Acne, Tom Ford, and Saint Lauren. www.bungalow-stuttgart.de

114 style in progress

"

096 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

Fashion Is My Thing Nino Stricker started a three-year retail salesman apprenticeship at Dantendorfer in Salzburg in September. In this interview he explains what tempted him to choose this career, what he likes about it, and his plans for the future.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper.

Photos: Bryan Reinhart

How come you chose this particular career?

I repeated the fifth grade (ninth school year) at grammar school, but I didn't really enjoy it anymore. So I sat down with my parents and discussed my future plans. The result of that talk was this retail salesman apprenticeship. I have always been interested in fashion. I like dressing well and often go shopping. After two trial days at Dantendorfer I had made my mind up.

Do you have a clear professional goal?

I want to complete my A-levels at evening school during the second year of my apprenticeship.

I don't have a clear idea where I'll go from there, but fashion is definitely my thing.

Your apprenticeship started in September. Is the job different than you expected?

No. I take goods into the warehouse, fold items that have been tried on, and assist the sales­ women by, for instance, fetching other sizes. It can happen that we're asked to clean the windows every now and then. That's all part of the job and I have no issues with that at all.

Do you also assist customers?

Yes, but only if I have sufficient knowledge about the goods.

Normally a colleague helps me in those situations. At first it was a little awkward to approach customers, but it's getting better.

Which experiences do you make when you go shopping yourself?

H&M and Zara are completely different to Dantendorfer. The shop assistants at H&M have no knowledge about the items and their quality. At Dantendorfer the employees are very well informed about where the goods come from, their quality level, and the pricing.

Where do you improve your knowledge?

I learn about the technical side, 114 style in progress

for instance about the production of cashmere and cotton, at trade school. In the store I am in the men's department, where I learn a lot about fits, for example which brand has tight tapered cuts and which one has straighter fits.

shirts, and Tagliatore. I'd like to dress like that when I'm a little older. However, I do like quite a few items already, especially the sportswear.

Did you have a special experience that highlighted the importance of good service?

Our customers often stay in the store a little longer. They enjoy the service and don't feel hassled.

Most importantly, they visit us again, which shows that they had a good time.

What are your favourite aspects?

I just love the fashion. The product range is fairly classical with brands such as Boglioli, Truzzi

The three Dantendorer stores in Salzburg's "Getreidegasse" stand for high-end sportswear, menswear, and women's wear with brands such as Incotex, Herno, Tonello, and Stone Island. The company also operates three other stores in Linz, Innsbruck, and Vienna. www.dantendorfer.at

"

098 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

Nothing is More Important than the Customer Daniel Six has been selling fashion with passion at Garhammer since 2007.

He explains how to be a good salesman and how he enjoys the challenge of offering excellent service.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper.

Photo: Garhammer

Did you always know that fashion - and Garhammer - is your calling?

Yes, even while I was still at school. There is no better fashion house than Garhammer. After my graduation I completed my retail salesman training there.

After another five years as a salesman I was then also allowed to accompany the purchasers.

Since 2007 I am a deputy in the young men's department with brands ranging from s.Oliver to Burberry.

Do you have a clear goal in mind?

Yes. I'd like to run a department and conduct purchasing independently.

What do you like best about being a salesman?

That every customer is different.

It is a challenge to deal with the various personalities. Some have to be persuaded to try something new. I love it when a customer wants a completely new outfit for a special occasion. It's great to then be told that the outfit was a success. That is really enjoyable.

Do you need to be ambitious?

Yes, but the most important thing is to be open and to enjoy human interaction. A reserved personality makes the job difficult. A salesman needs to come out of his shell and ensure that the information given to the customer is always well-founded.

How important is technical knowledge?

Some customers do want to know about the material composition of an item. That aspect is especially important in the highend sector when convincing the customer that a piece is worth its money. But most people are simply inspired by the fashion.

Product knowledge is secondary if an item is cool.

114 style in progress

Do you have issues with selling at extremely high prices?

One shouldn't be too intimidated by high prices and not use your own income as a reference.

Some customers are high-earners and therefore have no problems at all with spending 1,000 Euros on a jacket.

What is important to progress as a salesman?

I'd say diligence and a willingness to continually expand one's knowledge, even beyond the job. It is also vital to be aware of what's happening in the world.

If you give a job all you've got, then the management will ensure that you progress.

Which experiences do you have when you go shopping yourself?

Most shop assistants seem annoyed. I don't enjoy calling somebody over and normally

prefer to find my clothing myself. I'd love to be a normal customer at Garhammer, where the customer is the most important person in the building. Many people come from far away to experience this special service.

They want to have fun and enjoy the fact that the shop assistants give them as much of their time as they need, without any time pressure.

Garhammer in Waldkirchen (Bavaria) is a 9,000 square metre shop with six departments. The company continuously invested in upgrading and expansion, as well as an elaborate redesign, including the restaurant, the bistro, and the roof terrace. www.garhammer.de

www.airfield.at

Walter Moser GmbH 4863 Seewalchen am Attersee, Industriegebiet 2, T + 43 / 7662 / 31 75-0, E office@airfield.at, www.airfield.at

"

100 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

I've Always Loved Selling Things…

Susanne Benter learned her trade from the bottom up. She was employed by Engelhorn und Sturm, as well as Ludwig Beck, for a considerable amount of time before opening her own store in Munich. In our interview she explains to what extent her past experiences helped her on her route to independence and which new insights she gained in the process.

Interview: Nicoletta Schaper.

Photo: Julian Henzler

Ms. Benter, was it always your aim to become self-employed?

Yes, I actually always had my sights on my very own fashion store. That's why I studied business management in Nagold after my apprenticeship as a tailor instead of following up on the creative side.

How did you go about opening your own store?

After my substitute career at Engelhorn und Sturm I took a job in the purchasing department there and then switched to the purchasing department of Ludwig Beck eight years later. Ten years in I felt that it's time to pursue my dream. I've always loved selling things. I even worked in retail during my training and my studies.

What would you say is your greatest insight gained today?

In the past I overestimated the power of a brand. As a purchaser you naturally have some inside knowledge, so you see a collection differently. You know, for instance, that a great designer is the driving force behind the product range. However, the customers in the store tend to have no interest in that whatsoever.

So what is the determining factor?

The customer wants help to find her own style, she wants support. Not every woman has found her style. During my time as a purchaser I simply forgot that there are, of course, some people who don't spend any time thinking about the fashion world. They have completely different jobs and for them it is far more important that clothing looks great on them. They only feel well advised and start trusting the store when they receive compliments for the outfits they bought from us.

How many sales assistants do you employ?

114 style in progress

Three, of which one is a full-time employee. I myself am in the store six days a week, which is a top priority for me. If I give a store my name, then I'm expected to be in it.

What do you expect from your employees?

attitude towards people is also vital. One cannot learn that.

Anyone with a "glass half empty" attitude should not be in sales.

It would be impossible to inspire customers.

Customer retention is a vital aspect. Everybody has a different style, a different personality - one does not always find the perfect approach for every customer.

Which aspects can be learned, and which can't?

The importance of product knowledge increases with the quality of the product range.

Customers expect the shop assistant to know about the leather quality or how to maintain cashmere. However, a positive

The Susanne Benter store was opened in August 2012 between "Fünf Höfe" and "Bayerischer Hof" in Munich. The product range is feminine with brands such as M Missoni, Paul & Joe, and Tara Jarmon. www.susanne-benter.de

BREAD & BUT T ER - L.O.C.K.

H7.33.2

BAILLY DIEHL Frankfurth DANIELS Köln DIFFERENT FASHION Sylt ENGELHORN Mannheim LODENFREY München SCHNIT ZLER Münster

102 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

Excellent school grades are not that important for future salespeople - the individual performance is what matters.

114 style in progress

WHAT'S THE STORY 103 People Business

rare A

Commodity The image of a salesperson is not the best - average pay, long hours at the weekends, and overtime.

Not exactly a perception that will attract young people to the trade in swarms.

Text: Ina Köhler.

Katjana Lacatena/ CarolineSeidler.com.

Photos: Companies

Nevertheless a career in the retail trade is still popular among youths. According to a recent survey among pupils, the "Trendence Schülerbaro­ meter", jobs in the retail trade still sought-after. Brands such as H&M, New Yorker, Hugo Boss, Douglas, Adidas, Peek & Cloppenburg, Esprit, and C&A are listed among the 100 most popular employers in Germany.

In 2012, the German Federal Statistical Office revealed that the career as retail agent tops the table with more than 31,000 new indentures, while the career as salesperson came in second with approximately 27,500 new indentures.

New Talent is Scarce

Happy days, one might think.

However, the situation in the retail trade is not always rosy when looking at individual cases. Not every vacancy is filled. "Most fashion retailers in agglomeration areas have no problem finding suitable trainees", says Anja Rössler from BTE in Cologne.

She is the author of a professional documentation titled "Training and Further Education in the Retail Industry". The situation in rural areas is more difficult.

"The mobility of young people in such areas is limited. Large well-known companies find it easier to attract young talent, while small and medium-sized companies need to raise their profile first."

The company Wöhrl started including the demographic

factor in the training process a while ago. The business receives approximately 8,500 applications per year, but it's still difficult to find suitable junior employees.

"The majority of the applications are for apprenticeships. In this regard the demography effect is palpable. The absolute number of secondary school graduates is decreasing. The graduates also have a decreasing interest in the retail industry", says Kathrin Roy, the head of personnel systems at Rudolf Wöhrl AG. "Many opt for further education, which means that an increasing number of employers are competing for a decreasing number of talented employees."

The fashion house Zur Blauen Hand in Trier is also not solely optimistic regarding the future.

"At the moment we have four trainees, but we'd prefer six if we had a chance to get them", Michael Müller, the managing director, explains. "We would like to train disproportionately now to counteract the demographic factor." All full-time employees of the renowned menswear specialist are trained shop assistants or retail salespeople. Müller adds that his company is only willing to hire temporary staff for weekend shifts if the individuals in question have relevant experience in the fashion retail industry.

Who Trains the Industry?

The most common way into the fashion industry is still via a classic dual education process, either as retail salesperson (two or three style in progress 114

104 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

Margit Hutner, Hutner Training AG: "The generation Y has brought new needs and values into the corporate world. Knowledge is no longer obtained in-depth, but merely Googled. However, the best knowledge can be drawn from the experiences we have made."

years, depending on previous educational background) or the shorter shop assistant training.

According to the German state institute for vocational training, trainees - mostly women - earn 665 Euros in their first year, 742 Euros in the second, and 850 Euros in the third. However, companies in agglomeration areas often pay more. Peek & Cloppenburg pays its trainees 750 Euros in the first year, 850 Euros in the second, and 1,000 Euros in the third. Relocations expenses and rental allowances are possible upon consultation.

Many companies are willing to add sales commissions and are more than happy to hire their trainees after the apprenticeship.

"We hire 90% of our trainees.

That's an investment in our future", Michael Müller from Zur Blauen Hand in Trier explains.

The reputation of trainees within companies is on the rise too. "It is increasingly difficult to find good employees. It is easier to

Michael Müller, Zur Blauen Hand: "We didn't have to think about social competence in the past; it was self-evident."

114 style in progress

build up employees right from the start than to elaborately recruit them later", says Anja Rössler from BTE. Breuninger also focuses on its own junior employees. "Good employees are our plus", Christian Witt, Breuninger's director of corporate communications, states. "A company has three ways to differentiate itself: service, product range, and store atmosphere. Good counselling is what differentiates us from our rivals and from the mono-label stores."

Promotion Prospects

The promotion prospects after an apprenticeship are diverse, even without a university degree. The possibilities include jobs as first vendor, deputy, and department manager. When secondary school graduates decide to enter the fashion industry, they often choose the three-year training to become a certified commercial assistant or even a career with a master of commerce certificate.

This possibility combines various elements: phases of on-the-job training alternate with study phases in, for instance, a commerce academy. Trained retail salespeople and shop assistants can also obtain commercial assistant and master of commerce certificates if they choose to pursue further education.

This opens up possibilities at mid-management level. "The content of training and further education will be focused even more on professional usability", Manfred Mroz, the director of LDT Nagold Fachakademie für Textil & Schuhe, predicts. His academy traditionally educates individuals for the retail industry. Margit Hutner from Hutner Training AG, a training academy serving the retail trade, confirms how important it is for companies to offer its employees promotion prospects: "We believe it is vital to fill key positions correctly and to develop them accordingly. This does not always involve a management post, a department head, or a purchaser.

It is important to create new roles within the company to retain sales talent." Andreas Teiml from Garhammer has observed that the promotion prospects are not utilised by everyone: "We would love to support more junior employees and give them

additional responsibilities. Sadly, the willingness from their side is not always there."

The Hunt for Good Applicants

The majority of companies present themselves on their own Internet platforms and on trans-regional websites. Alongside schools, other important recruiting tools are job forums and career fairs organised by industrial and trade chambers.

"We recruit many apprentices from our pool of interns", Andreas Teiml from Grahammer in Waidkirchen explains.

"Approximately 30% to 40% of our interns return as apprentices." The mid-sized Bavarian family-owned company, which has roughly 400 employees, hires six to eight apprentices per year. "If the situation allows, we hire all interns", Teiml adds.

The competition is fierce when new branches are about to open.

When Breuninger opened its new store in Düsseldorf, the de-

Manfred Mroz, LDT Nagold: "The content of training and further education will be focused even more on professional usability."

Christian Witt, Breuninger: "A company has three ways to differentiate itself: service, product range, and store atmosphere. Good counselling is what differentiates us from our rivals and from the mono-label stores."

partment store hired more than 350 employees in one go. "Our human resources team conducted more than 1,000 personal interviews", Christian Witt, Breuninger's director of corporate communications, reveals.

"We chose a two-level recruiting process. Our new director for the Düsseldorf branch, Andreas Rebbelmund, was introduced to the press in January 2013. We also communicated that we need more employees and supported that statement with an advertising campaign." As the South German company is perceived as an attractive employer, many of its new team members were recruited from local competitors. Shop assistants from stores such as Aigner, Louis Vuitton, Eickhoff, and Karen Miller opted to switch to the new department store in the Kö-Bögen complex.

Social Skills Instead of Pythagoras

Which skills does a young person need to be a successful salesperson? Despite all the hysteria caused by recent education surveys, Angela Rössler from BTE experienced that her members are not too interested in grades when it comes to recruiting sales personnel: "Many members are willing to support apprentices with private tuition to ensure they manage to make their way through vocational school."

There seems to be a general consensus regarding the assessment of school achievements. "Passion for fashion, empathy, the ability to think on your feet, and enthusiasm for the product - all these factors are more important than

grab the app...

106 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

formal qualifications", Christian Witt from Breuninger says.

Andreas Teiml from Garhammer agrees: "School grades often say nothing about an individual.

Friendliness is important. Enjoying your job, language fluency, and open mindedness are vital.

Our apprentices are mostly out on the floor, so they have to be ready quickly."

"Apprentices need a sense for fashion and have a smart appearance", Kathrin Roy from Wöhrl explains. "They have to be communicative and extroverted. It starts with noticing the customer, greeting the customer properly when he or she enters the building, and offering assistance. One needs tact and a lot

of experience for that." However, he also finds critical words: "We increasingly notice that classic values such as diligence, respect, and discipline are losing importance. This is why we also offer our apprentices a course titled "Wöhrl Etiquette" to build competence in areas that are vital for us. Soft skills such as communication abilities, commitment, fashion sense, and good teamwork are generally more important than excellent school grades. Social competence is important for customer interaction, not the Theorem of Pythagoras."

Michael Müller from Zur Blauen Hand thinks similarly: "We didn't have to think about social competence in the past; it was self-evident. Today things are different. Parents no longer see good upbringing as the number one priority. You can't learn social competence; you either have it, or you don't. For us this skill is - alongside extroversion the number one priority for an appointment."

Internal and External Training

Andreas Teiml, Grahammer "School grades often say nothing about an individual.

Friendliness is important.

Enjoying your job, language fluency, and open mindedness are vital."

So how do you become a really good salesperson? In addition to the vocational school, prospective sales assistants naturally need time in the store. "Our sales personnel switches through various departments. We also train them

internally. For instance, we have a unit on product information every four to five weeks; we also add topics like sales strategy", Andreas Teiml from Grahammer explains. From a certain size onwards fashion stores tend to have their own training teams.

Companies such as the North German retailer Ramelow or the Austrian retailer Bründl even have their own academies to train their apprentices, employees, and managers in practically oriented topics like motivation and teamwork. The Wöhrl Academy, which was founded 25 years ago, schools its attendants on how to communicate with customers appropriately. All apprentices attend the etiquette seminar to learn about business etiquette.

Many companies turn to external training partners who provide important training modules.

Hutner Training AG is a successful company serving the fashion industry. It's client list includes retailers such as Leffers, Engelhorn, Fischer in Taucha, Reischmann, Ludwig Beck, Lodenfrey, and Peek & Cloppenburg. "Trainees need good care", Margit Hutner says. "The generation Y has brought new needs and values into the corporate world. Knowledge is no longer obtained in-depth, but merely

Kathrin Roy, Rudolf Wöhrl AG: "Soft skills such as communication abilities, commitment, fashion sense, and good teamwork are generally more important than excellent school grades. Social competence is important for customer interaction, not the Theorem of Pythagoras."

Googled. However, the best knowledge can be drawn from the experiences we have made.

Working with young people who are used to giving and receiving feedback is a great opportunity.

They experience that part of life on Facebook and other channels on a daily basis. This generation is open to criticism and has a huge development potential.

This is why it is important to promote the idea of regular feedback meetings regarding performance and conduct."

Companies need to offer career opportunities - for instance as purchaser. Students of LDT Nagold during a practical test in the Marc O'Polo showroom.

114 style in progress

www.marlino. de Alda is wearing pArkA LU

108 WHAT'S THE STORY

Search, contact, and lure - business for head hunters is good in the restless fashion world.

There is even still room for improvement.

114 style in progress

WHAT'S THE STORY 109 People Business

find He Who Seeks, Shall

They are the matchmakers of the fashion industry.

Head hunters and recruiters are on the spot when talent meets supply. Their tools include an intensively fostered personal network and its digital ramifications.

Illustration: Katjana Lacatena/ CarolineSeidler.com.

Photos: Dialogue partner

When Linda Evangelista refused to even get out of bed for less than 10,000 Dollars a day, then the intersection with the popular opinion about the remuneration of head hunters is relatively large.

That is the crux of the matter.

The rather smart idea to recruit via agencies and specialised service providers is often met with unfounded prejudices. One of the most common beliefs is that head hunters tend to empty the pockets of their clients. It is quite understandable that an expert like Jürgen Müller, the former editor-in-chief of the industry publication TextilWirtschaft and current partner at Hartman Consulting, is not willing to reveal for which sum per vacancy he gets out of bed for in the morning. "One cannot really quantify that. As an executive search agency we recruit top managers and top specialists."

Naturally, everyone speaks about money at some point. That is necessary, as the increase of wage and status that they can offer their candidates are, after all, their biggest assets. This is

especially true in the fashion industry, where the egos are large and the remuneration is low - or at least perceived as low. However, Andreas Fleischmann, the managing director Axento, the human resources specialist within the global network of BBDO, does know the benchmarks.

"One can earn two to three times as much in the fashion distribution trade compared to other business segments." Florian Weingärtner, one of four partners at the executive search agency Invest Service, agrees: "Regarding wages the fashion trade is in a good mid-range position."

The Super Candidate

So who are these individuals that head hunters seek and woo?

Those individuals, who companies would rather keep secret to avoid attracting the interest of head hunters? "Specialised knowledge has never been in higher demand", says Oliver Schneider, who covers the Austrian market in his capacity as partner at Heiner Tennie's HFT Consulting. "Good production spestyle in progress 114

110 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

"The demands in the retail industry have increased significantly."

Jürgen Müller, Partner Hartmann Consultants

"One can earn two to three times as much in the fashion distribution trade compared to other business segments."

Andreas Fleischmann, CEO Axento

cialists and good technicians are a rare commodity. The personnel that was cut in Europe is now back in demand, mainly because many companies are bringing back their production capacities to the area." It seems grotesque at first glance, but this development is fairly typical for a market that is subject to the usual cycles.

General developments within the industry are clearly reflected by the labour market. For instance, a once sought after group is now facing a fairly tough time. "The classic purchaser is currently not in high demand due to the concentration process on the trade side that we have witnessed over the last few years", says Jürgen Müller. "Fewer market participants lead to fewer jobs for purchasers." The huge pool of candidates looking for work in marketing and social media relations is facing similar issues.

"Marketing, PR, and e-commerce are the fields everyone wants to work in and everyone claims to have the necessary skills. In reality, there are very few real specialists, especially in the online retailing segment", says Oliver Schneider.

In the Next Round

Are there candidates that can make demands? Sector experts 114 style in progress

believe such individuals can be found in the distribution departments, where nothing else matters when the numbers add up. "The distribution side of the industry is not as simple as it used to be either. The strategic standards are higher", Florian Weingärtner explains. "In times when salespeople can no longer distinguish themselves solely via growth rates, different characters are needed. Individuals who can successfully implement distribution systems and concepts; individuals who always have the strategic component of the sales process in mind. One has to understand the modern system, know that sales areas are cultivated differently today, and that the structures have changed."

The cross-over ratio from other industries is high nevertheless.

Rough edges and gaps in the CV are not an issue as long as the high potential candidates are also high performers. "Generally speaking, the educational background is not too important of the candidate has the necessary skills", Andreas Fleischmann argues. The fashion industry has always been fairly liberal and open regarding university dropouts in management positions.

In the past, this would have been deemed impossible in companies

from other industries, but today it is as antiquated as compulsory ties.

Changes in Retail

Recruiters in retail? The first thoughts that come to mind are temporary employment, employee leasing, and outsourcing. This is no surprise given the fact that most retailers cover their high demand for part-time and auxiliary workers via such service providers. When it comes to sheer numbers, one hardly hires a skilled pearl diver. It is, of course, a cost factor. Jürgen Müller says: "Despite all the problems that this causes, I can understand the retailers when they act in a cost-conscious manner regarding their personnel needs for the sales area. They have no choice if they want to remain competitive. This means the resource management in the retail sector has to be all the better." Florian Weingärtner observes: "Enthusiasm is a central requirement in many areas of the retail industry, mostly when the brands are strong or the emotional ties to the segment is high. Examples are the premium denim and the board sport fields. The cross-over ratio is high, especially when a new trend emerges; this is when the retailers give a lot of leeway

and questions the candidates less.

After all, authenticity and product knowledge play a particularly important role."

And yet, at the tip of the iceberg, the quality head hunters find vacancies to fill. Jürgen Müller says: "The demands in the retail industry have increased significantly. Within the larger structures one no longer needs as many employees with general training, but specialists who have a well-defined position within the organisation. They are, for instance, responsible for expansion or logistics. That has very little in common with the skill sets needed in a small specialised retailer." He continues: "This specialisation makes the retail industry more attractive for academics." All experts agree that it is vital to give retail jobs a high-quality image. Florian Weingärtner says: "The responsibilities within the retail segment have gone through a specialisation process, which means that job candidates now have more perspectives and career opportunities." These new advancement opportunities do not only have to be explained to future employees. "The large retailers such as P&C or Wöhrl started working on personnel development issues some time

MARKETPLACE FOR LEADING BRANDS INTERNATIONAL FASHION TRADE SHOW | 14 – 16 JANUARY 2014 www.panorama-berlin.com

112 WHAT'S THE STORY People Business

"The distribution side of the industry is not as simple as it used to be." Florian Weingärtner, Invest Service

"The personnel that was cut in Europe is now back in demand." Oliver Schneider, Partner HFT Consulting

ago. Employees are subject to the same rules as customers. It is easier and cheaper to keep existing ones than winning new ones", Florian Weingärtner argues.

Please Stay!

Talents are no longer hidden.

Every good employee has a network, be that a personal or a digital one. This is also the natural habitat of those who try to persuade those employees to switch jobs with telephone calls, e-mails, and messages via professional networks such as Xing or LinkedIn. Jürgen Müller says: "This industry is fairly open to job changes. The switch rate is increasing, while the job attachment decreases. "Whenever there is an industry get-together, the head hunters are not far away. "Most of the movement is centred on trade fairs and naturally we are always present", Oliver Schneider explains. Once a suitable candidate has been identified, the hunt begins. "A direct call to the workplace is rare. There is always a different way to approach a candidate. I always describe us as the "good mafia" of the industry. We always know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone else", Oliver Schneider adds with a wink.

114 style in progress

The promises made to the respective clients are diverse.

While Andreas Fleischmann has adopted the policy of only presenting the best candidate for a vacancy, Jürgen Müller's Hartman Consulting tends to scan the entire industry. "Research is our strength. If a client is on the lookout for a leading retail manager, we supply an in-depth market overview that screens all potential candidates." Then both sides come together under the guidance of the personnel consultant. The matchmakers even hang around after the ink on the contract has dried. After all, it is also in their best interest that the candidate is happy with his new job. If the new employee and the client part ways within half a year, the vacant position would have to be filled with a different candidate free of charge.

"Sustainability is one of our core services as personnel consultants.

If we bring to parties together successfully, then we achieve sustainability", Florian Weingärtner explains.

While taking the last hurdle, namely the integration of the new employee into the corporate structure, the consultants need to prove their mettle. It is quite common for the internal human resources department to feel

inferior when an appointment is made via an external personnel agency. Therefore it is no surprise that all headhunting companies are eager to stress that they do not want to - and cannot compete with internal employee development. Oliver Schneider says: "Head hunters can never replace the human resources department of a company and its employee development strategy.

How do I keep my employees?

How do I entertain my staff?

Anyone who cannot answer these questions has a serious problem."

Florian Weingärtner also argues that is not the fault of the internal human resources department when an employee is successfully poached: "A company should not blame itself if an employee decides to move on despite good personnel management." This is particularly true as the new generation of employees have a completely different approach.

"Employees in their late 20s can expect something from the employer. They have invariably enjoyed an excellent education, are international, and have been brought up to be confident. They see potential employers as negotiating partners and as a stage for a certain part of their lives; they no longer perceive them as their professional home for life."

Competition Hurdles

While job candidates can decide which company they want to join, the sphere of activity for the recruiters is significantly tighter.

Andreas Fleischmann says: "Compared to other industries, where we assist all large players on the market, the fashion companies demand large concessions in terms of exclusivity. If you are working with A, you are not allowed to work with B. That can be quite absurd at times. The hurdles that have to be taken are undoubtedly higher than in other industries." An existing client therefore enjoys special protection, meaning that recruiting from within that client's ranks would violate contracts and ethic codes. Jürgen Müller elaborates: "I cannot reveal any figures regarding exclusivity; they arise automatically. One cannot work for every chain simultaneously, but has to focus one's efforts."

So there we have it once again; no information regarding figures.

After all, discretion is part of the job.

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114 WHAT'S THE STORY SUIT 2.0

Suit 2.0

The casual trend was threatening to overpower the suit completely. However, it was precisely this formal loss of importance that opened the door to a young target group, who no longer sees the suit as the embodiment of social constraint, but as a style statement.

Here we take stock of recent development.

Text: Isabel Faiss.

Photos: Brands

114 style in progress

The suit is - and always will be - a major contributor to revenues in the men's fashion segment, no matter whether it is considered trendy or has temporarily disappeared from public perception. It still carries the weight of an enormous symbolic power on its shoulders and is the embodiment of an ever-changing set of values that is constantly being challenged, especially by the younger generation. A new style - liberated from the business uniform purpose - supports a development that is beneficial to the suit's image.

The fashionable fits on the one side, as well as a high degree of innovation regarding designs on the other, have finally blown away the cobwebs that had settled on this particular fashion genre and made it more appealing for a new generation of customers.

There are, for example, the secondary school graduates and students, who have only recently

rediscovered the suit for themselves. This can almost be described as new fashion territory, mainly because the post-1968 generation - the fathers of the men between 20 and 25 years of age - was not too interested in wearing suits. It's about self-discovery, experimentation with old values, the own interpretation of classic apparel, and - as always - finding an alternative lifestyle.

They don't have to - and don't want to - settle for rejecting an outdated image, because they can now choose from a huge range of new silhouettes, fabrics, and details. They no longer need to counteract the suit's symbolism by combining it with sneakers, because the suit is miles away from the cultural concept it embodied 20 years ago. The whole genre had fallen silent in the past, which enabled younger target groups to approach it from a completely new angle without any prejudices. The first steps into the fashion world of

WHAT'S THE STORY 115

The Drykorn brand was one of the first to answer the demand of mostly younger customers for slim silhouettes.

Hence Drykorn is still among the key players in the progressive young product segments.

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116 WHAT'S THE STORY SUIT 2.0

collars and lapels are made easier by playfully exploring new combination possibilities. The current advertising campaign of the brand CG - Club of Gentlemen captured this dynamic and new self-confidence of young suit wearers in a photo shoot with secondary school graduates. The result speaks for itself.

Slim Fit and Skinny Fit

"The suit does not need to be reinvented constantly. Innovation takes place at more subtle levels." Marco Götz, Drykorn

The brand Drykorn was one of the first to implement slim fashionable silhouettes and to reduce the initial reluctance of younger customers to a minimum with an ironically over-styled communication strategy. "It was always our strategy to offer high quality suits with very fashionable fits at an affordable price. That was our recipe for success when we entered the market. Thus, we managed to gain a completely new target group, which was initially, in terms of its socialisation, not suit-savvy", Marco Götz, the chief executive of Drykorn, explains.

The brand has held its position among the elite revenue generators in the German retail industry for many years, which has turned it into a benchmark for the entire genre alongside the label Hugo. "We found a fit that strongly appeals to our target group. We could significantly expand our suit operations by offering additional fits, but that would undermine our own credibility. We believe our honest approach has sufficient revenue potential for the next few years." Even though Marco Götz has noticed that the suit market itself has diminished significantly, the genre is continuously increasing its revenue contribution within the Drykorn portfolio. Especially the market share of suits with slim silhouettes is growing with every passing season. "The suit is definitely a revenue generator. It is a non-volatile market with solid growth rates, as long as you don't make mistakes. Once a brand has found a good positioning and a basic strategy, both the retailers and consumers are grateful and - most importantly - loyal to their label of choice. If you add a few innovations to every season, manage your fit portfolio well, and ensure that the price levels are realistic, then you might not enjoy growth rates between 50% and 100%, but at least you'll be able to sleep peacefully."

Demand vs. Statement

"Today, classic attitudes are deliberately exaggerated and fashion-savvy men wear a new interpretation of the suit."

Torsten Poschardt, René Lezard

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Speaking of peaceful nights, the infamous modular systems have significantly increased the revenue potential for the retail industry and significantly reduced the advance order risk due by not causing write-offs. Marco Götz is critical of the shift of collection topics to the NOS programmes, which is why the percentage within the Drykorn collection is low. "The modular system is obviously a sweetener for the retails because they can assemble a stock of trousers and jackets from every supplier in the sizes they need. However, this makes the product offering rather boring. The majority of suits are now assembled via modular systems. The revenue that this generates robs you of the possibility to establish new products on the market. In principle, we profit from the fact that our competitors offer so many modular systems, because we sell a lot of our fashion themes."

Despite the clear revenue spread, Reto Senti, the head of marketing at Swiss PKZ Group, also emphasises the importance of fashionable seasonal collections alongside the basics programmes, especially when it comes to winning over new customers: "The suit remains one of your most important product groups. What currently works very well for us, are, on the one hand, the modular systems for demand-oriented customers and, on the other hand, highly fashionable and special designs. The customer ei-

breaD & cPM cPD FasHIon Week FasHIon cIFF MoDeFabrIek aMsterDaM Hot I butter Moskau düsseldorf Hot II PreMIère coPenHagen

Création Gross GmbH & Co. KG // Houbirgstraße 7 // 91217 Hersbruck // Phone +43 (0) 664 4 12 35 17 // e-Mail: h.kitzler@carlgross.com // cg-club-of-gents.com

118 WHAT'S THE STORY SUIT 2.0

ther wants the safe option, or he seeks to make a fashion statement. The spread currently stands at approximately 70% to 30%. However, we do sense that the younger customers believe suits are exciting again, mainly because those new fits are available. That's why we need to have the highly fashionable cuts in our portfolio. They may not generate as much revenue as the classic fits, but they are the future."

Innovation Needs Communication

"We can sense that young customers find the suit attractive and exciting again."

Reto Senti, PKZ

"The suit as a working uniform is an old cliché.

The modern customer thinks in complete looks."

Guido Ostländer, Cinque

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This future was not heralded yesterday. "The innovation within the suit segment is a fluent process", says Guido Ostländer, the head of design at Cinque. "It was a revolution when the slim fits surfaced in the 1990s. Back then, slim fit meant a narrow top with fairly wide trousers. This cut has developed into a rather extreme silhouette. At the moment we are speaking about a jacket with back length of up to 71 centimetres and a foot width of up to 34 centimetres. That is super slim. However, it is not always enough to simply deliver a black slim suit without any extras to the famous German core departments. That doesn't win over any customers anymore.

It's about the details like the lining, the under collar, and interesting buttons. That's what makes a suit exciting.

We started with contrast stitching and buttonholes of a different colour many years ago. This is seen as standard today. The modern customer simply expects that."

The idea of men's fashion with colour turned into a bit of a belly landing for many in the last spring/summer season - once again. It was considered to be quite a sensation when - after all the talk and near to no action the new shades of blue were finally introduced. "It was a little revolution when those incredibly strong blue tones ranging from royal to ink managed to prevail. Suits used to be anthracite, black, and - at best - marine", Guido Ostländer explains.

Change always needs to be communicated wisely. There are very few products that are as consultation-intensive as the suit and very few products offer so many consulting opportunities. Most consumers relish a challenge. It is often enough to visualise a new look in a credible manner. Torsten Poschardt, the managing director of sales and design at René Lazard, says: "The suit is supposed to be a pleasure buy. We would like to see more suits presented as a look with shirt, knitwear, and tie. That would make the image on the sales floor more emotional and livelier." Much of this liveliness was ultimately supplied by the casualisation process, which some initially hailed as the death of classic ready-to-wear fashion. High-calibre players such as Etro and Boglioli have shown how naturally one can combine the wear comfort of sportswear with the formal elegance of ready-to-wear items, which ultimately liberated the suit from its perception as an inconvenient necessity.

The recent development highlights how heterogeneous the male target group really is. The "one for all" motto has not worked in the suit segment for some time.

However, the suit is led into the future by precisely this differentiation and its new the social role - liberated from stubborn etiquette, yet still a symbol of modern masculinity. This future is most definitely a bright one.

BREAD & BUTTER BERLIN 14.01. – 16.01.2014 | FASHION WEEK DÜSSELDORF 01.02. – 04.02.2014 | Cinque Showroom | Speditionstraße 17 | Düsseldorf COLLECTION PRÈMIERE MOSCOW 25.02. – 28.02.2014 | ILM 08.03. – 10.03.2014 | GDS 12.03. – 14.03.2014 | Cinque Showroom | Speditionstraße 17 | Düsseldorf CINQUE MODA GMBH | +49 (0)2161 9653 | info@cinque.de | cinque.de | CINQUE SHOES | pluslinks GmbH | +49 (0)2161 308510 | info@pluslinks.de CINQUE BAGS | Roberto Design International GmbH | +49 (0)6751 93500 | info@roberto-design.com

120 WHAT'S THE STORY SUIT 2.0

Honest, Not Unattainable Creation Gross pioneered the modular system for suits and the company has managed to cement its market position. In his capacity as chief executive, Ralph Bรถhm is responsible for the two brands Carl Gross and CG - Club of Gents. In the case of CG - Club of Gents, he places a special emphasis on his instinct for younger target groups to ensure that the suit is presented authentically and can finally be removed from the high pedestal of unattainability.

Mr Bรถhm, with the brands Carl Gross and CG - Club of Gents you have managed to ensure that your company addresses two completely different target groups in the men's suit segment. Which role does the suit play?

The suit has attracted a lot of attention, especially from the younger target groups, over the last few years, which is why it is equally important in both our fashion segments. Carl Gross positions us in the Modern Men Classic field alongside brands such as Boss Black Line and Strellson. In this segment we focus on extremely high quality materials. We obtain our fabrics exclusively from the best Italian weavers like Cerruti, Guabello, Reda, and Marzotto. The CG - Club of Gents collections is positioned in the Modern Men Premium segment alongside the likes of Cinque and Hugo Red. Here we focus on new cuts and fits. If we add up the seasonal part of the collections and the NOS programmes, then the suit contributes approximately 60% to our total revenue.

Are extensive NOS systems like the ones offered by your company - also a risk for the innovation level within the collection?

Sadly, the seasonal collections, which are subject to the classic advance order process, have seen their significance gradually diminish over the last few years.

If you combine the revenues of both our collections, more than 50% of our revenue is now generated via NOS programmes.

It is wrong to describe modular system as monotonous, as innovation play an important part in these systems. For instance, the newest fits and new shades of blue from our CG - Club of Gents range are extremely popular in the NOS programmes.

We offer more than 50 different designs within that modular system. We were one of the first companies in Europe to establish this idea in a consistent and sustainable fashion. Today, we are the market leaders when it comes to modular systems, especially in the high-end segment. Nevertheless we include designs that represent all the newest suit trends in every seasonal collection. We basically use these designs as our test laboratory, which enables us to select future bestsellers for the modular systems.

I would definitely say the latter.

We organised a marketing event to support our current advertising campaign. I think this event was a good example for how one can introduce the suit to a young target group in a credible way. We invited a few school kids for a shooting to show how much fun it can be to wear a suit. Within a short period of time, the event gained a certain momentum and the fun element became very real. I think that was one of the most authentic suit-related shootings ever. The school kids present the product in such a natural manner. That is my recommendation for the retail industry. A purposeful imagery can reach customers - especially the younger ones significantly earlier. This is one of our central motives for action; and it will remain central for years to come.

Is the retail industry representing suits appropriately at the moment or do you believe there is still room for improvement?

CG - Club of Gents invited young high-school kids to a shooting in suits for a marketing event titled "Suits for the next generation". The event was a resounding success.

In his capacity as chief executive of Carl Gross, Ralph Bรถhm manages the two brands Carl Gross and CG - Club of Gents from his office in the corporate headquarters in Hersbruck, Franconia.

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ICH BIN EIN BERLINER. —DANIEL, Berlin

BREADANDBUTTER.COM BREAD & BUTTER. 14—16 JANUARY 2014 AIRPORT BERLIN-TEMPELHOF

122 WHAT'S THE STORY suit 2.0

"Nearly All the Suits We Sell Are Slim Fits" Wormland, with its eight branches in Germany, is a symbol for the suit's transition to the younger generation. The company's progressively shaped product range aims at a younger fashionable target group.

However, Jochen Vöcker (head of purchasing) does not define his customers via their age, but via their individual sense of style.

In his capacity as head of purchasing at Wormland, Jochen Vöcker does not define his target group via its age group, but via fashion styles. He believes an excellent good is timeless.

Mr Vöcker, could we please start by dispelling a cliché.

Does the average German man still solely buy Boss suits?

Let's be honest. Boss has been dominating the German suit market for more than 30 years.

That's a fact. Then Hugo was added to the mix. Both brands embodied the market for all those years. I think it is finally time for new names to step up and earn their market share, but that is very difficult. One really has to marvel at what Boss has achieved over the last few years.

So far, nobody has managed to undermine this success story by taking back a share of the market. We only see very few suppliers that can be serious contenders. Two good examples are Tiger of Sweden, where

we invested a lot of time into establishing the brand on the German market, and Drykorn.

These two labels also represent our most important price classes.

Drykorn operated in the price bracket below 400 Euros, Boss and Hugo cover the mid-price segment, and Tiger of Sweden is slightly above that price level.

We are generating good revenues with these pillars.

You are particularly popular among younger target groups.

Which level of fashion innovation do these customers demand?

The suit topic is more a question of fashion attitude than age. Our customer is the modern man, although we have noticed that we sell a lot more suits in sizes 44 to 46 than in sizes 54 to 56. Inno-

vation is in strong demand. The best approach is to focus on new fabrics such as Jacquard patterns, cotton/polyester/spandex blends, and stretch materials. The latter was - until now - only found in the women's outerwear segment, but is highly wearable, especially when the customer has a slim silhouette. Today, nearly all the suits we sell are slim fits. A Boss regular cut is our widest torso, but even that cut is fairly narrow.

In recent years, the silhouette area has experienced an awful lot of change. Let's also not forget that is was almost revolutionary when the new shades of blue were introduced. We are talking about a very strong blue here, not common navy blue.

Basics are currently seen as a godsend for the retail industry. Or are they also a bane in certain ways?

Basics have an excellent stock rotation and are highly profitable due to the fact that they don't cause write-offs. They are sold until Saturday, the calculations are made on Monday, and then the new orders are sent straight to the supplier, who tops up the stock from the NOS programme.

For us this is essential, mainly because we are also very active in the open goods segments, which is - so to speak - the highly fashionable field. Our percentage of basics stands at 45%, which is not comparable with rivals where the percentage can reach 70% or even 80%.

The suit sections in the Wormland branches are defined by their purist elegant design.

There is certainly no hint of any outdated image here.

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124 WHAT'S THE STORY

Coolness with Additional Value Dual-ism. It is possible to combine fashion and function in an aesthetic and forward-thinking manner.

The small high-end collection Dual-ism - a co-operation between Japanese skiing clothing group Descente and the designer Yono that has entered its fourth season - is the living proof.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper.

Photos: Dual-ism

Cool, strong, and futuristic Dual-ism offers a collection of urban sportswear for men with fashionable style consciousness and technical innovations. The driving force behind Dual-ism is the Japanese group Descente, which was founded in 1935 and has specialised in skiing clothing and subsequently branched out into the running and biker segments. "Innovation and product development are the forefront of Descente's efforts, which has earned the company a leading position in the active wear business", Massimiliano Tosi, general manager at Dual-ism Project Europe/Middle East/Africa, says.

The second protagonist is the Japanese designer Yono, who has already created collections for the likes of Benetton, Brema, and the Capsule Collection 66°33 for Napapijri. "He is a real pioneer with a knack for perfectly combining function and tradition", Tosi adds.

Finest Technology

The slogan of Dual-ism Project is "From Street To Extreme".

Thus, a clothing item should be wearable in many different situations, both on the way to work and in the great outdoors.

Military and work clothing from the era between the 1940s and 1970s served as an inspiration to combine the historic cuts and traditional processing techniques with modern technologies.

The result is a product that is both surprisingly modern and timeless: casual sportswear that still values craftsmanship and

tailoring skills. For instance, the Mizusawa down jacket is made of a four-way stretch material.

The down chambers are closed by welding rather than by quilting seams, which results in reduced heat loss and extreme water resistance. The jacket costs 950 Euros in retail with a general calculation ratio of 2.6 and higher, depending on base prices. Another innovation is the Trailblazer jacket made of Kevlar fabric that obtains a patina over time. The three layers can also be used separately: the outer jacket can be worn over the blazer on rainy days, while the detachable light down jacket can be an individual item in its own right.

The latter can also be bought separately at retail price of 250 Euros. In the current season, the brand has added knitwear and sweats to the product range.

Successful Test Batch

Due to the sophistication of the products, the distribution concept is highly selective. Uwe Lehmann, the former country manager of the brand Napapijri for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Eastern Europe, is the Dual-ism importer for Germany and Austria since last year and can draw from with vast experience in those particular markets. "The goal is to secure 80 premium customers in Germany", Uwe Lehmann explains. "Co-operations based on partnership and sustainability are important to us. Therefore, there are no outlets and no self-initiated online sales to assure the

General manager Massimiliano Tosi (left), designer Yono, and Uwe Lehmann, the importer for Germany and Austria – Dual-ism is their joint project.

114 style in progress

retailers can work in peace."

Currently Dual-ism has 100 points of sale within fashion stores across the globe. This means Dual-ism is - alongside its Japanese home market where it opened a new flagship store in October last year - available in Italy, the UK, Germany, Austria, and Spain. "We now want to move into Belgium, the Netherlands, the US, and Canada", Massimiliano Tosi says. "We are very excited to see how these new markets will develop."

Descente LTD • 2 headquarters in Tokyo and Osaka • 4 production plants in Japan • Dual-ism Project • 2 collections per year with 30 to 40 items • 100 points of sale worldwide; strongest European markets: UK, Italy, and Germany www.dualism.descente.com Distribution Europe: Matopo Project, Milan/ Italy, T 0039.02.5692491, ufficio@matopo.it

WHAT'S THE STORY 125

Dual-ism focuses on urban outerwear with a futureoriented design.

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126 WHAT'S THE STORY

Innovations and a high fashion grade remain at the core of the brand Deyk.

"Trousers are a Know-how Product" DEYK. Reality check at Deyk.

Specialised retail trumps the core department.

Text: Stephan Huber. Photos: Deyk

In the case of a company that has such a long term strategic vision as Herforder Leineweber GmbH, it was always clear the much-noted comeback of the Deyk brand, that was once the spearhead of the New Womenswear/Menswear movement, is about more than merely selling a few more - or many more - women's trousers in the premium segment.

Given the background, it is not really a surprise that the project is a success. One could even say that the meticulous efforts put into the launch of Deyk were unnecessary. The impetus was, in reality, the awareness of a changing market and - more importantly - for a changing customer base. Deyk can be compared with the role of the Formula 1 circuit for the vehicle industry; it is a future lab for the company. This made the start under real conditions even more exciting for all involved parties.

This start was the first delivery date in winter 2013. Kai Timpe, the chief executive of Deyk, says: "The expectations, especially of the sales, were enormous, both on our side and on the side of our trading partners. And we were very relieved when we managed to meet those expectations."

Important Feedback

The next challenge was to absorb all the market feedback and use it to further develop the Deyk brand. Timpe: "The test 114 style in progress

collections were intentionally pointed from a fashion point of view. We wanted to show what we can do and position ourselves at the pinnacle of fashion right from the start. Based on the feedback from our customers, we utilised the two test collections to develop the fashion grade, the pricing structure, and - most importantly - the fit in line with the market requirements."

Innovation and a high fashion grade are therefore still the core of the brand. This also applies to the quality principles, which are mainly based on Japanese and Italian standards with European production skills. The brand even actively reacted to specific needs of one of its trading partners by developing two new commercial fits. The denim competence, which already came to the forefront in the current order volume, will be expanded carefully and in a product-oriented manner.

Deyk will be showcasing its product range for the first time at Berlin's Premium trade fair in winter 2014. Timpe sees this as the next logical step, not least because of the experience Deyk gained regarding which trade types value the brand most: "We achieve the best results among the high-end specialised retailers with a high consulting and service competence. This includes retailers such as K&Ă– in Graz, Petera in Innsbruck, Grahammer

in Waldkirchen, Reischmann in Ulm, and L&T in OsnabrĂźck. Deyk is not a product for the core division. When it comes to trousers like these, know-how is everything. I don't merely mean the know-how of the manufacturer, but also the know-how at the point of sale."

The brand conducted more than 60 product training sessions in 2013 and wants to maintain this speed in cooperation with its trading partners. Not least because these training units also deliver valuable insights that will help the further development of Deyk itself. Insights that will most definitely aid the introduction of collection for men. Kai Timpe: "Of course this product extension is at the top of our list, but we don't feel any pressure to push ahead. It will be on the agenda in 2015 at the earliest."

Once again, these plans are perfectly in line with the long term corporate strategy.

www.deyk.com

WHAT'S THE STORY 127

Perfect Entrance grace. Martina and Dietmar Zinnecker got off to a great start with their Grace fashion line. That's actually no surprise, as there is a lot of experience and know-how behind Grace.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper. Photos: Grace

Grace's stand at the Show & Order trade fair was very popular, both during the first presentation for autumn/winter 2013 and last summer. "Exciting customers graced us with great orders", Dietmar Zinnecker says happily. "The product came at the right time; the collection was coherent. I'd say it was the perfect entrance."

No Coincidence

The background of Grace is thoroughly professional. Dietmar Zinnecker studied knitting technique, while his wife Martina studied knitting design. Their design agency Ide Textildesign, which was founded in 1990, successfully developed knitwear and shirt collections for renowned companies for many years. A lot of these fashion collections were made successful by their innovative design language. Grace is their first own product line and the Zinneckers left nothing to chance. They worked on the items until they were perfect, turned to long-standing partners in Hong Kong and Istanbul for production, and established distribution agreements with selected agencies. As a result, Grace surpassed all expectations in the first season.

The design of Grace is both innovative and distinctive, but also appeals to a broad range of potential customers. The first collection was divided into two themes, namely "Wild Hearts" with a design inspired by the Alps and "Glamrock" with its cool and modern interpretation of the term. High-end wool/ cashmere qualities are typical for Grace, as are special print techniques and a great love for detail. The range of knitwear, shirts, and sweats complemented by hats and costume jewellery for a coherent overall picture.

"It's quite unbelievable that all our winter hats were sold out in August, when the temperature was at 35 degrees Celsius", Zinnecker adds.

Clear Concept

Grace prides itself on its concentrated pre-order range of only 70 items and the largest

The Grace collection appeals to a broad customer base.

possible production quantities per model, as well as its punctual delivery and with only few items in stock for reordering. The latter saves warehouse costs and keeps the products desirable. The Kempten-based company, which currently has no more than four employees, is also eager to keep its distribution selective. For Zinnecker this means that he needs to focus on further growth with existing customers. Furthermore, the company wants to expand from the German-speaking core markets into the Benelux countries and Scandinavia. "The market was open for us and still remains open", Dietmar Zinnecker says. "We are looking forward to proving ourselves and would like to thank all our customers for the incredible reception."

Grace Fashion GmbH 500 points of sale in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland 2 fashion collections per year Prices: Jersey between 59 Euros and 89 Euros in retail Knitwear between 149 Euros and 259 Euros in retail Calculation ratio between 2.7 and 2.8 Excerpt of customers: Breuninger in Stuttgart, Stierblut in Munich, Wunderhaus in Cologne, Different Fashion on Sylt, Englhaus in KitzbĂźhel, Strolz in Lech, Feldpausch in Zurich www.grace-fashion.com

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128 WHAT'S THE STORY

The Name Says It All Marc O'Polo.

Marc O'Polo's new fashion line for women is targeting the premium segment.

Text: Stephan Huber.

Photos: Marc O'Polo

Marc O'Polo is a relatively quiet company. The group from Stephanskirchen is not one to make loud announcements. It silently relishes its continual healthy growth over the last few years, while investing its profits strategically in the internationalisation and sustainability of the company. The widely acclaimed advertising campaign with Jeff Bridges and Amber Valletta could even be seen as a break with the group's corporate philosophy, albeit an intentional one. "It is a positive provocation", Andreas Baumg채rtner, the director of marketing and design, explains. Not least to achieve the aim of improving the group's premium positioning on an international level.

Credibility

Marc O'Polo's new fashion line named Pure is clearly targeted at that premium segment. The first

Andreas Baumg채rtner is Marc O'Polo's main man for marketing and design.

order round with the pre-collection took place in November 2013. The official launch via a presentation event is scheduled for the Bread & Butter trade fair in Berlin in January this year. Marc O'Polo took one liberty while masterminding this product portfolio extension, the liberty of time. The casual fashion specialist is not known for shooting from the hip. Andreas Baumg채rtner explains: "The idea has been floating around for quite some time. After we independently and precisely entered the young market with our Campus fashion line, it was logical to add the modern premium segment to our portfolio. The main question was how far we could go regarding style without losing credibility as Marc O'Polo." The Capsule-Collection 10 Pieces was a kind of test laboratory that enabled the group to gain valuable experience in the field. After

all, Marc O'Polo wants to avoid losing its grounding while still cleverly expanding its portfolio.

The tightened and clean look of Pure is hoping to excite existing customers, but naturally also wants to draw in women with a less casual - yet nevertheless relaxed and nonchalant - style.

Quiet Elegance

This dual strategy also explains why Marc O'Polo Pure is independent regarding design, production, and distribution, but is nevertheless still fully integrated into the group.

Andreas Baumg채rtner: "During the development of Pure we put a lot of thought into the needs of modern women in an urban environment. We created this silent elegance for them. It's feminine, but still reduced to the bare essentials." So the name says it all. Pure will only be made available in Germany in its first season. The aim is to start with roughly 100 partners, including own stores, premium partners, and selectively chosen new clients. With two pre collections and main collections per year, which will be deliberately limited to 60 items, Marc O'Polo hopes to gradually build the new Pure line on an international level.

Without any rush and as silent as usual.

www.marc-o-polo.com

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WHAT'S THE STORY 129

A feminine and essential design language - the new Pure premium line.

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130 WHAT'S THE STORY

Fair Trade in Tunis - Gardeur guarantees optimal fit and high quality craftsmanship.

Fairness First gardeur. The trousers specialist Gardeur has reinvented itself over the last three years. Alongside a realignment of its strategy and brand management, the company also optimised its production process. As a fully integrated trousers studio, Gardeur strives to be the fastest vertical partner for the retail industry.

Text: Kay Alexander Plonka.

Photos: Gardeur

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Gerhard Kränzle had worked in the German textile industry - among others at Hirmer, Hetlage, and Wöhrl - for more than 30 years before he took over the management of the Mönchengladbach-based Gardeur Group in December 2010. Since 2000, Gardeur had gradually lost its market leadership and slipped into mediocrity. The brand image was diffuse, the organisational structure outdated, and the handling of the brand that was founded in 1969 could be described as loveless. Kränzle recognised the company's potential and acted accordingly. A market and target group analysis conducted by German market research specialist Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK) brought important insights regarding necessary changes.

Together with the company's

employees, Kränzle started turning Gardeur upside down from the inside to ensure that the trousers studio is ready for the future. All top collections were discontinued and all ties with production plants in China were severed. The priorities of the restructuring process were a pronounced vertical integration, an improvement of the supply chain, an optimisation of production processes, and a stronger brand appearance. In addition, the company added the brands G-Design and Thomas Rath Trousers to its portfolio in 2012.

"Today, we are capable of designing, producing, and delivering a new trousers design within four weeks. It used to take five times as long", Kränzle proudly explains the capabilities of his team. The foundations for profitable growth have been laid. "We

want our brand to work through retailers. It is our declared aim to become the fastest vertical trousers specialist that offers its retail partners the highest yield possible", Kränzle reveals.

In-house designers, pattern designers, laboratory technicians, tailors, and washing engineers, who accompany every development step from their respective bases in Germany and Tunisia, make this possible.

Close to the Market

The trousers for men and women are produced in the company's two Fair Trade certified Tunis-based production plants, which are less than a three hour flight away from Germany, with social and environmental sustainability in mind. Since 2011, Gardeur has invested several million Euros in quality-ori-

WHAT'S THE STORY 131

Atelier Gardeur specialises in fashionable trousers for women and men.

ented production processes and accompanying training modules.

"Sustainably manufactured trousers are experiencing an increased demand. More and more consumers are willing to pay a little more when they know the trousers were produced in line with Fair Trade standards", Gerhard Kränzle says.

All Fair Trade products take part in the Track & Trace programme, which provides consumers with an identification code that enables them to track all production stages of an item on the website www.fairtrade-deutschland.de - from the cotton farmer to the spinning mill, from the weaving mill to the production plant, and - finally - the logistics.

"Producing close to the market results in many advantages", Kränzle argues. "The improved supply chain allows us to introduce our goods to the retail trade in less than a week. When our trucks drive onto the ferries in the port of Tunis on Saturday, the trousers arrive in our central warehouse on Tuesday."

Gardeur supplies approximately 3,000 customers in 50 countries.

The company wants to focus on

sales consolidation within Europe and sales in German-speaking countries in particular. Most recently, it gained a foothold in Denmark and introduced the product line Thomas Rath Trousers in Austria, as well as the G-Design collection in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The fashion collection by Atelier Gardeur consists of approximately 140 items with retail prices ranging from 79 Euros to 119 Euros. Roughly one third of the items are part of a NOS programme. The more progressive G-Design label offers 45 to 50 items at average retail prices of 149 Euros. The trousers designed

by Thomas Rath are a little more expensive. The women's fashion range consists of roughly 100 items made of denim, wool, and flat woven fabrics. The average price in retail stands at 189 Euros.

New Shores in Sight

The trousers specialist now utilises a framework based on market research to develop its fashion collections and practises intensive floor-space management. "The retail trade achieved roughly 12% sales growth in

Gerhard Kränzle, the chief executive of Gardeur, has laid the foundations for sustainable growth: "The excellent economic performance over the past few months validates our strategy and we still have a lot of potential."

retail sections managed by us. In the first half of 2013, the sales even grew by another 11%", Kränzle says happily. Rainer Schnetgöke was recruited for the national distribution unit in December; he also acts as the chief executive of Gardeur Service GmbH. Schnetgöke was most recently a sales director and management board member at MAC. Before that, he was responsible for the distribution of brands such as Roy Robson and Brax. His task is not only to operate the shop-in-shop systems and the floor-management in general, but also to ensure the Atelier Gardeur brand enjoys a stronger presence in the German retail industry.

Meanwhile, Gerhard Kränzle has also shouldered operational responsibility and says: "The employees have invested a lot of effort and their hearts' blood in the restructuring of Gardeur and I am thrilled to build on the long term growth strategy together with all involved parties. The enlargement of the logistics hub in Tunis, our own solar power plant, and an in-house dye unit are the next items on the agenda."

Gardeur was founded in 1920. In 2008, the founding families Janssen and Roesner sold the business to Hamburg-based Capcellence Group, which started financing a strategic realignment with equity funds.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, the Kränzle Beteiligungs GmbH and the private equity fund NRW. BANK acquired 51% and 49% in Gardeur Group respectively.

Gardeur, which generates annual sales of approximately 90 million Euros, has roughly 2,000 employees, of which 1,500 work in the company's two production plants in the Tunisian capital Tunis.

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132 WHAT'S THE STORY

Quo Vadis Denim?

In autumn many experts were talking about a new denim boom in which not everyone will be participating to the same extent. The denim culture was once dominated by American and Italian brands, but today many players are in the mix.

Text: Ina Kรถhler. Photos: Manufacturer

Let's start with the good news denim is doing just fine. Many retailers have ordered more blue goods for the spring/summer season 2014 than the year before.

This is confirmed, for example,

by Marco Stein from 7 for all Mankind. "I wouldn't commit to a specific style, but denim is generally doing quite well", he says. The Unifa agency also sees

Jeans lost their revolutionary image a long time ago. However, many brands still focus their market image on the power of rebellion.

Photo: Diesel Store Frankfurt

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WHAT'S THE STORY 133

denim on the up. "We can definitely confirm that development for the first half of 2014", says Reinhard Haase, the chief executive of Unifa. "Whereby we do always include colours and black denim in the denim bracket.

However, generally speaking we have sold more blue denim than prints for spring/summer 2014."

Who is participating in this

market? The situation in the upper market segment seems clear. "I would divide the premium segment of the denim market into three categories", Reinhard Haase explains. "7 for all Mankind remains a strong force in the commercial segment.

J Brand, Current Elliott, and Dsquared share the fashion segment. The authentic segment is dominated by True Religion and AG." Who is purchasing in this premium segment? Can the current situation be compared with the denim dominance in the past? By no means - it is a niche market. "Jeans in this category are mostly bought by very mature customers", says Karl-Heinz MĂźller, who stocks a huge range of brands in his 14 oz. stores in Berlin. The portfolio ranges from AG Adriano Goldschmied to Current Elliott, and even includes specialised brands such as Momotaro, Tellason, and Gilded Age. "In my store these items are worn by male and female customers from 40 years of age onwards. I definitely don't see it as a young topic."

Denim No Longer Rocks - Has Rock & Roll Fallen Asleep?

Jeans as part of a youth culture, as part of a rebellion - those were the days. What is the use

of the former status symbol of professional rebels when the youth has stopped rebelling? It's now drifted off into the mainstream. That's not necessarily a reason for melancholy, mainly because the democratic product is selling well, albeit not in the same volumes as during the days of hyped brands of old. Why do so many jeans brands still focus on rebellion in their communication despite the fact that the youth has no interest in rebelling anymore? Teens and twens in Germany have never been cuddlier. This generation, which lives in broad consensus with the values of its liberal parents and considers them best friends, has no interest whatsoever in a revolution. You're hardly a rebel if you enjoy hanging out with dad in front of the telly. Denim is no longer a suitable differentiation tool. Sociologist Klaus Farin hits the nail on the head: "Naturally the commercialisation process of a youth culture leaves its mark and leads to a significant change of the culture itself. The transformation of a small subculture into a fashion that is compatible with the mass market requires a de-politicisation of that culture, a generalisation and subsequent dilution of its central subtext."

This decreases the opportunities of rebellious cult brands, which

now merely offer nostalgic reminders of the good old days.

More Choice

In the heyday of denim, a brand was still seen as an excellent identification and differentiation tool. The market was also defined a lot clearer back then - American and Italian brands were the dominant force. The brand communicated the desired image. The majority went for Levi's 501, while the cowboys among us preferred Wrangler, Lee or Mustang. Individualists bought Edwin or Pepe, the fashion inspired crowd purchase Diesel or G-Star, while those who wanted to spend a little more of their hard-earned cash couldn't turn down a pair of Replay jeans.

Today the situation is completely different. A huge amount of new companies - ranging from Kuyichi to Nudie - have entered the market with their own promises of authenticity, while international premium brands established their own segments ranging from True Religion to PRPS. Lifestyle brands such as Marc O'Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ralph Lauren need an extensive jeans range these days, which increases the competition even more. However, the changes run even deeper. In the 90s the number of vertical suppliers was man-

Brands are expanding vertically. Jeans brands such as G-Star, Diesel, Levi’s, and Replay establish their own representative stores. Photo: G-Star

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134 WHAT'S THE STORY

corresponding higher quality products. "Let's make a simple calculation", says an industry expert. "If a decent pair of jeans can be produced for 20 Euros, then a vertical label will calculate with a ratio of 3 and the product will be offered in the store at the price of 59.90 Euros. If a brand sells the pair via retail or own stores, the same product will cost at least twice as much." The result of this development is that the mid-price segment has slowly shifted to the vertical suppliers over the last few years, especially as they have successfully established themselves in prime locations.

Brands Are Learning

Made in the USA - AG Adriano Goldschmied does not only focus on image building, but also on production in California.

ageable. Consumers between the age of 15 and 35 bought jeans by renowned brands; the vertical rivals were seen as products for underdogs.

Vertical - The New Brand

Once again, today things are different. Surveys prove that consumers no longer differentiate between vertical and original brands. A pair of jeans by H&M is perceived as almost as prestigious as a more expensive pair by a rival brand. "A student sees G-Star as a premium label", says Karl-Heinz MĂźller. "In everyday life students are more likely to buy a cheaper product by a manufacturer that is also perceived as a brand." The vertical suppliers have done their homework, manufacture similar products in the same plants as their rivals, and also utilise similar marketing mechanisms as the previously over-dominant brands. Jack & Jones, for instance, hired Academy Award winning actor Christopher Walken for the "Made from Cool" campaign for its premium range. The price 114 style in progress

concepts of the likes of Weekday, H&M, and Monki put the fear of god into the more established brands anyway. The consumer enjoys the fact that it is possible to purchase a highly fashionable product at half the price, because he or she now understands that not every price is justified by

Brands have found an antidote in expanding their own portfolio vertically, which is proven by the many mono-stores. Almost none of the established brands operate without their own retail space.

There are many reasons for this development, including higher margins, a larger selection, less hassle with wholesale customers, more control over image building, and the possibility to allow the customers to immerse themselves in the respective image worlds. G-Star opened its largest store worldwide in Cologne in April 2013, while Diesel opened a 383 square metre store in Frankfurt in autumn. There are hardly any brands that are not interested in securing locations in city centres, which is an area from which many multi-brand stores have withdrawn a long

time ago. Those that still own prime locations have representative retail spaces; fashion houses such as P&C, Breuninger, and Woehrl offer a broad range of brands. Even department stores now focus on sheer size. For example, Selfridges increased its retail space in London's Oxford Street tenfold last year.

The 2,400 square metre Denim Studio - advertised by Selfridges as the largest denim department worldwide - stocks more than 11,000 styles by various suppliers and in a large range of price categories, thereby mirroring the diversity and contrariness of the market. The product portfolio ranges from the discount chain Primark via American Apparel and Levi's to shop concepts by J Brand, as well as designer jeans

by Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, and Victoria Beckham.

Trade Fairs Expendable?

When the market is occupied by few players and the brands increasingly focus on retailing via their own stores, why do we still need trade fairs? "Especially the multi-label stores have an opportunity to discover goods that enable them to differentiate their product range from that of their competitors", says Bread & Butter's Karl-Heinz MĂźller. The L.O.C.K. exhibition hall with its many authentic exhibitors is a prime example. However, it is noticeable that, due to the market development, the main hall in Tempelhof is no longer

Lifestyle brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Marc O'Polo, and Ralph Lauren need their own large jeans range, thereby creating more competition. Photo: Tommy Hilfiger Store

WHAT'S THE STORY 135

Selfridges created a 2,400 square metre retail space in its Denim Studio. It stocks a colourful market cross-section ranging from Primark to Stella McCartney.

predominantly occupied by the large denim brands, but by other suppliers that also offer jeans.

"The further advanced a brand is in its life cycle, the more it believes it can do without trade fairs", Müller claims. Reinhard Haase confirms this also applies to the premium segment: "Presence at a trade fair is vital for new brands! It is, however, less significant for brands that are already in the market."

Reclaiming Terrain…

Comparable products, higher price levels - how can brands regain lost terrain? One possibility is to try to be more than transparent than others. The origin of the brand is increasingly important to the customers, especially in the premium segment. Sadly the locations of production facilities are still among the closest kept secrets in the industry, unless one of them in Asia collapses. Today consumers know exactly where every single egg was laid. This is different when it comes to textile products. It is quite understandable that nobody wants to put their cards on the table and no premium brand is eager to explain to its customers why their jeans that are produced in the same plant as those of their vertical rivals are three to five times more expensive in retail outlets.

However, some brands are already collecting brownie points with increased transparency. AG Adriano Goldschmied openly communicates that its jeans are

produced in California. "That is a very significant competitive advantage", says Henrik Soller, who distributes the brand via his Munich-based agency Komet & Helden. "The jeans have a higher perceived value. As a traditional American product they communicate a completely different image."

Nudie is treading a similar path by openly disclosing its production plants via the slogan "The Naked Truth about Denim".

The website of the Swedish brand displays a map that clearly allocates the respective product groups to various countries and production facilities. An extensive audit report complements the information about every plant. "I think customers believe it is important to know where the products they buy come from", says Sandya Lang, the CSR manager at Nudie. "It enables them to make an active decision while shopping, which was the main reason behind our production guide." The majority of the jeans are produced in Europe; 70% of all the goods come from Italy. "We have a lot of products that are made in Europe", Sandya Lang adds. "We believe our customers appreciate that. The consumer interest has increased over the last few years."

Additionally, Nudie produces some of its portfolio in accordance with GOTS standards and uses certified biological cotton.

This makes the brand more believable among customers that

are sensitive to such issues, which could be seen as a potential added value.

Jeans Prices in Free Fall…

Consumers have a good sense of initial value and depreciation.

Sadly they have, in the past, been led to believe that the cheapest brand product option is just about good enough. The best

examples for this are outlets, which seem to have become an industry necessity. During the "Denim Weeks" in the Netherlands-based Roermund outlet, which is a mere half hour drive away from the city centres of Cologne and Düsseldorf, the alleged denim cult objects cost a fraction of their respective standard retail prices. The brands offer a discount of 20% and more the already inexpensive outlet price.

The main price cutters on any weekend in October are Filippa K and Mustang with a price of 29 Euros and 20 Euros per pair respectively. Those arguing that the outlets merely sell old collections seriously underestimate the intelligence of consumers, especially as there are no revolutionary silhouettes in sight for the new season. "Boyfriend styles are very popular; skinny jeans and leggings are also selling well", says Reinhard Haase.

However, he also concedes: "We are all hoping for new styles, but there are none on the horizon at the moment."

Clear market communication - verticals such as H&M are perceived as brands with a good image by the customers.

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136 WHAT'S THE STORY

Collateral An opinion piece by Stephan Huber, editor-in-chief style in progress

I

t was merely a marginal item in the business press towards the end of May last year: "As part of the annual adjustment of punitive duties, the EU has increased the same from 6% to 26% as of 1 May 2013. In addition, the list of goods subject to punitive duties has been extended by one position (long trousers made of denim for women and girls, customs tariff number 6204 62 31). The basis for this is the regulation (EU) 349/2013." Effectively, this means a price increase of 41% for the importer. his is everyday business for EU officials embroiled in the ongoing economic guerrilla war with the US, which one can compare to a slow escalation in a sandpit. "If you trample all over my sand fortress, then I will trample all over yours too and I'll even throw some sand into your eyes for good measure." The staunch market economists will be quick to highlight valid reasons that justify restrictions of the free movement of goods, i.e. regulatory measures such as punitive tariffs. For example, when products are produced under conditions that are - even when a

T

114 style in progress

lenient set of standards is applied - unacceptable from labour law-related and/or environmental points of view; or when states and/or national economies subsidise certain export goods to an extent that endangers others due to those aforementioned subsidies leading to a market distortion. The EU, for instance, does this with its largely misdirected agricultural policy that ultimately leads to the destruction of smallholding structures in Africa. owever, such comprehensible motives, which would actually comply with strict market principles, have absolutely nothing to do with the lively transatlantic ping-pong game involving punitive duties. Quite the contrary, as this remarkable quote from a report published by the general association of the German knitting industry (Gesamtverband der deutschen Maschenindustrie e.V. - Gesamtmasche) proves: "The EU has been imposing punitive tariffs on US-American goods in connection with US anti-dumping practices that violate WTO regulations for the last eight years.

By doing so, the EU consciously punishes market participants that have absolutely nothing to do

H

with the actual violation of trade regulations, in the hope that the affected industries will apply pressure on the US government." o this has been going on for eight years. Obviously, it is a fabulously successful strategy. Completely uninvolved industries and companies are arbitrarily targeted, probably chosen in a game of "spin the bottle" or via ancient counting rhymes. Seeing that a higher cause - and most certainly a just one - is at stake, the collateral damage is at best - acknowledged with a little regret during an excellent dinner on expenses. Particularly as the industries affected are chosen deliberately to ensure that one never has to fear any more than a marginal note in the business news. That such measures can swiftly endanger the existence of companies and its employees doesn't seem to bother anyone. Let's be honest, such a grotesque price increase, which self-evidently cannot be passed on to the consumer, is nothing short of existence threatening. Some of you may think that this only affects a few pairs of jeans. However, the apparent arbitrariness - and the even more

apparent ability of the authorities to act with such arbitrariness should frighten us all.

S

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138 THE TALK

It just keeps on going...

Once again, the parka has many innovations on offer regarding materials, colours, and details for the autumn/ winter season of 2014.

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THE TALK 139 Trade discourse

parka-mania

The parka has developed into an absolute top seller and there seems to be no end in sight. On the contrary; this particular fashion theme is actually gathering momentum in the autumn/winter season of 2014.

In the style in progress trade discourse, four purchasing professionals explain how the trend is developing and which future potential the parka has.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper. Photo: Marlino

Patchwork

Clemens Sagmeister / Sagmeister

"The parka has its justification, but it does not dominate the entire outdoor fashion segment. For the autumn/winter season of 2014, I think the parka will be interpreted in a young and fashionable manner like, for instance, the robust cotton model by Closed.

New colours, such as a beautiful pine green, are also important.

Dsquared already had patchwork parkas in winter 2013, for example with nylon, corduroy, and velour leather at a retail price of 1,400 Euros. This theme will continue into autumn/winter 2014.

Down remains important, but with less nylon and with more wool or a nylon/velour material blend instead - just like Etro has already shown with its short down jacket with detachable hood for the new season. Functional fabrics such as Thermore ensure that the parkas keep warm without lacking a crisp silhouette. Canada Goose parkas have been selling well this winter. Sustainability is a good selling point in this case. The parkas are produced in Canada and have a good background story."

Clemens Sagmeister is the managing director of Sagmeister Herrenmode. The Austrian family-owned company - founded in 1844 - is currently run by the sixth generation and has five branches - one each in Dornbirn, Bregenz, Feldkirch, and two in Lech. Over the last few years, the product range has been positioned in the high-end segment with brands such as Prada, Brunello Cuccinelli, and Burberry. www.sagmeister.at

A True Classic

Guido Wallek / Die Jungs

"Parkas are performing strongly in our store, especially in autumn/ winter. Our top sellers are the parkas by Parajumpers, which are cut a little wider for men, while the silhouette for women is more figure-hugging. The fabric - a polyester blend - is very robust and highly resistant to rain. Despite the high retail prices ranging from 700 to 850 Euros, our sales figures show a continuing high demand. Some customers even buy a second, third, or fourth parka in a different colour. The most common colour is black, but this winter a warm red or navy is also popular. The fact that the style of the Masterpiece Collection by Parajumpers hardly changes does not diminish the success. The parka is quite simply a true classic.

We occasionally also sell models by Napapijri and those who like it especially warm go for a Canada Goose parka with thick down.

I think the success of the parka can be explained by the fact that it is universally applicable and has some functional features. Today's parka can no longer be compared with the typical cotton army parkas from the 1980s. Today's parkas are much smarter and more versatile when it comes to details and silhouettes. Women like to combine the parka with leggings, while men often find it important that the parka fits over the suit jacket. That way the parka also shields its owner against wind and weather while en route to a concert or the theatre, where one would have previously worn a wool coat."

There is a saying among the regular customers. They say "I'm off to visit the boys…" when they intend to visit Bochum-based store In + Out, which was founded in 1998 by Guido Wallek, Fikret Özdogan, and Burkhard Koch. The product range consists of high-end sportswear for both women and men by brands such as Stone Island, Napapijri, Parajumpers, and Canada Goose. In addition, the store also stocks shoes by Timberland and Ludwig Reiter, among others. www.diejungs.de

Fashion statement Simone Jörend / Classico

"The parka is definitely a fashion statement. There was nothing new to report from the outdoor segment for a long time until the parka came along. What makes it so successful? The parka looks casual and cool, especially when combined with other current trends such as skinny jeans, leather leggings, and biker boots. The parker can be tapered or oversized; it can have fur or no fur. That makes it appealing to a broad target group and women of all ages.

The parkas by IQ Berlin were the first to make it into our stores two years ago. They are still our top sellers at a retail price of 499 Euros. The parkas are moderately wide with a drawstring at the waist and all other details one would expect. A real fashion highlight is the oversized vintage-look parka by Barbed at a retail price of 1,600 Euros. It looks particularly fantastic on taller women.

The parka theme will continue to develop into the next season with waxed and patterned surfaces such as camouflage, as well as with material blends like leather and details such as gloss coated knit cuffs. The innovation of the parka's lining - for instance star, leopard, and camouflage prints on rabbit fur lining by labels such as Marlino and IQ Berlin - will also continue. The main colour is still the classic olive-green, but bordeaux, navy, and black - in particular - are on the up.

Simone Jörend is a buyer for the nine Classico stores in Hamburg and Lübeck, as well as the store Paula and the online shop myclassico.com, which is run Christine and Harald Heldmann. The focus of all stores is high-end fashion for women. www.myclassico.com

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140 THE TALK

New Shapes Frauke Ortner / Ortner

"While the parka does not replace down jackets completely, it is still a welcome change in the outdoor fashion segment. The most important brands are Woolrich and Moncler for the athletic customers, as well as Bogner for women who demand a sustainable and timeless interpretation. The Eskimo parka by Woolrich with its detachable lining is a great example for a beautiful new shape.

It is slightly military inspired and in an O-shape, which gives it a more feminine touch. The style in general is more feminine and luxurious with elements such as patches, special buttons, and - most importantly - high quality fur. Alongside olive and mud colours, black and beige remain popular. We are open for the innovations the new season brings and we will take a close look at all options at the trade shows. We are interested in more distinctive parkas and new down jacket interpretations."

The combination possibilities of a parka give consumers peace of mind that their (hard earned) money has been invested sensibly. Photos: Woolrich (l.) and G-Lab

Frauke Ortner runs the Ortner fashion store in Dortmund together with Jan Ortner, her husband. The company was founded in 1864. The parent house in Dortmund with a product range consisting of design and sportswear by brands such as Stella McCartney, Céline, Reed Karkoff, and Brunello Cucinelli, was joined by the 1864 Ortner store with progressive contemporary fashion in 2009 and by the Gipfelstürmer store with outerwear in 2011. www.ortner-dortmund.de

Something Needs to Happen Next Season Silvia Kromer / Elfi

"We have a rather multiplied street scene; everybody has looked more or less the same for a long time. An arctic parka by Woolrich is naturally a real cult object and a parka keeps you really warm when it gets cold. Boiled wool and leather cannot match that. However, I don't think the parka is a fashion trend anymore. Something definitely needs to happen next season, also to revitalise down. Currently - and next winter too - oversized knitted pullovers and jackets are in fashion, which makes rather voluminous outerwear necessary to avoid blood congestion in the sleeves. Furthermore, down jackets that are tighter, are less capable of keeping their respective owners warm. There are certainly a few more possibilities in terms of silhouettes, maybe an egg shaped or oversized version. The fashion wheel could definitely turn a little faster in that respect."

Silvia Kromer, who has been running the 1,000 square metre fashion house Elfi in Münster together with her husband Christian Kromer since 1998, loves style breaks and enjoys combining opposites. The product range of the store, which was founded in 1952, consists of high-end fashion for men and women, with brands such as Schumacher, Dondup, + People, Tagliatore, and Aglini. www.elfi.de

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The Parka Plays a Minor Part Fritz Rogger / Phänomen, Laube und Gsell

"Sure, the parka is a perennial favourite because it is useful and keeps you warm, but down jackets are still ahead. I simply see more innovation and development potential in the down segment.

Montecore, for instance, has a down stretch material for form-fitting jackets in differing lengths. Wool will become stronger too, possibly as a reversible jacket made of a nylon, down, and wool material mix, also by Montecore. The parka merely plays a minor part in the shadow of the down jacket. The parka has a silhouette that is not particularly feminine and is only significantly different in terms of embellishments such as the labelling."

Last year, Fritz Rogger and his wife, Sonja Rogger, celebrated the 25th anniversary of their family business. The parent house in Luzern stocks high-end fashion for women by brands such as Moncler, Boglioli, Tagliatore, Dsquared, Brunello Cucinelli, Jil Sander, and Lareida on 470 square metres of retail space. In addition, the couple 650 square metre branch named Laube und Gsell in Baden. www.phaenomen.ch

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142 THE TALK

The Freshmaker Albert Raengo is renowned for his ability to see the potential in US brands that - once revived - perform better than ever. Holubar - a brand whose products often iconographically represent an entire segment - is the sleeping beauty that Raengo is currently bringing back to life. style in progress caught up with the Italian businessmen for a little chat.

Interview: Martina MĂźllner.

Photos: Holubar

Mindful of your experience with Refrigiwear and Blauer USA you are aware of how challenging it is to avoid being a "one hit wonder". The Italian and German markets in particular tend to hype a brand as "the jacket". However, the retailers that are in touch with trends are gone as soon as the next big thing comes along.

How do you intend to ensure that Holubar doesn't suffer that fate?

If you want to keep a brand alive for a long time, it is essential to invest money and time in telling the story of a brand right from the start. You need to communicate why a brand became significant, why it claimed a leading position, and how it inspired others. This ensures that the brand in question is not tied to a single product. If you translate this into a marketing strategy, it means that you need to present a collection full of upgraded styles every year. It is not enough to merely come up with the same jacket in twelve different colours.

In the past, whenever we noticed that the market is focusing on one specific style, we worked very hard to redirect that attention to other styles, sometimes even by limiting our top seller. In the case of Holubar, customers now understand the importance of allowing the consumer to experience the brand in the store by offering a larger selection.

US jacket brands seem to need the European - even the Italian - sense for style.

Woolrich, Blauer, Refrigiwear‌ there are so many examples that prove Italians do it better.

Why is that the case?

Many US heritage brands remained in a deep sleep before someone from Europe or Japan brought them back to life. The owners often underestimated the potential of their classic traditional brands for too long, which allowed European brand hunters to step in.

them they could survive a night in the Antarctica?

Men are quite simply less interested in fashionable gadgets and are more aware of a jacket's substance. It's a similar approach to buying a car or a motorbike.

That's why they find a jacket with a work wear background more trustworthy.

Holubar obviously values its history. Why is it so important for the consumer?

History is yet another element that provides assurance. Furthermore, history and originality go hand in hand and wearing an original item is important to many people.

Functionality is a strong selling point, especially when it comes to men's jackets. Why do men love brands that tell

Holubar was founded by Alice and Le Roy Holubar in 1947 as a mountaineering and work wear brand.

The company was always characterised by in-house innovations such as the mountain parka. The brand was taken over by Alberto Raengo's company Fritz Srl in 2010. Two annual collections for men and women are presented at trade shows such as Pitti Immagine Uomo in Florence. The jackets, which are subject to a calculation ratio of 2.6, can be purchased in retail from 349 Euros onwards. They are produced in Europe.

The distribution in the German-speaking markets is handled by Fabian Weiss, who reports to Tomislav Grajzar (International Head of Sales).

The customers include renowned fashion stores such as Bungalow, Daniels, Different, Engelhorn, and Lodenfrey.

Holubar - heritage interpreted in a modern manner.

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Holubar, Fritz Srl, 33170 Pordenone/Italy, sales@holubar.it, www.holubar.it

THE TALK 143

Alberto Raengo loves US heritage brands; an Italian touch transforms them into true fashion objects.

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144 THE TALK

First Manhattan, then Berlin? In 2013, Sand opened an in-store at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.

The American customers of Danish brand Sand value the Italian fabrics. Will Sand's strategy be equally successful in Germany?

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THE TALK 145

The Importance of Storytelling Søren Sand talks about success in the US, his passion for Italian fabrics, and expectations after re-entering the German market.

Interview: Anke K. Pegel. Photos: Sand

So your success in the US is productbased?

The product itself is definitely an essential factor, but you also need the perfect organisational structure. In countries in which we are successful - like the US - the agents and distributors are highly proactive. They visit customers, host brand clinics and road shows, and take many other measures. They do all the small things that keep a brand alive.

I'm curious now. What exactly is a "Sand Clinic"?

A clinic can basically be described as a Sand University - a place where you can meet with retail customers after hours. One tells them everything about the brand, the fabrics, the production process, and even the company's history. This kind of storytelling is so vital for the shop assistants. It gives them an opportunity to tell their customers something about our brand. The customers are hooked as soon as they hear about our history while trying on our products.

Søren Sand proves that Italian fabrics, Danish design, and international appeal can be brought down to a common denominator.

And this is what happened in the US?

Mr Sand, you co-operate closely with Italian weavers. What did they think about you people from Denmark at first?

(Søren Sand mlaughs) They could see the potential of a marriage between Italian fabrics and Scandinavian design. We have always been a fabric-driven company; this is the way we design our pieces. We have weavers knocking on the door of our design studio in Como. They say: "Look at this. We wanted you to see it first."

Do your customers want to know where the fabrics originate from? If so, has this interest changed over time or from country to country?

Design and quality are equally important to us. Our customers adore quality; our customers in the US are especially appreciative of Italian fabrics. The younger generations also appreciate it when our company shows social responsibility regarding fabric selection and production partners. Both aspects have to meet high ethical standards. That's why we want to know precisely how our products are manufactured.

Exactly. Our entrance into the North American market has been extremely successful and the sell-through has been - and continues to be - very strong. Today, we have 185 premium customers, including a presence in all 39 Saks Fifth Avenue department stores, as well as Michael Kors, John Varvatos, Paul Smith, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, and Burberry.

Sand is doing extremely well. Only last month, Saks informed us that they would like to implement another four in-store concepts with us in Los Angeles, Washington, Atlanta, and Houston.

You pushed the restart button for the German-speaking markets last season. What makes Germany such an attractive market for the fashion industry?

We have been present in that region for the last ten or twelve years. However, we didn't focus on Germany. Furthermore, German purchasers tended to buy mainstream rather than buying into a specific collection. Fortunately for us, this has changed and they now buy more lifestyle brands than in the past.

We believe the German market has enormous potential and that we can become a household name there. The Germans are now more open-minded when it comes to Scandinavian design. Also, our collections have developed quite significantly over the last few years, which is why - after our tremendous success in North America - the time has come to revisit the German market.

When you opened your first US flagship store last year, you co-operated with wellknown store owners from Los Angeles.

How did that work out?

We already had a successful long-lasting co-operation agreement with Traffic in the Beverly Hills Centre, even before we opened our own spectacular Sand Concept Store in the same area. They were satisfied with our co-operation and also saw the potential in opening a concept store that exclusively stocks Sand products. It was them who found the perfect location for us; a beautiful 230 square metre store on Sunset Plaza. Our customers include musicians, actors, and other world-famous celebrities.

Will this also be part of your strategy for the German-speaking markets? Are there plans for shop-in-shop models, flagship stores, co-operations, or other special events in 2014?

We have gained quite a lot of experience with concept stores and shop-in-shop models.

At the moment, we have approximately 95 shop-in-shop outlets and concept stores.

On average, we open one or two more every month. That's why we believe it would be quite natural to do the same in Germany.

This will strengthen our brand and also support our retail partners.. style in progress 114

146 THE TALK

"Bread & Butter Will Remain a Trade Show!"

With his announcement to open the Bread & Butter trade fair for consumers, Karl-Heinz MĂźller once again proved his status as a mover and shaker of the industry and has raised many questions among his initially surprised peers. style in progress asked the most important ones.

Interview: Stephan Huber.

Text: Isabel Faiss.

Photo: Bread & Butter

Karl-Heinz, the Bread & Butter trade show will welcome consumers from summer 2014 onwards. However, that does not mean that everyone should come along, right?

If you take a look at the last few campaigns of the Bread & Butter, then you'll notice that we have always created links between all market participants such as brands, retailers, and consumers. Our campaign from last summer was not titled "Connect" without reason. Our current campaign is titled "Ich bin ein Berliner", which is a deliberate commitment to Berlin itself. In November we launched a new website, which has a business section and a lifestyle magazine; the number of our followers in social media forums has been increasing rapidly ever since. We want to appeal to consumers that are interested in street wear, urban wear, and lifestyle - not only here in Berlin, but internationally too. We aim to achieve this by increasingly interacting with the brands and retailers, especially as everyone is currently making great efforts to work with social media platforms and interactive websites. Just like with every normal fair, it is important to reach as many of the right consumers as possible and to ensure that our system appeals to the right target groups.

What does this mean for the Bread & Butter as a trade fair?

The Bread & Butter will remain a trade show for professionals!

We have no plans to change that in the future. This is why we will split the event. We don't want the consumer and the professional purchaser to visit the trade show at the same time; the professional needs to work in peace and quiet. The professionals are still invited by our guest management department 114 style in progress

and receive tickets free of charge, while consumers can book a ticket for a fee via our interactive website. There will be one day for the press, then two days for professionals, and the fourth and fifth day will be for the general public. We mainly advertise on social media platforms because it enables us to reach the right people. The ticket will cost a small fee. We also count on the support of the brands and even the retailers, mainly because everyone benefits from interested consumers visiting the trade show to whet their appetite.

The Bread & Butter will last five days now. Does this mean a price increase for the exhibitors?

We currently charge 380 Euros per square metre and will increase this fee to 400 Euros. That is a small raise for two additional days and is barely enough to cover the additional costs.

One knows this mixed concept from trade fairs such as the IAA in Frankfurt and the Baselworld. However, it is the first of this kind in the fashion world. From the fourth day onwards the brands will face a completely different target group. What exactly are the exhibitors supposed to show the consumers?

The principle remains the same.

Everybody presents the newest and best products. After all, you want to thrill and convince the consumer. The question of how we apply this concept to the fashion world is justified.

A brand may also be forgiven to ponder using the trade show as a sale platform, especially as the summer season is not yet over and special programmes of the expiring season are still running when the trade fair takes place. However, I would not recommend such an approach,

mainly because it doesn't do the exhibitor's image any favours.

The second option would be to showcase the autumn/winter collection early.

‌which is already in the stores at that point.

It would mean that you need to turn a stand into a store overnight. That's not necessarily of interest to the consumer either.

The stores already have the same products on display. Moreover, we don't want to build the largest lifestyle department store - which we would be in that case. We don't want to create overpowering competition for the retailers by conducting direct business. There will definitely not be any sales! This means I would show the consumer exactly the same collection as the professional purchaser, but with retail prices. If you look at the luxury segment with shows in Paris or Milan, the looks are on the Internet and in fashion magazines shortly after. One speaks about the new season and shows off the designs. The fashionable customer is interested in such things and this is what we want to do during our trade show, to animate and motivate the consumer to visit the respective stores.

Consumers don't come to work; they come to be entertained. What will the supporting programme look like?

We have always had a large supporting programme and we will expand that even more. Alongside the opening party, we will have an event every evening and we also assume that the brands will use the trade show for promotion events such as catwalks.

I myself was always awed by the G-Star shows. I believe it would have been highly beneficial for the brand image if the consumer could have seen those shows.

THE TALK 147

"You always need to be brave when you start a revolution!"

Karl-Heinz MĂźller

The entrance fees paid by the consumers - we expect tens of thousands - gives us a decent budget to hire great bands. We want our trade show to turn into a gigantic lifestyle festival.

Which brands and companies do you want to target with this concept? After all, it extends into areas beyond the Bread & Butter's existing portfolio.

This platform would be highly interesting for vertical suppliers and large online retailers.

They could establish face-toface communication with their customers. Will the Bread & Butter also open itself for such exhibitors?

The exhibitor portfolio will change. I believe that a vertical supplier such as H&M would love to present its newest concept to the consumer. However, I also believe that this is also appealing to brands in the extended lifestyle sector. We address all market participants, not solely

fashion brands that exclusively deal with retailers. Unfortunately, the number of independent retailers has decreased due to the fact that many brands now generate revenue via online shops and own stores. So the portfolio will be much wider-ranging and it will be exciting to see how it all develops. Ultimately, everyone is vying for the consumer's attention; the consumer is the ultimate customer for exhibitor and retailer alike and decides whether a collection is successful or not. The brands will make huge efforts and there will be new exhibitors too.

This is a significantly more radical step than the decision in favour of Barcelona a while ago. Will the industry understand it?

You always need to be brave when you start a revolution. This doesn't only apply to me, but also to the brands that decided to participate. I am always asked

what the next step will be. Then that rumour about Istanbul surfaced. However, I don't think our industry needs a location change at the moment. Berlin is 100% perfect for what we do.

And yet we must move with the times. The establishment of large vertical players as serious competitors in the lifestyle segment is the phenomenon of the last few years, just like the fact that those vertical suppliers have started diversifying. H&M alone now has six different concepts. The classic multi-brand retailer has to be innovative and has to find a niche. It is vital that this niche is found. Our trade show has to meet that requirement and we have to think how we can help the brand and the retailer. We cannot afford to sit back and pretend nothing has changed.

Did you coordinate your plans with key partners?

last year. The feedback was very mixed. Frankly, most of them were sceptical at first. After a few weeks, almost everyone approached me again and said: "Wow! I think the idea is very visionary and correct! It can be the key to enhance the brands' market position in competition with the vertical concepts." I believe that such an event helps the brands reclaim the focus of the consumers. This is my ultimate goal and I think that most of them will participate.

Naturally, it is also a risk. A trade show of the Bread & Butter's size will only survive and remain significant on a permanent basis if we reinvent ourselves regularly.

We need to involve the consumer to achieve this, because that's the only way we can develop further.

I presented the concept to a few close associates in August style in progress 114

148 THE TALK

"An Earlier Date Alone Makes No Sense‌"

Kirstin Deutelmoser, the GDS director, plans to position the shoe trade fair in DĂźsseldorf as a brand platform.

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THE TALK 149

The GDS will not only be staged at an earlier date from summer 2014, but will also redesign its present exhibition hall concept.

The GDS shoe trade fair has not only been moved to an earlier date, but the trade fair in DĂźsseldorf has also advanced conceptually. style in progress spoke with Kirstin Deutelmoser, the director of GDS, about the changes.

Text: Ina KĂśhler. Photos: GDS

What were the most significant motivations behind the conceptual changes of the GDS trade fair?

Merely staging the trade fair at an earlier date made no sense to us in our capacity as organisers.

We have experimented a lot over the last few years and the market gladly accepted quite a few of those changes. However, we didn't manage to make the big step forward. This was our reason to take a good look at the market as a whole and to decide on the future positioning of the trade fair within the industry.

The most important conclusion from these deliberations was the fact that retailers lack order-triggering information at the start of the season, which would enable them to plan their respective shoe and accessories product ranges more efficiently.

Isn't that what the trade fairs in Berlin already offer?

Those trade fairs focus on clothing and only offer a fraction of information. Furthermore, we don't see the entire shoe market represented there, as only a small percentage of the shoe retailing industry travels to Berlin. Many important foreign purchasers are also not present. Both retailers and manufacturers say that the Berlin trade fairs are mainly targeted at the total look, not on detailed information regarding shoes and accessories.

Which effects will the new GDS have on the international trade fair calendar?

More and more shoes come from the lifestyle and fashion segments, which has subsequently led to an earlier order process over the last few years. The date change of the GDS is a reaction to this recent development. Both the Micam and the Lineapelle trade fairs have also registered the winds of change, and have also moved their respective dates to earlier in the year. This will fundamentally also lead to changes for other trade fairs and purchasing events. In the future, the whole order process will take place earlier.

the new segments High Street, Pop Up, and Studio.

Which developments do you foresee for trade fairs in the light of a decreasing number of market participants? Will they be smaller in the future?

We definitely don't expect our trade fair to grow significantly.

The main aim is to provide a market overview. What do the various brands represent and how can they be staged in the future. A trade fair can supply a suitable setting for this.

How did the manufacturers and retailers react?

They reacted very differently.

Some thought it was a tremendous idea, while others had doubts regarding the new scheduling. It is our job to also persuade smaller manufacturers that this is the correct approach.

Which conceptual improvements are you planning?

We have always been rather good on the information front due to the shows and trend information. We will continue to pursue those angles. We also want to support the manufacturers regarding their brand appearance.

The entire market needs to be showcased in different shopping worlds, which is now covered by

The new GDS An earlier date from 2014 onwards, new segments, and a product range extended by accessories will strengthen and internationalise the GDS in the future.

The main focus will be on the brand presentations.

Three segments will define the upcoming GDS: High Street stands for main street retailers with important commercial brands, Pop Up picks up on urban trends, and Studio focuses on individual premium brands.

30 July to 1 August 2014 www.gds-juli-2014.de www.gds-online.de

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Photos: Sascha Heintze Art Direction & Production: Mody Al Khufash Models: Josue/Banana's models, Kevin/Major models

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Overcoat: Anthony Morato Blazer: Dondup Shirt: Gloriette Tie: Herr von Eden Trousers: Windsor Socks: COS Shoes: Floris van Bommel Right

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Suit: RenĂŠ Lezard Shoes: Wolverine Front

Hat: Stetson Suit: Strellson Shirt: Dockers Jacket: Handstich

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MODE 157

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Cap: Herr von Eden Blazer: Swiss Chriss Vest: Denham Shirt: Aglini Tie: Eton Trousers: Marc O'Polo Shoes: Floris van Bommel Right

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the knit Photos: Stefan Milev Art Direction & Production: Mody Al Khufash Hair/Make-up: Ute Hildenbeutel Photographer’s Assistant: Dunja Antic Fashion Assistant: Tanya Min Jee Ellis In collaboration with Bananas Models Paris: WaÍl, Stephan Wiesinger, Josue Michael, Corentin Renault, Martin Rocchia, Hadrian Mazelier, Benoit Heraud, Ricardo Merini Shot at Studio Light Kitchen Paris Special thanks to Alex Sossaha

Sweater: Bomboogie

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Sweater: Tommy Hilfiger

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160 MODE Sweater: Drykorn Cap: Mountain Force loves Warm-Me

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MODE 161 Sweater: Jet Set

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162 MODE Sweater: 1913 Berlin

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MODE 165 Sweater: Strellson

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Camoblue Photos: Harling & Darsell Art Direction & Production: Mody Al Khufash Hair/Make-up: Julie Skok Model: Lila/Izaio models Fashion Assistant: Tanya minjee Ellis

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Cape: G-Star Raw Blouse: Mother Jeans: Deyk Boots: Dr. Martens Right

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174 IN STORE

Munich treasures its traditions. In the “Hofbräuhaus”, located in the city centre, one gets a sense of how much the residents value their usual seat.

Above every table reserved for a specific group of regular guests one can see a coat of arms with the names of the respective founders. If you want to join one of these groups, you need to qualify for the privilege first.

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IN STORE 175

Munich — Purchasing Power Capital of the South

Off & Co moved from the oncehyped Schwabing district to the inner city of Munich in August. Is this the end of an era? It's the beginning of a new one, more likely. A single commitment of this magnitude would have been enough in itself to underline the tremendous potential of Munich's city centre.

Text: Isabel Faiss.

Photos: Nicole Wawrzinek, Julian Henzler, Eugen Gebhardt

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Munich's city centre has developed quite a clout over the last two to three years. This is, given the contrary development in most German cities, a rather baffling development. The Bavarian capital has admittedly always been renowned as an attractive catchment area for customers with above-average purchasing power and its large crisis-resistant flagships in the form of owner-managed businesses in the midst of the old city, but this newly developed momentum clearly indicates a change of pace with even more rotation speed.

Let's first have a look at a few snapshots from the past year. In April, the new large-scale project "Hofstatt" on the former site of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" newspaper was opened, thereby adding approximately 18,000 square metres of office space and 15,500 square metres of retail space to the city's portfolio.

Brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Adidas, J. Lindeberg, and Codello sub­sequently moved into the premises. Simultaneously, a part of the adjacent "Sendlinger Strasse" was transformed into a pedestrian zone. Both measures also revived the underlying district known as "Hackenviertel", which had recently suffered from frequency issues due to the suction force of one of Munich's aortas, the "Kaufingerstrasse".

Maison Louis Vuitton opened its doors in the former "Residenzpost" at the same time. The next heavyweight followed suit in October. A 19,000 square metre store of Sport Scheck moved into the newly built "Pschorr-Haus" located in "Neuhauser Strasse".

Real estate developer Bayerische Hausbau invested more than 100 million Euros in the project, which was already fully rented out two years before completion.

Lodenfrey and Hirmer gave themselves a partial or complete look after extensive renovations and restructuring processes. Numerous mono-label stores such as Stone Island, Gant, Red Wing, and Karl Lagerfeld added themselves to the mix too. Off & Co relocated to "Promenadeplatz" and thereby moved into close vicinity of Lodenfrey, Theresa, and Fünf Höfe. Due to the revitalisation of the "Brienner" district and - especially - since the opening of Fünf Höfe in 2003 provided the passing trade with an enormous amount of new retail space, even the north-south axis parallel to "Theatinerstrasse" was provided with new routes.

The whole aforementioned terrain was formerly a high-security wing of the Hypo Bank.

Daniels opened in "Palais an der Oper" in August, while Apropos moved into a building on "Promenadeplatz" opposite Bayerischer Hof in December. Klaus

Ritzenhöfer described the latter's new location as an "off-location that we love". This new location was chosen quite deliberately, as he believes that "the advice we want to supply is impossible in high-frequency locations and owner-run fashion retailers cannot afford the rental fees of prime location." He also adds that these rental fees can only be financed by "large brands that subsidise their flagship stores with marketing funds."

Walking Distance and Clear Structure

Solvent tenants are easy to find in Munich, mainly because the demand/supply ratio in the city centre has been in an unhealthy imbalance for years. Rental fees can reach peaks of up to 400 Euros per square metre and the city administration has to watch on powerlessly when vacant areas are handed to international retail chains. Approximately 90% of all buildings in the city centre are owned by private individuals.

"Munich is the only metropolis in Germany that constantly expands its prime locations. The city centre is the flagship of the city. That area alone accounts for 450,000 square metres of the total retail space of 1.7 million square metres retail space within Munich's borders. Quantitatively speaking that is a peak figure.

Munich generated a sales total of style in progress 114

176 IN STORE Munich – Purchasing Power Capital of the South

“Munich is currently the most interesting location in Germany.”

Markus Höhn, Lodenfrey

“In my opinion, Munich will be the most promising city in Europe in less than five years.”

Carlo Rivetti, Stone Island

approximately 12 billion Euros last year, of which nearly 4 billion - or 25% - was contributed by the city centre. On average, the German retail industry achieves roughly 3,600 Euros in revenue per square metre. This figure stands at 6,700 Euros in Munich; in its city centre even at roughly 10,000 Euros", Angelus Bernreuther, a retail expert at BBE Handelsberatung, explains.

In his study titled "Handelsatlas 2013" he unearthed the most significant parameters for the retail industry in Munich. Alongside the high purchase power of Munich's inhabitants (on average 123 Euros retail purchasing power compared to 100 Euros in the rest of Germany), one of the main benefits is the geographical position of the city centre as a pedestrian oriented, clearly structured, and condensed focal point. The city itself deserves some credit for this, Bernreuther says: "Munich has a city centre concept and monitors closely where retail companies settle.

114 style in progress

Compared to the population, the city has very few shopping centres outside the centre, which has contributed to the focus on the inner city. However, there are very vibrant district centres, as well as a few trendy districts with small individual retailers, which obviously significantly enhances the attractiveness of Munich as a whole to the retail industry."

A Place in the Sun?

Munich's city centre is currently a prime example of an exciting retail hub and a healthy genre mix. The major pillars are local players such as Lodenfrey, Ludwig Beck, Hirmer, Konen, Sport Schuster, Sport Scheck, and Dallmayer, as well as Bayerischer Hof and Kustermann. The aforementioned are the stable brands with an international reputation.

These are hard-earned laurels that the city likes to rest on. The pillars may be stable, but they are standing in an increasingly turbulent environment. New flagship stores of brands that

have recognised Munich's potential and want to use the city as a showcase open constantly.

Prominent examples in the last year have shown that the company with the deepest pockets gets the retail space in the inner city, no matter whether that means adding a fifth H&M store within 100 metres. The long-established company Maendler was replaced in "Theatinerstrasse" by Mango, while Munich-based children's fashion specialist Schlichting moved to "Maximilianstrasse" because its old store in "Theatinerstrasse" will be rented out to H&M after the building has been renovated. "A location as attractive as Munich will always be targeted by international brands and retail chains. Everybody wants to open a store here, which naturally causes the rental fees to soar. Eventually local retailers simply can - or don't want to - keep up. Currently Munich's mix of local department stores, boutiques, and mono-brand shops is still very diverse. How-

ever, the balance shifts with every new real estate development in the city", says Ludwig Beck's Christian Greiner. Lodenfrey's Markus Höhn believes that the companies themselves have a responsibility to keep their location attractive: "I believe that we locals are strong enough to show that co-existence is possible. The mixture of vertical concepts and high-end brands is learned; it is the current zeitgeist. Munich is Germany's most interesting location at the moment, which is also down to the fact that we have a different structure than cities like Düsseldorf or Hamburg. We still have a lot of individualists here. The efforts of the city administration are aimed at maintaining this level and promoting this development. At least it isn't hindering it; otherwise we would have never experienced such a breakthrough. We have a sufficient number of healthy medium-sized companies. The competition has raised the pressure on everyone

IN STORE 177 Munich – Purchasing Power Capital of the South

“Munich is only just starting to reach high quality levels now. Many still have a completely false perception of the city.”

Henrik Soller (right) and Florian Ranft, Komet und Helden

“An awful lot is happening in Munich. New concepts are opening on a regular basis.

It is important to retain the handwriting and the charm of a city. This is mostly done by local players.”

Christian Greiner, Ludwig Beck

to constantly reinvent their concepts and to remain interesting. I believe that this is the motor that makes Munich so attractive and ensures that the high standards are maintained.

Even the influx of colleagues such as Daniels and Apropos are welcomed by the long-established Munich heavyweights in good spirit, even though this does increase the overlap of content and concepts. Frank Troch, the managing director of Hirmer, has a relaxed approach: "Every retailer that settles down in Munich presents a certain product portfolio. I think it is antiquated to believe that one has to lock some brands away just so others can't have them.

Ultimately every business thrives on its individual atmosphere and consulting intensity, as well as on its charm and its range of services. This is the competition among ourselves."

More and more international conglomerates are entering this competition. One example is the

arrival of a Stone Island store in "Maximilianstrasse" in October.

For Carlo Rivetti, the owner, the choice of location was clear right from the start and he explains the decision with a small anecdote: "We had only been open for a few days when a customer from Uzbekistan came into the shop. He didn't know our brand, but was still buying a lot. He explained his decision with a statement that is proof that this location is important for us: 'You are on Maximilianstrasse, which means you are an important brand.' This street is one of the most significant shopping miles worldwide and has a tremendous future ahead of it. Luciano Benetton once said to me: 'You need three things for a successful store: location, location, location.'" Unlike Berlin, which is currently being hyped as a fashion capital, Carlo Rivetti sees more potential for the premium segment in Munich. "I believe Munich will be the most promising city in Europe in less than

five years. This is not only down to the attractive customer base.

I am very proud to be a part of this. It is probably the first time we had an opportunity to open a store at such a strategic and valuable address."

Retail Goes it Alone

There seems no lack of strong entrepreneurs and assertiveness in Munich, but there does seem to be a lack of public support.

"We communicate our opinion to governing bodies such as the town council and we do believe that they are taking us seriously.

The city administration has, of course, a difficult job to do.

Like all of us, the city cannot rest on the laurels it earned over the last few years and decades.

In this respect, one obviously always wants initiatives from the city itself. As an institution in Munich, it is in our own interest to keep the quality level of the location high. We wouldn't be entrepreneurs if we didn't pursue this goal with a lot of initiative of

our own", Hirmer's Frank Troch explains. His colleague Oliver Commentz, head of marketing at Hirmer, believes that it is not only down to the companies to secure the location's standards: "The brand Munich is in the hands of many, but especially in those of the politicians. One cannot blindly rely on the quality that lies within this brand. I do sense an increased awareness that the brand Munich has to be developed further together. We can't all simply rely on the fact that the Oktoberfest takes place every year for two weeks."

There are many concepts that have set themselves the goal to combine individual initiatives to obtain a critical voice in politics.

The most prominent example is the City Partner association, which has been representing the interests, commitments, and initiatives of entrepreneurs from all industries within Munich's city centre since 2004. The board of the association reads like a who-is-who of prominent style in progress 114

178 IN STORE Munich – Purchasing Power Capital of the South

“I like the city. It has a southern flair, at least for us people from the Rhineland.”

– Markus Daniels, Daniels

also develops a certain radiance that creates new walkways and makes some locations more attractive for smaller stores", Wolfgang Fischer elaborates.

The Cake Was Not That Big!

local businesspeople. It includes Peter Inselkammer (Platzl-Hotel, spokesman for inner city publicans), Jannik Inselkammer (Augustiner Bräu), Peter Eberle (Konen), Innegrit Volkhardt (Bayerischer Hof ), and Undine Weidener (Galeria Kaufhof ). The association organises communal activities such as the prolonged shopping night titled "Nachtschwärmer" and also actively tackles issues of traffic and road planning. However, it mainly acts as a mouthpiece for the local businesses and as a professional network. The big aim is to clearly and positively define and market the huge potential of the city centre as a showcase and growth engine. Isn't that the job of the city administration? "It certainly was a deficit in the external marketing of the city that caused the businesses to establish City Partners. It is always the best solution to get all involved parties to sit down and concert their efforts, but that is a little difficult in Munich due to traditions and certain structures", City Partner's 114 style in progress

Wolfgang Fischer explains. He is also a member of the board at an association named "Brienner Quartierts", which is an initiative of resourceful house owners around "Brienner Strasse" who want to secure the quality of their district with a healthy industry mix and who aim to establish that area as a brand in its own right. Alongside the "Hofstatt" and "Fünf Höfe", the "Brienner Quartier" is one of the large prestige projects that creates a microcosm based on own ideas in answer to the sometimes questionable choice of tenants in the city centre. Is this the future? "It is moving in that direction, even with the support of the city's planning office. We have, from a structural point of view, a very compact and balanced city centre with a cross-shaped pedestrian zone in which the available space is much lower than the demand.

The "Fünf Höfe" are an excellent example of how to create an interesting mix of industries that does not only lead to supplementing product ranges, but that

Henrik Soller and Florian Ranft, the owners of the Woolrich store in "Brienner Quartier", are active participants in such a microcosm. Henrik Soller believes the idea is highly attractive, but does not believe it is a realistic solution for the future of the inner city. "This approach is not realistic for Munich. In every city centre the economic efficiency is the only thing that matters.

Even a concept like the 'Brienner Quartier' was only possible in a 1B location on the edge of the city centre and removed from the major shopping streets. If a landlord with a building in a 1A location can choose a retail chain that offers the highest price, then he certainly won't bother to strive for an individual retail concept with local companies in the future." The two businessmen, who own the Komet und Helden agency, are planning to open their own multi-brand store in 2014. The store will be located in the inner city, but removed from the pedestrian zone and the touristy shopping streets.

"Even if there were affordable locations in one of the main shopping streets, we wouldn't consider them. The customers we target aren't there", says Florian Ranft, who aims his statement at the status-quo of Munich's tourism situation, which is still in the process of shifting from a quantity-based strategy to a quality-based one. Henrik Soller also thinks that the developments in Munich's city centre have not been as successful as the involved parties want the public to believe: "Munich is only just developing into a high-quality

location. The city is still being misperceived by many. Munich's city administration subsidised a horrific form of cheap tourism for many years. The bar has finally been raised a little over the last few years, which is down to the commitment of entrepreneurs who established high-end gastronomy, galleries, and retail concepts. They did a lot to give Munich a certain level of sophistication. In the past there was no rush to get a slice of the huge Munich-shaped cake; the cake just wasn't that big. Munich has always had "Maximilianstrasse" as it luxury shopping street, but, to be honest, it is ridiculous to describe that street as a sensational shopping destination. In cities like Milan such streets are mere side streets. Munich is only just beginning to develop."

Some see the current hype as a huge opportunity and growth drive for Munich, while others perceive it as a crucial test for a city centre that is only just preparing to realise its potential.

The amount of Arab, Asian, and Russian tourists with high purchasing power has increased disproportionately over the last few years, but so has the rent. This is a direct risk for the retail industry and an indirect risk for the region as a whole.

While tourism is growing both quality-wise and quantitatively, more and more companies and residents are leaving the old town area. Peak prices of up to 18.30 Euros per square metre for a rented flat and up to 5,000 Euros per square metre if you want to purchase a flat (160% higher than the German average) pose a long term problem that needs to be taken seriously by everyone.

After all, the essence of Munich's success is still its population.

IN STORE 179 Munich – Purchasing Power Capital of the South

If You Want to Stay at the Top,… …you have to work for it.

Frank Troch, the chief executive of Hirmer in Munich, knows what he's talking about. The parent house of the family-owned group is seen as one of the pillars on which the success of the company rests. However, one will not find any complacency in Munich. The aforementioned pillar is located a mere few metres from the geographical centre of the city. It is stable, but never static.

Text: Isabel Faiss. Photos: Hirmer

Ready-to-wear fashion items by international brands such as Ermenegildo Zegna and Canali form the core of the new Hirmer Studio. The range is complemented by high-end lifestyle fashion collections by brands such as Armani Collezioni, Paul Smith, Mastai Ferretti, and Belstaff.

The renowned fashion company Hirmer is predestined to be located in the heart of Munich's inner city; it lies directly on one of the city's main retail arteries, the "Kaufingerstrasse". It is a fairly turbulent environment that has been gradually taken over by international retail chains over the last few years.

Hirmer proves why it is so essential to reinvent oneself and to keep extremely high standards by constant further development of its product range, the current expansion of its sales area, and content expansion into new genres.

Mr Troch, Munich is an attractive location for many international brands, but also for direct competitors. Is the place in the sun getting crowded?

I would say it's getting more crowded, but that has, above all, a positive side effect. The pressure among the large players in the city to differentiate from the others by making efforts to have distinctive features, personality, and additional services has always been immense, but has now been lifted to a new level.

Since August of last year you present new style worlds like Landlust, Loft, and especially the new gem called Hirmer Studio on a sales area of more than 9,000 square metres. So what is the exact look of the new Hirmer?

We are a business that bases its philosophy on its initial core department. It has remained the backbone of our company and will continue to do so in the future. Owing to changes of

Frank Troch, the chief executive of Hirmer, ensures the Munich-based headquarter of the company remains innovative.

our main target group's buying patterns - the man who shops demand-oriented has been joined by the man who wants a shopping experience - we started in-house discussions on how to react to these changes in 2007.

This led to a few fundamental decisions. Firstly, we needed more sales area to ensure that we can present ourselves better and that our goods have more space to breathe. We adapted and expanded our brand portfolio to meet the requirements of our target group, while also further developing our shop design. This created new style worlds such as Landlust, Hirmer Studio, the new shoe department with a unique attractive mix of business shoes, and the new Loft section for our younger customers. We are basically encasing our backbone with additional experience and lifestyle worlds.

has made the store slightly more expensive. A customer looking for a shirt that costs 40 Euros will still find the same variety as before. This is very important to us, same as the more generous utilisation of the sales area to enhance the atmosphere and the shopping experience in general.

We have added roughly 3,000 square metres to the store over the last seven years, which is an increase of 37%. 2,200 square metres were filled with goods, while 800 square metres were left unoccupied. That created sufficient room for experience presentations and other activities.

The Studio is a real content upgrade. Has the mid-range market, for which Hirmer catered for a long period, lost its attractiveness?

It's quite the opposite. We have undergone a certain upgrade by exclusively stocking new topclass brands such as John Lobb and by giving brands such as Ermenegildo Zegna, Burberry, and Stone Island more space. However, we have not abandoned our entry-level price range and actually even expanded our midrange segment. The expansion of our high-quality product range by introducing Hirmer Studio

Hirmer Kaufingerstrasse 28 80331 Munich/Germany www.hirmer-muenchen.de Opening of new sales areas: September 2013 Owner: Hirmer GmbH & Co KG Sales area: 9,000 sqm

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180 IN STORE Munich – Purchasing Power Capital of the South

The new Off & Co store gives its goods a lot more space to breathe, especially in the foyer on the ground floor.

A New Home for Special Fashion Off & Co/Munich. Uli Off's initial decision to locate his store in "Belgradstraße" in Munich's Schwabing district was absolutely correct.

However, the management of Lodenfrey was also absolutely correct in deciding to now reverse that decision.

Last September Off & Co relocated to the city centre of Munich, where its extraordinary concept fell on fruitful ground due to the fact that no such store had existed in the area before.

Text: Isabel Faiss.

Photos: Nicole Wawrzinek, Off & Co

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Off & Co's new address at "Promenadeplatz 1" basically nestles up to the venerable walls of the Lodenfrey House. However, new neighbour Markus Höhn, the chief executive of Lodenfrey GmbH, rules out direct synergy effects right from the start. After the takeover of Off & Co by Lodenfrey in 2008, there was little news about the concept store that enjoyed popularity well beyond Munich's city limits. It had earned its fame by developing an unusual blend of high-end designer fashion and young innovative brands. The former location in "Belgradstraße" in Munich's Schwabing district went equally silent, which made relocation almost obligatory. "We are very satisfied with the general development of Off & Co since

the takeover, but we also noticed that the high-quality concept was no longer sustainable in Schwabing", Markus Höhn explains. "We need a certain customer frequency base and specific environment, which were both no longer existent for this business segment at the old location. That's why we relocated the store to the city centre.

At the same time, the move is yet another commitment to the direct environment of Lodenfrey and to the fashion competence surrounding the 'Promenadeplatz', where companies such as Theresa, Lodenfrey, Off & Co, and soon also Apropos have created a sophisticated periphery that makes it virtually impossible to ignore the area's contribution to Munich's fashion world.

Our statement is that high-end

fashion concepts endure in this environment."

However, the new address in the city centre, where Off & Co will solely focus on women's fashion and showcase its products on 300 square metres, did not only lead to an immensely increased rental fee, but also significantly increased the economic expectations that go hand in hand with such a prestigious location.

"We believe that the city centre lacked a store with an Off & Co concept. The inner city did not have a shop with credentials that Off & Co has always possessed - an individual atmosphere, a specific brand mixture, and an unusual composition of various fashion collections," Markus Höhn says. To ensure the preservation of the special feel and charm of Uli Off's original store,

IN STORE 181 Munich – Purchasing Power Capital of the South

The plain and reduced design that creates a welcoming atmosphere was conjured up by the same female architect who conceived the store at the initial address.

the new shop was designed by the same architect who furnished the "Belgradstraße" premises.

Austrian architect Monika Gogl managed to reproduce the feelgood atmosphere with various wood types on the walls and floors, patinated messing elements, and discreet lighting. This ensured that the many regular customers feel equally at home when visiting the new location.

The store has also stayed true to its roots. "Off & Co is and will continue to be a progressive

concept store that is asked to find new small labels and fashion ranges that cannot be purchased at every other store. These are then presented in combination with a few renowned brands such as Dries van Noten, Maison Martin Margiela, Moncler, and Odeeh", Markus Höhn explains.

Alongside the opening of the new store, Off & Co also relaunched its website and online shop in order to enhance its profile even more on the back of the relocation. The carefully

planned measures hint at the great expectations towards the new store. It also indicates the future path Munich's beautiful "Promenadeplatz" will tread to secure its position as a fashion hotspot.

Off & Co Promenadeplatz 1, 80333 Munich/Germany www.offandco.com Opening: September 2013 Owner: Lodenfrey GmbH Sales area: 300 sqm Brands for women: Allude, Avelon, Closed, Current Elliot, Dries van Noten, Etro, Friendly Hunting, Giorgio Brato, Harris Wharf, Issa, J Brand, Lala Berlin, Liebig, Maison Martin Margiela, Marjana von Berlepsch, Moncler, NDC, Odeeh, Roberto Collina, Sarti, Schumacher, Zilla

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182 IN STORE Munich – Purchasing Power Capital of the South

He Went Forth in the Name of Fashion Daniels/Munich. Daniels is well-known in Cologne and Bonn. The fact that the multi-brand retailer has decided to move into Munich is down to Markus Daniels' love of the Bavarian capital.

Text: Martina Müllner. Photos: Daniels

"I like the city", says Markus Daniels with great conviction.

He says it as if that was enough to justify his big venture, which opened its doors to the public in 2013. Those who know him in his role as highly-professional and meticulous purchaser will find it hard to believe that his love for Munich was the only reason for this step. The store that he took over from his father has flourished into a business with 120 employees and it has earned the right to act a little nonchalant from time to time.

The company has earned and

The clearly structured appearance is important to owner Markus Daniels.

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successfully defended its place in the fashion communities of Cologne and Bonn. It is perceived as a "welcome contrast to the mono-labels" that dominate the city centres today.

Gut and Head

Markus Daniels is an expert at balancing gut feelings and rationality. It comes as no surprise that he chose the location in Munich "because it felt right, not because we conducted a customer frequency survey." After all, the shopping experience that Daniels strives to offer cannot be consumed in passing. When it comes to counselling and style, you'll hardly find your customers among those that rush past the shop windows in a perpetual hurry. "The order and harmony that our purchasing philosophy brings to the product range, seems to work for the customers we want to appeal to."

Even during the order phase quality outweighs the fashion grade significantly. "We enjoy buying from true specialists.

It is a real pleasure to see how much virtuosity a family-owned company like Goti puts into its jewellery. Officine Creative is another example of that", Markus Daniels enthuses. This enthusiasm for high quality craftsmanship does not only stem from his experience in the fashion retail industry. During his time away from the company, Markus Daniels worked as a product manager with passion.

This can not only be sensed in the private label collection, which he describes as "a good mixture of margin and creativity", but especially in the product range composition. The fashion entrepreneur avoids complete collections that aim at dressing an individual from head to toe.

The painstaking task of hunting down the Daniels look at true specialists is worth its while, as it means that the products stocked

by Daniels are quite capable of surviving more than one season.

This is obviously good news for the customers, but also for the

store itself. "Less write-offs more profitability" - that's the simple truth of the matter. So what about that gut feeling? That is always right when the items stand their ground without a lot of shouting about hypes and trends.

Daniels Munich Palais an der Oper, Hofgraben 7 80539 Munich/Germany www.daniels-mode.de Opening: August 2013 Owner: Markus Daniels Employees: 120 (total) Sales area: 550 sqm Brands for women: 813, Aglini, Allude, Anne Claire, Avant Toi, Belstaff, Boglioli, Circolo, Citizen of Humanity, Current Elliott, Dear, Dondup, Faliero Sarti, Felder & Felder, Frauenschuh, Giorgio Brato, GMS 75, Golden Goose, Grifoni, Hale Bob, Herno, Her Shirt, IQ Berlin, Jan Mayen, Jil Sander Navy, Mabrun, Majestic, Marlino, Monocrom, Mother, My Herzallerliebst, Parajumpers, People, Peserico, Reptile’s House, Saloni, Schyia, Tagliatore, Tonello, True Religion, V.SP, Woolrich Brands for men: Aglini, Avant Toi, Better Rich, Boglioli, Cantarelli, Care Label, Citizen of Humanity, Crossley, Cruciani, Dondup, Gimos, Giorgio Brato, Harris Wharf London, Herno, Incotex, Jacob Cohen, Jan Mayen, Mabrun, Malo, Mastai Ferretti, Monocrom, Parajumpers, Roberto Collina, Stone Island, Tagliatore, Tonello, Windsor, Woolrich, Zanieri Accessories brands: 3rd Floor, Campomaggi, Giorgio Brato, Goti, Laboratorio Olfattivo, Mad et Len, Majo, Meo Fusciuni, Nu_Be, Numero 10, Orciani, Philippe Audibert, Sassi Cara, Silent People, Zanellato Shoe brands: Florenti + Baker, JFK, Moma, Mr. Wolf, Officine Creative, Pantanetti, Philippe Model, Pura Lopez, Silvano Sassetti, Vic Matié

IN STORE 183 Munich – Purchasing Power Capital of the South

Materials that ooze elegance, but not polished to mirror finish - Daniels in Munich.

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Apropos - The Concept Store is brave in enough to fill the gap in Munich by exclusively stocking products for men.

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IN STORE 185 Munich – Purchasing Power Capital of the South

North and South Apropos – The Concept Store/Munich & Hamburg. First Hamburg's "Neuer Jungfernstieg", then Munich's "Promenadeplatz" - Klaus Ritzenhöfer and Daniel Riedo are in the process of successfully exporting their Apropos The Concept Store idea.

Women's fashion in Hamburg, men's fashion in Munich - those are two facets of the Apropos cosmos.

Text: Martina Müllner.

Fotos: Apropos – The Concept Store

"The locations were what appealed to us - in both cases", Klaus Ritzenhöfer explains.

Apropos' expansion in the high North and far South is not part of an ambitious plan. With spectacular openings in July 2013 (Hamburg) and December 2013 (Munich) the two businessmen have added new pillars to their concept that is already successful in Cologne, Düsseldorf, and online. That is enough for the time being. "I don't think that it is possible to arbitrarily transform a concept as individual as ours into a chain", Klaus Ritzenhöfer adds. After all, it is - despite the willingness of the two owners to travel to all outlets regularly necessary to have a strong team to run all the stores. "Hamburg was a pleasant surprise in this respect. The team we managed to recruit is phenomenal", Klaus Ritzenhöfer says with glee. The company is in the enviable position to draw from a pool of unsolicited applications of individuals that are excited by the concept itself. Initial training in Cologne combined with intensive weekly and monthly meetings with the management team - this is Ritzenhöfer's and Riedo's recipe to transport the spirit of Apropos into the more distant locations.

Profitable Co-operations

In Hamburg the two businessmen had enough time to let their

The power of an idea - Klaus Ritzenhöfer and Daniel Riedo runs five Apropos - The Concept Store outlets throughout Germany with just under 100 employees.

architectural and fashion-related visions grow. All brands that were chosen for the store were informed in good time. As a result, the list of desired brands and the final product range corresponded to nearly 100%. "We are good and fair partners who pay in time. The brands value us, which ultimately pays dividends." The situation in Munich was a little more hectic. "We found ourselves in the middle of the purchasing season for men's fashion when we received the final assurances." Nevertheless, the carefully nurtured contacts within the industry proved vital in this situation too and led to the desired coherent image.

So why was the decision made to limit the stores in the two cities to one sex? "We believe that we can only competently showcase one segment on the space we have available, which is roughly 500 square metres at each location. Obviously we asked ourselves which gaps we could fill in the respective cities", Ritzenhöfer explains. Women's fashion in Munich? Unthinkable.

"Colleagues who we rate highly already cover that field competently", he adds.

They're Welcome

The fact that the company chose "the off-locations it loves" in both cities is "firstly owed to the belief that it is impossible to offer the desired consulting services in high-frequency stores". Furthermore, "it is not possible for owner-managed specialised fashion retailers to pay the rental fees charged for prime locations. Only the large brands, who subsidise their flagship stores with marketing funds, can afford that." However, Ritzenhöfer is not complaining.

He prefers to prove where the Apropos concept can be successful. The glass of sparkling wine while purchasing shoes on the spectacular gallery on Hamburg's "Jungfernstieg", the competent advice while putting together an outfit in Munich - these are the situations that define Apropos. Of course there is also Daniel Riedo's world of beauty, interiors, and chic bric-a-brac

that persuades customers to stay longer than planned. It is even possible to browse the product range after closing time; the online store makes it possible to purchase most items around the clock. The online store benefits markedly from the new outlets.

"When the prominence of the brand Apropos increases, then the online traffic increases too", Klaus Ritzenhöfer concludes.

Apropos – The Concept Store Neuer Jungfernstieg 16, 20354 Hamburg/Germany; Promenadeplatz 12, 80333 Munich/Germany Opening: July 2013 (Hamburg), December 2013 (Munich) Owners: Klaus Ritzenhöfer, Daniel Riedo Employees: 98 employees in total Sales area: 500 sqm (Hamburg), 500 sqm (Munich) Brands for women (Hamburg): i.a. Azzedine Alaia, Céline, Isabel Marant, The Row, Tom Ford, Saint Laurent, Valentino Accessories: i.a. Céline, Colleen B. Rosenblat, Isabel Marant, Nancy Gonzalez, Saint Laurent, Sevigne, Smythson, Valentino Shoes: i.a. Azzedine Alaia, Céline, Isabel Marant, Manolo Blahnik, Saint Laurent, Valentino Cosmetics: Humiecki & Graef, Keiko Mecheri, Ligne St. Barth, Montale Interiors: i.a. Baobab Collection, Fornasetti, John Derian Brands for men (Munich): i.a.

Balmain, Band of Outsiders, Dsquared, Giorgio Armani, Haider Ackermann, Kenzo, Michael Bastian, Missoni, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Valentino Accessories: i.a. Illesteva, Luis Morais, Santiago Gonzalez, Smythson, Uboat, Uniform Wares, Yuvi Shoes: i.a. Ancient Greek Sandals, Balmain, Dsquared, Raparo, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Valentino Cosmetics: i.a. B.O.I.S., Bond No. 9, Heeley, Montale, Niance Interiors: i.a. Baobab Collection, Cire Trudon, Culti, Fornasetti, John Derian, Linari, L’Objet

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186 IN STORE

Important guest: Ropero (by Hierve) was displayed as an installation in the middle of the store's ground floor sales area for a while. There is sufficient room for such exhibitions.

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Shopping Destination with a Surprise Factor N°2/Zurich. Where there's a number N°2, there has to be a N°1. In the case of Dominique von Albertini's shopping destination, the N°1 is Tiger-Fink, the children's products store of his mother.

It inspired him to open his own shop.

Text: Dörte Welti.

Photos: N°2, Nicolas Duc

20 years ago Susanne von Albertini revolutionised the Swiss children's fashion industry with Tiger-Fink. All kids needed "Finken" (slippers), at the latest when they started going to kindergarten. However, there were no particularly child-friendly models on the market at that time. Susanne von Albertini came across a striped fabric children's shoe designed by shoemaker Edi Glogg in 1938, which subsequently also gave the young business its name - Tiger-Fink and were an instant commercial success. The rest is history. The

typical Tiger-Fink fabric was soon used for fashion and other accessories. When even mothers started asking for slippers in their own size, the brand went through the roof. Dominique von Albertini grew up with the store and practically lived in it too. He watched his mother, who cleverly rented the entire premises from the start but only used the front section for her shop, grew in business stature and expanded the sales area when the volume of products increased.

After school, the youngster first went into the marketing and publishing industries. Soon the dream of owning his own store grew within him. When the subtenants of the building, which is located between a main street and a side street with access from both sides, started leaving one by one, the son made his move. Dominique was mainly interested in the furniture of the store right from the start.

His mother always used antique baby's changing units and shelves for product presentation.

However, the customers bought these straight out of the shop window. Dominique turned this coincidental sales success into a new business segment, rented an additional workshop in the adjacent building, and started selling Woodlove furniture, which are

All cleaned up: The men's fashion section has found its home below the roof. The space is dominated by clear lines and has a comfortable atmosphere.

90% antiques from Switzerland.

They are either refurbished on customer request, or lovingly restored by Dominique's craftsmen according to their own ideas. The premises in the initial building soon filled up with fashion and accessories. He is eager to point out that N°2 is economically completely separated from his mother's business.

However, the overall concept is still based on the idea that both parts - Tiger-Fink and N°2 appear as a unit to customers.

One can walk directly from one store into the other, which is a fact that never ceases to fascinate both regular and new customers.

N°2 has spread out over three levels. The ground and first floor houses fashion for women, while the space below the roof is reserved for men's fashion.

The store stocks most brands exclusively, or at least makes sure that they not widely distributed. In the meantime even Dominque's life partner has joined the company. Adrienne Purkert is responsible for all the fashion items and accessories in N°2. Somehow the mother, the son, and the girlfriend built the business together, but still managed to remain independent from each other. This situation can cause some friction from time to time. "There are some creative arguments", 35 year old Dominique confesses, "but we don't meddle in each other's business." In summer the unusually convoluted shopping destination will add "Kafi Höfli" to its portfolio, where customers and guests will be served within the store's opening hours.

Naturally only fresh produce some of it even grown on the house's roof - will make it onto the tables.

It's a comfortable microcosm in which all fields seem to intertwine. It's no surprise that the clientele, which is as colourful as the products on display and ranges from teens to grandmothers, often spends hours in the store - a dream come true for every store owner.

Comes in twos: Adrienne Purkert and Dominique von Albertini established N°2 together. She is responsible for the fashion department, while he contributes the Woodlove furniture to the quirky shop concept.

N°2 Brotgasse 3 8008 Zurich/Switzerland www.numbertwo.ch Opening: September 2010 Owners: Dominique von Albertini, Adrienne Purkert Employees: 1 (and 1 seasonal worker in the restaurant area) Sales area: roughly 500 sqm (incl. Tiger-Fink) Fashion brands: Athena Procopiou, Avelon, Carlo Contrada, Coite, Demy Lee, Francis Leon, Hardy Amies, Karen Walker, Markus Lupfer, MSGM, Steven Alan, Twisty Parallel Universe, Ultimo Nomade, Use unused Budapest, We are Handsome Accessories brands: Alexander Olch, Alexander Wang x Linda Farrow, Bagllerina, Claire Vivier, Fiona Paxton, Givenchy, Hard Graft, Hydes, IGWT, Karen Walker, Maison Boinet, Maslin & Co, Mc Alson, Pamela Love, Sabrina Dehoff, Venessa Arizaga, Want Les Essentielles De La Vie Beauty brands: Cousu De Fil Blanc, Land by Land, Less is More, Moroccanoil, Neom, Tocca Lifestyle brands: vintage pieces, art books, music

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188 IN STORE

The Perfect Stage Podium/Stuttgart.

Aysen Bitzer-Bourak fulfilled a long-standing dream with her new store and has created the perfect stage for her 0039 Italy collection in the process.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper.

Photos: Podium

What would Baroque look like today? It's quite possible it would look like Podium. It sports golden wallpaper with a texture modelled on reptile skin, as well as lounge areas with velvet sofas and curtains for the spacious boudoir-style changing rooms - all in fitting rich colours.

In short: modern luxury as a backdrop for fashion by 0039 Italy.

Prime Example

For Aysen Bitzer-Bourak, the new Podium store in Stuttgart is the flagship of her brand. "Here we can show the best way to present our collection - and how easily it can be combined", she says. The blouse-heavy collection is combined with jeans by J Brand and Citizens of Humanity, with cashmere knitwear

by Antonia Zander and Velvet shirts, as well as playful dresses and skirts by Rebecca Taylor, which Bitzer-Bourak ordered in New York. For men the store stocks the classic 0039 Italy shirts, trousers by Mason's, polo shirts by Lacoste with a special dye finish, and leather jackets by Sword. Furthermore, Podium houses a day spa, a cinema for children, and a coffee lounge for a relaxing shopping break - all spread out over an area of more than 400 square metres.

Aysen Bitzer-Bourak founded the label 0039 Italy together with her husband, Rachid Bourak, twelve years ago. Their idea was to revolutionise the classic blouse theme by reviving it with new colours, prints, and cuts. The concept worked - today the company with its headquarters in Stuttgart serves approximately 1,000 customers in no less than 40 stores. The blouse has always remained the core competence of 0039 Italy, which also added trousers and cardigans to its repertoire.

Currently the company is taking further steps towards establishing a strong brand by opening more self-managed shops, as well as partner stores. It opened a store in Berlin last March, a store in Munich in August, and stores in Florence and Paris in December. More grand openings in 114 style in progress

Hamburg, Dusseldorf, London, Mallorca, and Los Angeles are scheduled for spring. "All our stores have the same look, the same CI", Bitzer-Bourak stresses. However, Stuttgart is the self-declared prime example for the brand identity. "I had been looking for premises like this for a long time", says Bitzer-Bourak, who describes herself as a fairly emotional person. "It was love at first sight." The location is central, in the so-called "Stilwerk" adjacent to the small "Schlossplatz" square. From the coffee lounge one has a beautiful view of one of Bitzer-Bourak's favourite places in Stuttgart.

Aysen Bitzer-Bourak is the face of the brand and the proud Podium owner, the flagship store for the collection.

Full Service

The designer herself is in the shop twice a week, unless she is off travelling or working on a new collection. She also tends to pop in on Saturdays, when a DJ supplies the musical background for the enjoyment of fresh croissants and fruit. In most cases, Aysen Bitzer-Bourak has specific appointments to work on a complete new fashion look for an individual customer. "Everyone who runs a store needs to know what the customers want", she explains. "I want to make them feel like they have bought the best product. I know I've got it right when the customers return."

Podium KÜnigstrasse 26, Stuttgart/Germany www.podium-shop.de Opening: July 2013 Owner: Aysen Bitzer-Bourak Sales area: 400 sqm Brands for women: 0039 Italy, 7 for all Mankind, Antonia Zander, Citizens of Humanity, J Brand, Museum, Rebecca Taylor, Velvet Brands for men: 0039 Italy, Lacoste, Mason’s, Sword

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The Podium store is the prime example of how to showcase the 0039 Italy fashion range.

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190 IN STORE Lux Plus has your future favourite items in stock; some of them are on display all year round independent from seasons.

The Moment is Right. The Moment is Good.

Lux Plus/Zurich. Beat Krenger has arrived in Zurich's trendy "Kreis 4".

The journalist from Bern runs a "vintage & new" shop that combines passion for fashion, love for style, and enjoyment of the beautiful things in life.

Text: DĂśrte Welti.

Photos: Helve Leal, Pascale Krippendorf/Christian Beutler, Lux Plus

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Beat Krenger is actually a professional journalist. He wrote about travelling, lifestyle and fashion, graduated from the Ringier journalist academy, and contributed to various Swiss magazines for years. Copenhagen, Paris, London, New York - all across the globe the vintage stores were what caught the eye of Beat Krenger, who is now 42 years old. Zurich did not have such a store ten years ago. He dared to open his own, first with a small shop as a sideline. It took no more than a year for it to become apparent that Lux - the name of the store derived from "luxury" and "light" - needed more space. Beat Krenger, who had worked in a Bernese punk store as a 19 year old, found the

necessary space in the newly developed "Kreis 4", originally a rather disreputable part of town just a corner away from the legendary "LangstraĂ&#x;e", which was known as the city's red light district. As in many cities, the most creative individuals gravitated to this area, mainly because the rent was still affordable there.

Krenger initially shared his store with an art gallery. Now the district is full of trendy shops, there's renovation work going on everywhere, numerous street cafes are popping up, and many stores call themselves "vintage".

Ten years later, it is not only the hip scene that comes to shop. "The age of my customers ranges from 20 to 70", the store owner reveals happily. They

come because Lux Plus - the second but only remaining shop - focuses on high-end products.

The new vintage style is of high quality, often even hand-made limited editions. Krenger finds his merchandise on markets. He used to personally bring in the goods from Paris by car, and still enjoys rummaging through the large vintage halls in Normandy.

"It's like a treasure hunt", he enthuses. "You never know what you'll find." His clients know that he always finds something good. It is public knowledge that the stylists of the large lifestyle magazines in Zurich flock to him to borrow his outfits. The journalist, who still enjoys a spot of writing when the opportunity arises, believes that word-of-mouth

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is the most important way to raise brand awareness. It's simply creative. So creative, in fact, that he asked ten Swiss musicians to model for last year's look-book.

The photo shoot led to the idea of a "Lux Plus Longstreet Festival", inspired by the nearby entertainment district. Unplugged music free of charge to promote fun and cheerfulness, bring together cool people, and enjoy spending time with each other.

The togetherness feels right at the moment, and the feeling is currently strong within the district. It is a big family that helps each other, sends customers from A to B, and creates a proper neighbourhood bond. Krenger still works in the store at least once a week, lives in the district itself, and supports local projects.

He values long-term relationships, which have often helped him further develop his business.

The Viennese brothers who manufacture bags from recycled

awnings under the Polyklamott brand are one example of this.

Business novice Krenger received the most valuable advice from them. One of the more important tips was to "never buy by the kilo" and they were also more than happy to pass on their knowledge about handling and general logistics issues. "I was very impressed", Krenger remembers while chatting about new plans that are not entirely ready for execution just yet.

We'll have to wait and see which surprises he has in store for us.

"Think globally, act locally" is his motto and the cosmopolitan is very proud to present Lux.Concept, his first in-house collection.

This range was born out of a friendship in Bangkok. It boasts immense attention to detail and has its own individual style. The pieces are destined to become classics in their own right over the years. Classics and vintage the perfect fit.

The wallpaper in Lux Plus was designed by Bern-based illustrator Sasa Kohler. It was initially supposed to be temporary, but the little animals are now an integral part of the store.

Beat Krenger, the owner of Lux Plus, is a real styling expert.

LUX PLUS Ankerstrasse 24, Zurich/ Switzerland, www.luxplus.ch Opening: April 2003 Owner: Beat Krenger Sales area: 80 sqm Fashion brands: Country of Milan, December No. 5, Lux. Concept, Marada, Second Manufacturer, Shake Appeal, Subconscious, Tsumori Chisato Accessories and shoe brands: 15 Hours, JosĂŠphine Handmade Knitwear, Karen Walker, La Nomada Fairtrade, The Sleeveless Garden Jewellery brands: Adorable, Backyard, Les Bijoux de Paris, Wild at Heart Magazines: A/SH, Dash Vintage brands: Akris, Alexander McQueen, Bally, Barbour, Cacharel, Givenchy, Kenzo, Lancel, MCM, Ralph Lauren

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A Next Generation Store Lieblings/Frankfurt.

Lars-Oliver Hergeth's core competence was initially the art of styling and makeup, but then he opted for a career in the fashion trade.

Last August he set new standards with the opening of his third - and largest store in Frankfurt.

A coffee bar on the ground floor flanked by floristry and perfumery sections, while the small fashion presentation hints that Lieblings has a lot more in store.

This is proven upstairs, where the entire range is showcased in theme worlds that blend into each other effortlessly.

Text: Nicoletta Schaper.

Photos: Lieblings

Expedition

Lieblings in Frankfurt is a breath of fresh air in the city's fashion scene.

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Lars-Oliver Hergeth - the creative head at Lieblings alongside Ellen Grundheber - focuses on brands that can prove hard to find elsewhere. The store stocks handmade belts by Felisi from Florence and brand-new stylish bags by Philipp Bree's traditional manufacturing label Bree. It also offers comprehensible avant-garde for men and women by Azizi, as well as fashion by Firma Berlin, which stands for a clear-cut and straightforward style with a twist.

The range is complemented by cool silk blouses and fur by Larenz from Zurich or feminine playful items by Semi Couture.

Men can browse through sturdy knit ware by Daniele Fisoli, leather jackets by GMS-75 and knitted teddy-lining parkas by Essemplare from Italy. All products are displayed in a coherent manner - while bags and shoes for men are concentrated on a specific area, while those for women are a little more scattered. The driving forces behind Lieblings pay a lot of attention

to such details to avoid confusing the customers with a strained crossover of men's and women's fashion, interiors, flowers, and cosmetics - the main aim is to inspire. "I am in the store quite often. It is important for me to see the effect the display has and in which manner the customers move around the shop", says Hergeth. "It is equally important to establish new theme worlds with new products, rather than just adding the new merchandise to existing displays."

"Honest advice in a great atmosphere - that's the future." - Lars-Oliver Hergeth, chief executive at Lieblings.

Superlative

Lars-Oliver Hergeth travelled the globe as a professional stylist and make-up artist for 20 years.

However, he sensed it was time for a change when he arrived at an airport and no longer knew from where he had flown in, let alone at which luggage conveyor belt he should queue up at.

Hergeth initially wanted to open a fashion store in Frankfurt, which is the city he grew up in.

After failing to find a suitable location in Frankfurt, he ended up in Fulda, where his life partner - Joachim Kleinert - worked at the time. This is where he opened the first Lieblings store with fashion, interiors, flowers, and cosmetics under one roof.

"For me it was like a laboratory to find the perfect business formula", says Hergeth. The second Lieblings shop - with a similar concept to that in Fulda - was then opened in Port de Soller on Mallorca. However, the store in Frankfurt is the absolute superlative. It will certainly take the locals a while to get used to it. "People are initially a little more reserved here, probably because they cannot appreciate the concept straight away", says Lars-Oliver Hergeth. "But I am confident.

We thoroughly enjoy what we do and our positive energy transfers to our customers."

Lieblings Stephanstrasse 1-5, 60313 Frankfurt/Germany www.lieblings.de Opening: August 2013 Managing directors: Ellen Grundheber, Joachim Kleinert and Lars-Oliver Hergeth Employees: 13 full-time, 3 part-time Sales area: 1,100 sqm Brands for women: among others Anett Röstel, Avelon, Brogden, Circolo, Diega, Ego, Fairly, Firma Berlin, Kilian Kerner, Larenz, Nigel Preston & Knight, Nude, Semi Couture, True Royal, V.S.P., Wellness Cashmere Bag and shoe brands for women: among others Drome, Eva Turner, Felisi, Jerôme Dreyfuss, La Bottega, Nina Ricci, Pantanetti, Pedro Garcia, Premiata, Preventi, See

by Chloé Brands for men: among others Alter Ego, Avelon, Bellwood, Circolo, Crossley, Essemplare, Falke Fashion, Firma Berlin, Gabriele Pasini, Good Genes, Paolo Pecora Shoe and bag brands for men: Drome, Felisi, Pantanetti, Premiata White Accessories brands: among others ACS, Chaingang, Gabriele Frantzen, Ina Beissner, Lala Berlin, Lucas Jack, Loupe Noire Interior and lifestyle brands: among others Amaris, Baobab, Cavallini, Cire Trudon, Guaxs, Kawesko, Le Typographe, Nicolai, RPL, Taschen Verlag Perfume/cosmetics brands, make-up: among others E. Laszlo, Face Stockholm, Francis Kurkjan, Humienski & Graef, John Masters, Montale, Revive, Serge Lutens

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The fashion theme worlds interact with an impressive fluidity, but avoid wearisome crossover elements.

This enables the customers to navigate through the store more easily.

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Clear shapes, clear routes - The design of the new BSTN store in Munich creates a relaxed atmosphere in which the product is paramount.

"This Is as Honest as It Gets" BSTN/Munich. The new BSTN store, located in Munich's Maxvorstadt district, is based on a concept that displays the finest international streetwear brands alongside established sportswear collections in a wonderfully uncomplicated and fleet-footed manner.

Text: Isabel Faiss.

Photos: Julian Henzler

With their new BSTN store, Christian Boszczyk and Dusan Cvetkovic have fulfilled a dream that many brand owners harbour. They created the perfect multi-brand for their own label.

"This was our chance to finally open a store that this city, in our opinion, desperately needs and that is the perfect lifestyle world for our own Beastin brand,

which contributes between 20% and 30% to the entire product range, at the same time," Christian Boszczyk explains. Philipp Stolte, who brings vast retail experience to the table as the owner of the two nearby concept stores Harvest and Sprout, is the third team member. His purchasing know-how and instinct for fashionable menswear and exquisite casual wear considerably enriches the product range.

The Appropriate Brand Portfolio

"We deliberately chose the Maxvorstadt district, mainly because we believe that it is the only neighbourhood where one can really experience the Munich streetwear culture. This is as honest as it gets," Christian Boszczyk says while describing

the store's location. However, this naturally requires a highstan­dard product range. The shop intentionally shies away from over-hyped labels, but showcases an eclectic mix of established and younger street wear collections, which often have their roots in the sports industry and tick the boxes regarding both fashion and performance. Themes such as retro-basketball and retro-skateboarding play a central role, but are skilfully drawn out of the nostalgia context by a few performance lines by the likes of Nike and The North Face, and combined with fashion brands such as Norse Projects. A quiet homage to the hip-hop culture of the 1990s is ever-present. That culture was - and still is - the breeding ground for all projects concerning the Beastin brand environment.

Feed Fam. Fuck Fame

In 2008 Christian Boszczyk (left) and Dusan Cvetkovic founded the brand Beastin, around which an international community began to develop. The two created a home for this brand world with the new BSTN store.

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With few distinctive features, the store deliberately renounces excessive decoration and focuses on clear shapes. The most striking elements are the mirrored ceiling in the front sales room, the mahogany furniture items, and the sneaker wall made of Italian shell limestone. "Feed Fam. Fuck Fame" - the slogan initiated by the store owners - is woven into the carpet and expresses the central objective of all involved parties. BSTN customers can expect a down-to-earth attitude in an honest family atmosphere,

not a street wear temple that only caters for the well-informed clientele and leaves the others standing outside in the rain. "We still need to invest some time in developing some of the brands, but it was important for us not to be too pointed regarding procurement right from the start.

We don't want to polarise. It's our goal to offer an authentic look consisting of various brands for all customers who aim for a good-looking athletic and fashionable outfit. We may not have a very large target group for this particular segment here in Munich, but it's well-informed and well-funded. Our customers understand what we are doing here."

BSTN, Amalienstrasse 44, 80799 Munich/Germany www.bstnstore.com Opening: September 2013 Owners: Philipp Stolte, Christian Boszczyk, Dusan Cvetkovic Sales area: 85 sqm Brands for women: New Balance, Nike Brands for men: Acapulco Gold, Anything, Beastin, Bwgh, Cazal, Daily Paper, Drifter, Herschel, Huf, Lemar and Dauley, New Balance, Nike, Norse Projects, Palace, Pigalle, Raised by Wolves, Retrosuperfuture, The North Face, Wood Wood

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Unexpected Biodiversity!

Nubuc/Zurich. Meet Alister Latter. He studied biology, worked on the side, and made photos for a small Swiss fashion label fighting for a market position. And suddenly everything fell into place…

Text: Dörte Welti.

Photos: Nubuc, Dörte Welti

Student Alister Latter was convinced that it had to be possible to excite both men and women for smaller Swiss brands.

After all, they embody highest quality, are often hand-made, and are truly exclusive. He rented a part of a store community in Zurich's old town and started selling T-shirts by a tiny label named Balua in his free time.

Seven years ago he had ten T-shirts in stock, now he owns a flourishing store. Balua is no longer in business, but Latter's shop certainly is. He's moved twice already, both times because the store needed to expand. After completing his biology studies, the self-made shopkeeper finally had time to solely focus on the fashion business. "I turned my

Young entrepreneur: Alister Latter, from biologist to fashion enthusiast.

hobby into a career", the 31 year old beams. "Even while I was still studying I knew I'd never work as a biologist." However, the knowledge acquired during his studies does have its use.

60% of the labels in Latter's store are either produced in a sustainable manner, traded fairly, or even both. How does he know? "There are certifications", the expert explains. "I search the Internet to find out how these certifications are awarded and which image they have." Should one of the certifications receive bad press too often, Latter simply banishes the products with that particular certificate from his store. He is a resolute man, which is also highlighted by the fact that he has stuck to his initial idea to only sell smaller labels. He wants a Nubuc visit to be a special experience, during which can discover items one wouldn't normally come across.

By the way, the name of the store is derived from Nubuck leather, which Latter thinks "looks great and sounds good". His core target group consists of young people, both men and women. The store is located directly on the main route to and from Zurich's university (pupils and students receive a 15% discount), which means that Latter's store enjoys a passing trade made up of cool individuals between 16 and 35 years of age. He tempts them into the shop with an Urbanears range and Nixon watches, just to make sure the people passing the store don't mistake it for a mere "eco joint".

Latter is quite aware of the fact that he hasn't invented a new store category. Ecological and biological aspects are trendy at the moment - new shops of this kind are springing up everywhere.

He nevertheless has a great belief in himself and his way to unearth new labels. Trade fairs?

He'd maybe consider the odd trip to the Bread & Butter trade show, but he'd rather find a new brand on the Internet. Latter enjoys the research process and sometimes even follows up tips from customers who are looking for a specific brand. This ensures that Nubuc remains in a league

A temporary solution that's here to stay - pallets as product presentation platforms.

of its own. This also applies to the interior of the store. After the initial cardboard interior decorations were destroyed by a flood, the uninsured Latter had to work on a very tight budget.

He teamed up with a friend and found wooden pallets that could be used as presentation platforms. It was supposed to be a temporary solution. Supposed to be… Well, that's typical for Alister Latter.

Nubuc Mühlegasse 12 8001 Zurich/Switzerland www.nubuc.ch Founded: February 2006 Owner: Alister Latter Employees: 2 Sales area: 50 sqm Fashion brands: Anori, Armedangels, Artist, Ben Sherman, Bleed, Element, Hakuin, Kleika, Loreak, Luva, Marshall, Mendian, Mesimu, Minimum, Primecut, Rules by Mary, RVLT. Safari Clothing, Stustyle, Stylesucks, Thinking MU, Tiger & Elephant Shoe brands: Onitsuka Accessories brands: 360°, Alessandro Magnani, Anori, Aunts & Uncles, Einstoffen, Kerbholz, Kollegg, Last Identity, Le Tom, Lost & Found, Marshall Artist, Nixon, Unit Portables, Snug, Tube, WeWood Lifestyle brands: Gummilove, Marshall Headphones, Urbanears, Wooden Radio

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Welcoming bright and open spaces - Personnel of New York wants its customers to feel like they're among friends.

Fashion for Friends Personnel of New York/New York. This store was supposed to be opened in Los Angeles, but fate had other plans - and brought unexpected inspiration to the product range.

Text: Petrina Engelke.

Photos: Sydney Bensimon, William Chan

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Life can be really cruel at times.

Kristi Paras had just moved from New York to Los Angeles for love and had found suitable premises together with Emilio Ramirez.

However, a rather unsettling letter was delivered before the store could be opened. The building was going to be knocked down and had to be cleared within 30 days. "We were left with absolutely nothing", Paras remembers. At this time she was still a co-owner of Zachary's Smile in New York, where she had run the show before moving. The duo decided to start from scratch in New York and bought out the other shareholders. The cham-

pagne bottles finally came out in September 2013, when the store had just been voted the best new shop in New York by more than 1,000 readers of the influential shopping website Racked NY. "Just yesterday we looked at each other and both knew that we've made it", says Paras.

It wasn't an easy road though.

Personnel of New York was initially scheduled to be opened in February 2013. However, great design ideas need time to develop and the budget was limited to the proceeds of the sale of the previous store's stock. To make things even more difficult, Paras and Ramirez found out that they

had to remove more than one floor. Below the tiles they found another layer, then another, and yet another. At the end of the process the two were staring at a badly damaged screed floor and noticed instantly that it looked rather magnificent. The rough look blends in perfectly with the vast light-flooded premises, as well as the shelves and clothes rails made of light wood and various metals. "Luckily Emilio is quite a skilled craftsman too", Paras says.

Their fashion vision is an equally personal affair. The previous store stocked a mixture of vintage items and clothing for a very

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Kristi Paras and Emilio Ramirez are thrilled to have bagged the award for being the best new store in New York.

young clientele. "I had grown out of that to be honest", Paras laughs. Her many friends in New York were the inspiration for the new product range. "I want them to find outfits here that enable me to say that they look great and urge them to conquer the city in."

This is why Personnel of New York both stocks "items to go" at a price in the lower double digit range, as well as outfits for special occasions. The store also has your future favourite pair of shoes, which can cost a few hundred dollars. Labels such as Mary Meyer and Thvm Jeans are from New York or Los Angeles and mirror the history of the shop. However, Paras also has a keen interest in Scandinavia.

"I'm a great fan of Rodobjer",

she says while still practicing the correct pronunciation. The large circle of friends that inspired the store from the start has, in the meantime, even lit up the store. The tailor-made lamps were purchased from Apparatus Studio, which is a company run by old friends who are now also in demand worldwide.

Personnel of New York 9 Greenwich Avenue, New York 10014/USA www.personnelofnewyork.com Opening: May 2013 Owners: Kristi Paras, Emilio Ramirez Employees: 5 Sales area: 91 sqm Brands for women: Anzevino + Susan Sontag, Base Range, Closed, Dusen Dusen, Dream Collective, Hope, Mary Meyer, PS Kaufman, Objects Without Meaning, Reinhard Plank, Rodobjer, Swedish Hasbeens, Thvm Jeans, UZI, Wwake et al Brands for men: Anzevino + Bob Mizer, Closed, Grenson, HW Carters and Sons, La Paz, Oliver Clark, Objects Without Meaning, Thvm Jeans, Tellason et al Accessories brands: Alice Park, Belloq Tea, NIHO Candles, Makr, Tanner Goods et al

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Springer's Sporting Club brings English country lifestyle to Vienna.

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Very British Springer's Sporting Club/Vienna. With his multi-label store Springer's Sporting Club in the centre of Vienna, owner Christian Johann Springer successfully makes the transition from a hunting equipment supplier to a fully fledged country lifestyle store.

Text: Katharina Wohlfahrt.

Photos: Bruno Klomfar, Georg Schenk

Joh. Springer's Erben, a long-established Viennese company, has been known as one of most competent suppliers of hunting equipment for more than 150 years. Since June 2013 it operates a new store named Springer's Sporting Club located on the "Hoher Markt" square in the centre of Vienna. Owner Christian Johann Springer wants to tread a new path towards a country lifestyle label based on the sport-related heritage of the company. "Ralph Lauren or Lacoste - many manufacturers that initially served the sport and outdoor markets have developed into lifestyle brands. We are trying to achieve the same with our store. Sophisticated and athletic, yet still true to its regional roots - this is the lifestyle that we aim to embody." The name clearly indicates that the store drew inspiration from the concept behind Anglo-American sporting clubs.

Origins

Christian Johann Springer remains true to the company's roots in the hunting sport industry. "Hunting, riding, rowing or polo - we offer our customers elegant pieces for before, during, and after an outdoor sport event.

We quite intentionally only hint at the sport background, to ensure that the respective style can also be worn in an urban environment", Springer explains.

Store owner Christian Johann Springer is convinced of the new store concept.

The store uses the classic hunting related colour and material portfolio, but is nevertheless a little more colourful and open.

"Our aim is depict our customers' lifestyle", Springer says. The product range therefore also includes silverware, optics, and travel utensils alongside suitable clothing and accessories.

However, the owner makes clear that his store distances itself from the traditional costume ("Tracht") segment. "We stand for an upscale rural lifestyle. Our product range consists of high-end country fashion, not traditional costumes. By all means labels such as Habsburg or Meindl have their roots in the "Tracht" business, but the elegance of their collections nevertheless suits our English style."

should feel comfortable and stay as long as possible." This is achieved with numerous pictures and other decorative elements, as well as a bar area and a tank room. The latter can be rented for private dining and will also house various photographic exhibitions in the future. Britishness is quite intentionally the core of the product range, which is why Springer's Sporting Club is the exclusive retailer of English brands such as James Purdey & Sons and Holland & Holland in Austria.

Anglo-American Role Models

The store offers everything men and women could possibly need before, during, and after distinguished outdoor sport activities.

Christian Johann Springer names lovers of rural lifestyle and hunting as his main target groups, but acknowledges that tourists visiting the centre of Vienna are also a major factor. The store appeals to all the aforementioned because it is so unfamiliar to some, yet so familiar to others.

Tourists from the US, England, and its former crown colonies are, after all, no strangers to the concept of a sporting club. "Our name also expresses our self-image. The sporting club concept is exactly what we were looking for. We didn't want to open a normal store, but create a relaxed club atmosphere. Our guests

Springer's Sporting Club Hoher Markt 8-9, 1010 Vienna/Austria www.springerssportingclub.at Opening: June 2013 Owner: Christian Johann Springer Employees: 3 Sales area: 250 sqm Brands: Habsburg, Holland & Holland, Meindl, Purdey, Schneiders Bekleidung Accessories brands: Alexandre Mareuil, Filson, Luninox, Patrick Mavros, Swarovski Optik, Victorinox

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The shop design - with a modern-rustic and timeless interior - consists of a lot of wood, patterned cement tiles, and steel elements. This creates a clear - yet comfortably warm - ambiance.

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Listener and Narrator The Listener/Frankfurt.

The MA*, located parallel to the shopping mile known as Zeil in "Stephanstraße", is a newly created quarter for ten selectively chosen retail concepts. The denim boutique The Listener is a brainchild of investor Ardi Goldman and Hakan Temür. Goldman is, inter alia, the developer of the designer hotel chain 25hours, while Temür is the owner of the retail agency Brandpool.

Text: Kay Alexander Plonka.

Photos: The Listener

The two founders want their store to close the gap between fashion-oriented shops and young jeans outlets, while meeting their own product selection and service demands, as well as having its own individual flair and an international standard.

The product range consists of more than 110 brands, of which 20 are from the portfolio of Brandpool in Offenbach.

Narrating and Listening

Goldman and Temür describe the philosophy of The Listener as follows: "It's an art form to be a good listener. One has to be refrained, yet always attentive. One has to be willing to ask questions and to learn from the answers, able to filter information and to interpret it." With The Listener the two founders want to rise to the challenge of being more than just a shop in which customers renew their wardrobe. "We want to cultivate a new form of shopping and counteract the anonymity that is on the increase.

We don't want to merely satisfy basic needs, but create enthusiasm", Temür explains. "The mar-

ket is flooded with products, yet consumers are not able to find what they really need. We focus on products made by companies with a long tradition and young brands, whose products we want to explain to our customers and where we can tell the story of the individuals behind the brands and respective products."

Change of Perspective

The concept of The Listener intends to incorporate the art and gastronomy scene into the store space. For instance, the shop already houses a coffee bar. In the future the location will be used as an auditorium for workshops, panel discussions, and product presentations in order to offer an exchange of ideas alongside new food for thought. The store wants to be both listener and narrator.

Ardi Goldman and Hakan Temür bet on a large selection and excellent service in a modern atmosphere.

The Listener GmbH Stephanstrasse 1-3, 60313 Frankfurt upon Main/Germany, www.thelistener.de Opening: August 2013 Owners: Hakan Temür, Ardi Goldman, Anna Pflaum Store manager: Michael Munz Employees: 9 Sales area: 440 sqm Brands for men and women: 7 for all Mankind, AG Adriano Goldschmied, Aesop, Aglini, Ally Capellino, Alternative Apparel, American Retro, Andersons, A.P.C., Art Youth Society, Atelier Heschung, ATF, Aqua di Stresa, Avantoi, Baracuta, Barbed, Barbour, Barena, B.D. Baggies, Bleu de Chauffe, Bleu de Paname, Blood Concept, BLK DNM, Brooks, Burlington, Buttero,

By Boe, Camo, Campomaggi, Canada Goose, Chaser, Chup

by Glen Clyde Company, Citizens of Humanity, Common People, Current & Elliot, Delicate Love, Denham the Jeanmaker, Destin, Deus Ex Machina, Dondup, Dr. Martens, Edwin, Equipment, Faliero Sarti, Fauzian Jeunesse, Fifteen & Half, Filson, Folk, Fred Perry by Raf Simons, Giorgio Brato, Gitman Vintage, Grenson, Hancock, Happy Socks, Harris Warf, Haversack, Heschung, Homecore, Hope, Howlin, HTC, Il Bussetto, INK, Joseph, Kuro, Levi’s Made & Crafted, Levi’s Vintage Clothing, Mackintosh, Mad et Len, Majestic, Mark McNairy, Mauro Grifoni, Masons, Mexicana, Mother, Move, Nanamica, Natural Selection Denim, n.d.c., Norse Projects, Nudie Jeans, Officine Creative, Oscar Jacobson, Our Legacy, Paige, Patagonia, Paul & Joe Sister, Pendleton, PRPS, Puro, Riding High, Roberto Collina, Rude Riders, Schott NYC, Sunspel, Stone Island, Tagliatore, The Hill Side, The Last Conspiracy, The Textile Rebel, U Aviu, Uniforms for the Dedicated, Vic Matie, Victoria Beckham, Voluspa, VSP, Want Les Essentiels De La Vie, Wild Fox, Wolverine 1000 Mile, Woolrich, Yuketen

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From collectors for collectors - Julian Vera and Erick Duran have turned their passion into a career.

A Collector's Paradise Rare Pair/New York.

Their own best customers?

Two sneaker collectors open a store full of rare sneakers.

Text: Petrina Engelke.

Photos: Jordan Cortese

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Hardly anyone can define the wishes of his customers any more accurate than Julian Vera: "They all want the rarest and most strictly limited sneakers. Nobody wants what others already have."

Vera and his associate Erick Duran directly translated their business principle into the store's name. Rare Pair exclusively sells rare shoes and - correspondingly - is anything but cluttered. At first glance this may not suggest much revenue potential, but the sneaker collector community is large and the duo knows how to reach them. This is mainly down to their own history‌ Vera was well and truly fed up when he was twelve years old.

He constantly saw the other boys parade around in the coolest Air Jordans and Nikes, and he so desperately wanted to keep up. This was the start of a rather expensive hobby. Vera was

willing to do whatever it takes to make enough money to purchase un­usual sneakers. It's no surprise that he later rose through the ranks to become the manager of a small - yet very knowledgeable - sneaker store. When the owner of the aforementioned store indicated that he was planning to shut the business down, Vera instantly contacted his good friend Duran and the two quickly agreed to do their own thing.

"That's how we came up with Rare Pair", Vera explains.

Customer Care via Instagram

When it comes to hunting down extremely rare sneakers he has long been a valued member of a huge group of collectors, who pass on rumours about new models, proudly display their best items, and rave about their dream sneakers. Accordingly, Vera and Duran designed their

store as a place where sneaker enthusiasts can hang out and exchange information. Two large red sofas easily persuade customers to refrain from climbing back up the stairs from the basement shop. "We are also considering events", Vera adds.

The store itself is just as enthusiastic about showing off its newest purchases as the private collectors. "We use Instagram a lot, as well as Twitter and Facebook. That's how we come together with customers and collectors from all over the world", Vera says. "It's great. And it's free of charge! We can show everyone what we currently have in our store." This can have a far-reaching impact. Only recently the store welcomed a customer who had travelled all the way from Italy for the sole purpose of visiting the shop.

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Rare Pair displays its rarest collector's items like a museum - but they are for sale.

The Appeal of Rarities

Purchases can also start off this way. Even though the store atmosphere is dominated by tongue-in-cheek humour - the logo is a pear because the fruit sounds a lot like the term pair Vera has a very strict approach to the product range. The sneakers have to be unworn and purchases are often made from abandoned stocks. The shoes need to have the appeal of real rarities. He makes quite clear that nothing on the shelves in Footlocker could persuade him to leave the house. To prove that point,

a locked showcase next to the sales counter displays some real sneaker treasures.

However, this maxim has its drawbacks too. Both store owners are still ardent collectors themselves, which can get into the way of business at times. For example, Duran is completely in love with a pair of Nike Dunk SB Low Paris in the store and those shoes have attracted some "crazy money" offers. "He's scared of selling them", Vera says. "It is virtually impossible to find a pair of those."

Rare Pair 288 Mulberry Street, New York 10012/US thatrarepair.com Opening: June 2013 Owners: Julian Vera, Erick Duran Employees: None Sales area: 93 sqm Brands: predominantly Air Jordan, Asics, New Balance, Nike

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True to Its Roots Glücklich/Eppan. Downto-earth and aware of its roots - these two attributes do not only define the Glücklich fashion label, but also the eponymous store in Eppan, South Tyrol.

Text: Katharina Wohlfahrt.

Photos: Christoph Steiner

Preserve the good while exploring new beauty - this is the philosophy of Christoph Steiner and Claudia Heiß. Since August 2013 they showcase this blend of longstanding classics and modern Alpine zeitgeist in their Glücklich store in Eppan/South Tyrol. Their own label Glücklich + Heiss is lovingly displayed in combination with other carefully selected Alpine brands on an area of around 50 square metres.

Step by Step…

The team that makes customers happy: Christina Pichler, Christoph Steiner and Claudia Heiß.

The history of the Glücklich brand started back in 2004, when Christoph Steiner founded a distribution agency for fashion, shoes, and accessories. While working together with numerous labels, he soon realised that there was a lack of affordable clothing made by Alpine residents for the locals. Based on this idea, the label was brought to life in 2008 with the assistance of Claudia Heiß. Opening an own store is now the next logical step. The company headquarters were moved from Bozen to Eppan, which is now the main point of intersection for design and product development - a showroom for distributors and a boutique alike. But why in Eppan, of all places? "Tourists are important for us and Eppan has a long tourist season. However, we do not sell the usual "Trachten" kitsch", Steiner explains.

The store in Eppan in South Tyrol is just as down-to-earth as the company concept itself.Glücklich im südtirolerischen Eppan.

Regional Products Policy

Both Christoph Steiner and Claudia Heiß knew from the start that they wanted to showcase other labels alongside their own Glücklich + Heiss products and brands covered by their agency. Subsequently the range includes external labels that mirror the corporate philosophy.

Christoph Steiner stresses that "everything forms a cycle. Regional production and material procurement cycles are highly important to us." Based on the aforementioned values Eppan now has a small concept store with products from the Alpine region. "The store is the essence of our work in an appealing environment. We display regional and slightly trans-regional brands, cosmetics from the Alps, as well as wood carvings and the work of regional artists in temporary exhibitions."

Down-to-Earth Products With a History

The range of the in-house label includes knitted cardigans, bags, and backpacks, as well as blouses and shirts. "We want to create new products with a history", says Christoph Steiner. "This is 114 style in progress

why we shy away from being too focused on the old "Trachten" theme. We believe colour and the Italian fitting are very important aspects." He sees traditional craftsmanship as the underlying culture. For example, the classic hiking backpacks are sewn by hand in a small manufactory in the Dolomite area. "There's a special story about a special person in every single piece", says Claudia Heiß. "That's what makes people happy", she adds with conviction.

Glücklich + Heiss Rathausplatz 11, Eppan/Italy, www.gluecklich.it Opening: August 2013 Owners: Christoph Steiner, Claudia Heiß Employees: 4 Sales area: 50 sqm Brands: Attic & Barn, Cervolante, E-Gò, Glücklich + Heiss, Luis Trenker, Momonì, Mosaique, Of Handmade, Phil Petter, Pomandére, Swamp Cosmetics: Glacisse, Pure Altitude

IN STORE 205

Number Four 10 Corso Como/Shanghai. The first concept store ever and one of the most significant fashion stores worldwide - that is 10 Corso Como. After establishing shops in Milan, Tokyo, and Seoul, Carla Sozzani now turns her attention to her fans in Shanghai.

Text: Katharina Wohlfahrt.

Photos: 10 Corso Como

10 Corso Como is not an ordinary store. Even when it was founded it set its sights on showcasing the entire bandwidth of fashion styles. It committed itself to being a way of life, a meeting point for culture and commerce with its own philosophy, and offering an outstanding shopping experience. Fashion, art, literature, photography, and pleasure - all this under one roof.

10 Corso Como is truly unique and was copied by many others all around the globe. After conquering Italy, Korea, and Japan, Carla Sozzani took the next step in September 2013 by opening the first concept store in China.

Simply Impressive

Carla and Franca Sozzani are Italy's most famous fashion sisters and are most certainly among the most influential women in the international fashion world.

After acting as editor-in-chief of the Italian Vogue for more than ten years - a position that was taken over by her sister Franca - Carla Sozzani opened a gallery in 1990. The gallery was then enhanced by a book store, fashion, design items, and a café.

This created the first concept store ever and the company has since developed into one of the most significant fashion stores worldwide. The name is simple and rather unspectacular: 10 Corso Como, which is the address of the first store. Her highly regarded shop did not only bring fashion to new heights. She also had a hand in establishing (fashion) photography as an art form in its own right in Italy, as well as establishing the philosophy of "slow shopping". The latter is an idea that is naturally also honoured by the three concept stores in Asia. It is important to take your time to unearth surprises and treasures. It is equally important to treat yourself to something beautiful, but also to bring pleasure to others. This is how Carla Sozzani wants her customers to understand her work.

Every floor of the four-storey building was individually designed by the artist Kris Ruhs.

The restaurant and bar on the top floor underlines the "slow shopping" philosophy.

Welcome to China

10 Corso Como Shanghai was - like all other stores before designed by the American artist Kris Ruhs, who is a long-standing partner of the owner. The freestanding four-storey glass building in the Jing'An district offers 2,500 square metres of retail space and embodies the typical extravagance of 10 Corso Como. Every one of the four floors showcases a different world. The term multi-functionality probably best describes the first floor. It houses the book store, a café with a terrace, and design and cosmetic articles.

The second floor is dedicated to men's fashion, while the third floor offers fashion for women.

The store does not only stock items by established fashion designers, but is also constantly on the lookout for new up-andcoming talents. Carla Sozzani is quite aware of her relevance as a trend scout, but is also equally willing to be the best host possible. This is why the fourth floor houses an Italian restaurant with a breathtaking view of the Jing'An temple.

10 Corso Como 1717 Nanjing West Road Shanghai www.10corsocomo.com Opening: September 2013 Owner: Carla Sozzani Sales area: 2,500 sqm Brands: Alaia, Borsalino, Christopher Kane, Carven, Chloé, Comme des Garçons, Courreges, Delfina Delettrez, Delvaux, Ferragamo Creations, Jil Sander, Junya Watanabe, JW Anderson, KTZ, Lanvin, Maison Martin Margiela, Mykita, Nicholas Kirkwood, Raf Simons, Repossi, Simone Rocha, Stella McCartney, Thierry Lasry, Tom Binns, Valentino Design: Alessi, Artemide, Bosa, Christofle, Eclectic by Tom Dixon, Flos, Fontana Arte, Fornasetti, Georg Jensen, Hay, Ittala, Martin Margiela Ligne 13, Menphis, Sottsass, Verner Panton Cosmetics: Acqua di Parma, Astier de Villatte, Atelier Cologne, Biologique Recherche, Christian Tortu, Claus Porto, Dr. Vranjes, Dyptique, Laduree, Odin

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206 IN STORE

Savile Row Meets Hamburg Rooks & Rocks/Hamburg. Stores like this one can only be found with some help from an insider. In 2012, five lads from Hamburg founded Rooks & Rocks in Winterhude. They set their aim at dismantling the antiquated image of the tailor-made suit and to blow the dust off the good old dress coat. And they succeeded‌ Text: Isabel Faiss.

Photos: Rooks & Rocks

Today the brand runs two stores - or better - showrooms.

The second one opened up in Hamburg-Eppendorf in August last year. Rooks & Rocks is expanding. The concept seems predestined to do so seeing that the made-to-measure segment is currently experiencing a slow and steady tailwind - especially among younger people and on the Internet. The success of this Hamburg-based company proves how much potential this segment really has. With entry prices from 450 Euros for suits for tar-

get groups including graduates, students, and designers, as well as all the way up to the corporate world of management boards, the Hamburg-based company proves how much potential this fashion segment really has. "The really exciting aspect of our concept is that we have such a broad range of customers. We can offer a tailor-made suit based on individual demands for the same price as a suit that comes straight off the rack. Obviously a number of online and offline suppliers of tailor-made suits already exist,

but we managed to inject that special twist", says Viktor Lis, who founded the company with Simon Schmidt, Rico Albert, Sebastian Schierenberg, and Billy Thiemann.

Dusted by Rock

At first glance, the showroom in "Sierichstrasse" seems like a pretty sophisticated blend of the essence of London's Savile Row and the light heartedness so typical of Hamburg. Viktor Lis freely admits that traditional tailoring methods and the good

The consultation and fitting process take place in the friendly atmosphere of the showroom. Rooks & Rocks translates traditional made-to-measure fashion into a cool and timeless experience.

114 style in progress

IN STORE 207

values of old are the basis for every creative process. At Rooks & Rocks tradition and modernity seem to complement each other to form a pretty sexy image.

The made-to-measure tailoring and production processes are, however, not always conventional, but have been adapted to meet the needs of the here and now. Appointments are made by arrangement, and then the measurements of the customers are taken before the style of the desired suit is discussed. The next step is to select the fabric of the suit and to take note of special requests such as signatures and patterns. Finally, the whole catalogue is sent to China, where

the suit is manufactured within three to four weeks. Subsequently, the customer is invited to a second fitting, during which the in-house seamstress fine tunes the product. The company does not only offer made-to-measure shirts, vests, and suits, but also ties by Blick and shoes by Scarosso. "We don't offer full tailoring, as we don't ask the customer to numerous fittings. That concept is completely out of date and not really attractive for the customers either. Nevertheless, we do believe that an acceptance fitting is vital. Our tailor-made suits are produced on the basis of dressmaking patterns, but we have 11,000 of those", says Viktor Lis,

who is actually a trained lawyer.

"Mr Schmidt, our textile expert, took a lot of time to explain the subject to us in detail to ensure that we all had the necessary tailor-made clothing know-how.

Our consultation is always conducted in a very personal context and on par with the customer.

We place particular importance on that."

ship techniques with homage to style icons like Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando - in order to get the younger customers excited about tailor-made fashion again, they have bridged the gap between the past and the present.

The values and the know-how are from the past, while the designs and the fun factor are from the present.

From Modern Dandys

It seems a little strange that the young entrepreneurs address each other with their family names. This only makes sense when seen in context. With their idea - to blend modern dandyism and the love for old craftsman-

Rooks & Rocks Sierichstrasse 40, 22301 Hamburg/Germany, Curschmannstrasse 13, 20251 Hamburg/Germany www.rooks-rocks.com Opening: Sierichstrasse November 2012, Cursch­ mannstrasse August 2013 Owners: Viktor Lis, Simon Schmidt, Rico Albert, Sebastian Schierenberg, Billy Thiemann Sales area: 60 sqm Brands for men: Blick, Rooks & Rocks, Scarosso

The five founders of Rooks & Rocks are the best role models for the style world they are hoping to revive.

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208 editor'S Letter /// about us

To boldly go where no man has gone before…

Publisher, editorial office, advertising department and owner UCM-Verlag B2B Media GmbH & Co KG Salzweg 17, 5081 Salzburg-Anif Austria T 0043.6246.89 79 99 F 0043.6246.89 79 89 office@ucm-verlag.at www.ucm-verlag.at Management Stephan Huber Nicolaus Zott

F

rom summer 2014 onwards, the Bread & Butter trade show will be open for consumers. After a day for the press and two days of "business as usual" for professionals, the motto "customer is king" will reign for two further days, analogous to exhibitions such as the IAA in Frankfurt and the Baselworld (jewellery and watches). It's a radical step with which the Bread & Butter responds to the no less radical market changes in the fashion industry over recent years. The event, which has defined and influenced the fashion business like no other since its premiere in July 2001 in the legendary square rotunda in Cologne, is - not least because of its dimension and its positioning as a leading international trade fair - challenged by these changes both content-wise and economically.

Two factors are especially significant. Firstly, the number of specialised retailers is decreasing, which means less potential trade visitors and frequency for the trade show. A trade fair is defined by class rather than mass (5 Euros for the phrase piggy bank); obviously there's still a huge amount of class in this case. However, that's how our industry ticks. As soon as one can spot some larger gaps in the corridors, the moaning begins.

If the corridors are too packed (which has happened too in the past), then we naturally moaned about it too.

Secondly, the denim base - the long-standing backbone of the

114 style in progress

Editors-in-chief Stephan Huber stephan.huber@ucm-verlag.at Martina Müllner martina.muellner@ucm-verlag.at

Bread & Butter - imploded within a few seasons. It's quite popular to blame this on the trade show itself, mainly because the blame game is always popular. However, this completely misses the reality of the market.

This development was triggered by the fact that this particular market segment, which set the pace for decades, lost its interpretative authority over the new, younger, and more mobile consumers with their completely changed consumer behaviour.

This has quite simply flushed some players out of the market, while others attempt to counteract the pressure from vertical suppliers and online retailers by moving in a vertical direction themselves and simultaneously seeking sales salvation in e-commerce. The specialised retailers are therefore no longer in focus.

I don't want to judge whether that is a sensible solution for everyone. However, the consequence is that many of these brands have turned their back on the trade show concept. These are the same brands that - just a few seasons ago - flexed their muscles with (too?) large stands in Tempelhof. The Bread & Butter had to react, mainly because a trade show is - at the end of the day - ALSO about letting space, as pragmatic and as unromantic as that may sound.

Karl-Heinz Müller has always been a visionary. He's always been courageous too, which is why he decided to act before he needed to react. Over the last few months, there has been a

lot of speculation about another location change. However, that would have merely been putting new wine into old bottles.

Müller is convinced that the path into the future has to be a completely new one - a path that has not been trodden yet. He is also quite aware that following this new path will not be easy (5 Euros for the phrase piggy bank), that he will have to answer a lot of questions and that he will have to do a lot of strenuous persuasion work. Some will only too happily let others follow this new path first. Others will only arrive at the Bread & Butter or the idea of a multi-channel lifestyle show via this path. And EVERYONE both the excited and the sceptical - will be looking forward to the premiere of this radical idea. The final verdict will be delivered… by the market (5 Euros for the phrase piggy bank).

Cordially yours, Stephan Huber stephan.huber@ucm-verlag.at

Art direction/production Elisabeth Prock-Huber elisabeth@ucm-verlag.at Managing editor Stefanie Spreitzer stefanie.spreitzer@ucm-verlag.at Contributing writers Petrina Engelke Isabel Faiss Jan Joswig Mody Al Khufash Thesy Kness-Bastaroli Ina Köhler Kay Alexander Plonka Nicoletta Schaper Dörte Welti Katharina Wohlfahrt Photographers/Illustrators Eugen Gebhardt Harling & Darsell Sascha Heintze Julian Henzler Katjana Lacatena Bryan Reinhart Peter Schaffrath Nicole Wawrzinek Image editor Anouk Schönemann anouk.schoenemann@ucm-verlag.at Advertising director Stephan Huber stephan.huber@ucm-verlag.at Publisher’s assistant, distribution Sigrid Staber sigrid.staber@ucm-verlag.at Christina Hörbiger christina.hoerbiger@ucm-verlag.at English translations Manfred Thurner Printing Print&Smile Druckgesellschaft m.b.H. Oberndorf/Salzburg Printing coordinator Manfred Reitenbach Account info Volksbank Salzburg 105 627 BLZ 45010 Next issue 27 January 2014

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