64 Fashion
A shop for the very modem man Sweden’s Très Bien provides a model of how to run a brilliant online fashion store, as John Johnston discovers hen two small clothes shops in Lund and Helsingborg, southern Sweden, weren’t making the impact their owners wished, they decided to switch their operations online. Targetting fashion-savvy men from around the world, Très Bien opened its virtual doors in 2005 from a warehouse in Malmö, where a physical store now also lives. “There are a lot of stores that have a web shop alongside their retail operation. But we do it the other way around,” explains Jakob Törnberg, co-founder of the business. Très Bien is a web shop that also runs two physical stores and with this ethos, the Swedish outfit has become a firm favourite of the increasingly influential fashion blogosphere and men who read it. With one of the best stock lists for an independent boutique we’ve seen – the likes of APC, Band of Outsiders, Kitsuné and Commes des Garcons are on the rack – Très Bien’s strongest point has to be the eclectic
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mix it hosts. “Très Bien is all about the mix of brands and designers,” Jakob enthuses. “It’s not just that we love brand X and really want to carry it; it’s more like brand X and Y makes this combination that we’re after. We don’t compromise that much; we buy what we think is the best out there for us and not what we think will sell the most.” In many respects, the world of men’s fashion is still quite conservative, with every label having their place and knowing which stores and locations fit that. “What makes it more personal and not like the other 500 stores that carry a brand,” Jakob surmises, “is the way you present them, and this is where our mix is crucial.” Très Bien hasn’t been afraid to play with the brands it hosts, whether it be on the website or in its Malmö and Stockholm stores – and that’s what sets it apart. It is, as the name suggests, very good. www.tresbienshop.net
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