INTERVIEW

AROUND THE KITCHEN TABLE

GARCIA Mark Hommelberg, CEO For Garcia, the year 2022 is all about its 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated with pop-ups, influencer cooperations and even a huge beach party. We spoke to Mark Hommelberg, the CEO of Garcia for the past five years, about the company’s founders Isabella and Maurizio, values and the kitchen table as the heart of the family.

INTERVIEW CYNTHIA BLASBERG

To celebrate your company’s 50th anniversary, you’ve launched two new denims, which you named after the company founders Isabella and Maurizio. Can you tell us the story behind that?

To commemorate the anniversary, we wanted to honour Isabella and Maurizio by breathing new life into a vintage style by Garcia and have it made in our factory in Italy. But then Isabella Garcia unfortunately passed away last year at the age of 88. We ended up designing a really cool denim style that was suitable for a remake and also a matching jacket. After launching our most sustainable jeans to date (made with 20 percent post-consumer recycled material) in 2021, we decided to use that fabric for the Isabella and Maurizio edition too.

You’ve been CEO of the JOG Group, and therefore also of Garcia, for five years now. What is it that sets the brand apart in your opinion?

Apart from the fact that Garcia is a large, internationally operating brand, it’s also a family company and I really value that. Garcia is also very focused on

the product, which I think is great. At the same time, the clear goal has always been to develop the brand. Everything revolves around the fact that it’s a family business. That also means we make collections for the whole family, in equal measure for the four divisions: men, women, girls and boys.

The family is at the focus of your message, whether it be the collections and fits for the whole family or your community spirit. What exactly are you trying to convey with that?

I’m the father of four children myself. That is what defines me. And so of course I know what family life looks like. With Garcia we want to convey family values; family can also mean friendship, which includes your friends. That applies across all generations, from grandparents and grandchildren to friends of all ages. We make our collections for all of those people. And at the heart of every family, if you ask us, is the kitchen table. That’s the place you chat, have fun and get together to eat. That’s what forms the basis of our ‘Kitchen Table Story’ idea for the shop floor, in our shop-in-shop concepts, for example. We always have a kitchen table with an olive tree in the middle of our store, to bring people together.

Your anniversary year isn’t quite over yet. How have you celebrated the 50th anniversary of Garcia so far and what else is on the cards?

Our huge beach party with our 1,000 employees from all over the world was a particular highlight and a lot of fun, especially after the pandemic. We kicked things off in summer and we’ll be going into the stores this autumn and winter. There will be a pop-up store that reflects the 70s and 80s and conveys the family vibe and that of our denim factory. We’ve also set up an influencer programme on social media.

Let’s also take a glimpse at what the future might hold: what are you planning for the coming seasons?

On the one hand, we are a brand that doesn’t really change very much. We don’t chase trends; we just stick to the plan. And that’s something that’s not fashionable, because it’s not so cool to stay the same. I think the best compliment, which I can also give to the former CEOs of this company, is that we have always stayed grounded and true to our structure and family values. On the other hand, we have invested a lot of money in things like online retail, bricks-andmortar retail and social media. We have more than 100 stores and generate more than 20 percent of our turnover with e-commerce. We are an omnichannel company and very much prepared for the future. We plan on keeping that up and will be opening, for example, new stores in Germany – in Mönchengladbach and Oberhausen. And that’s something we’ll be continuing in 2023. We want to open stores to showcase our brand to spread our idea of the kitchen table stories. And we’re now ready to officially launch our CSR department, which we’ve had for three years now.

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DECENT STORE

HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY

Fashion with foresight: The German city of Trier is home to a store that has specialised in slow fashion, offering an out-of-the-ordinary stationary shopping experience. Founder Sebastian Zisch talks to us about what makes his Decent Store so unique.

INTERVIEW FRANKA SCHMID

What made you open the store?

Patrick and I got to know each other while out shopping and, after thinking long and hard about it, we decided to open a store together. Thanks to Patrick’s many years of experience in the retail business we were able to draw on existing contacts and further develop others, as well as making new connections at trade fairs.

Trier isn’t exactly the first city that springs to mind when thinking about shopping destinations. But there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. What advantages does the location offer for the German-speaking region?

Trier is at the heart of Europe and especially close to Luxembourg, Belgium and France. This factor and the higher-thanaverage number of tourists make Trier a lucrative and really interesting location for retail.

Decent could mean ‘responsible’ or ‘honest’. What’s the concept behind your store?

We offer honest, responsible fashion and see ourselves as the antithesis of fast-fashion trends that simply don’t reflect the challenges we’re facing as a society, in terms of ecology, economics and community. Our aim is to provide our customers with fashion that brings them many years of joy. That’s why slow fashion defines what we buy for our store: we buy with the long view in mind. That way, our clients can be sure that the clothes they buy will still be up to date in the coming seasons.

Slow fashion defines what we buy for our store.

You stock organic clothing but also regular apparel. What specifications do your brands have to fulfil to be added to your portfolio?

They need to be sustainable, stylish and exclusive. We are only looking for long partnerships with brands that strive to be fair to the end consumer as well as to us. An important link in this chain are brands we want to continue to have good relationships with like Knowledge Cotton, Carhartt, Edwin and many more.

E-commerce is a necessary part of stationary business these days. What differences and similarities can you see between the stationary store in Trier and your online store?

Unlike in online retail, at our bricks-and-mortar store we can offer our customers comprehensive consultation and the option of discovering something new. Our store isn’t just somewhere to shop but also a place to hang out and it plays an important role in building our community. Our coffee corner with an espresso machine and a variety of freshly roasted beans also contributes to this. Some of our brands are only available in store, to maintain a certain excitement for the real-life shopping experience.

How do you ensure sustainability in terms of delivery and logistics?

We use exclusively recycled packaging materials as well as used boxes and send them out with DHL Green. We don’t offer free returns and only use digital return labels. That’s why our return rate is just seven percent!

Our return rate is just seven percent.

End consumers have very high expectations of a bricks-andmortar store. What are the attributes that Decent’s clientele value above all else?

In addition to quality and exclusivity, which are a given, our customers are always fascinated by the stories behind our fashion and our relationship with our products. This kind of enthusiasm is pretty contagious, and we see it reflected in our customers’ shopping behaviour. They can sense our passion for our products and the fact we know every tiny detail about each item. In addition to fashion, we also offer a selection of regional specialities, reflecting our down-to-earth nature and our roots.

What plans do you have for the future of Decent and what else do you want to achieve?

We want to continue growing, adding exclusive labels to our range and further developing our USP in the region. We could also imagine opening more stores.

UNION FADE STORE

VINTAGE IS THE STUFF THAT STORIES ARE MADE OF

A collection of experiences made on journeys through the deserts and mountains of the United States: Italian vintage shop Union Fade Store in Milan is breathing new life into rare denim and western pieces. A chat with founder Cristian Murianni.

INTERVIEW FRANKA SCHMID

What potential does vintage fashion have for the international fashion market?

We are living in a time in which the vintage lifestyle is becoming a luxury. The fashion industry has lost a bit of its creativity and often ends up replicating itself. A lot of brands see the journey as the destination per se and regularly end up losing their own identity in the process. Vintage, on the other hand, tells stories and will always remain a source of inspiration for new generations. Our store and our vintage clothing inspires many companies. We really enjoy checking the details of the items and seeing what makes vintage fashion so unique.

Why did you decide to concentrate on denim and workwear?

I love all the little details of the pieces – from their small flaws to buttons that have oxidised over time. In the case of denim, the important details are the fading of the fabric and the manual repairs. This simple fabric has a composition that makes it unique and can tell a century’s worth of stories. Workwear was originally designed for the working class. After its life cycle, it is given a second chance thanks to vintage fashion. Its details are upgraded and that’s what makes each item so interesting.

Newly produced denim is regarded as one of the biggest environmental polluters in the fashion industry. Does sustainability play a big role in your store concept?

Every company is looking for their own sustainable solutions. Reusing clothing that’s already in circulation is the only right answer to the climate problem.

Denim can tell a century’s worth of stories.

How old does an item of clothing need to be for it to be classed as vintage and what’s the difference between vintage and second-hand?

An item of clothing can be classed as vintage when it’s over 20 years old. Our selection includes clothing and brands that have written the history of fashion. We always look at the details that they offer and that make them stand out. Second-hand isn’t part of our concept. We don’t buy in bulk or at random, simply to fill the store.

What are the vintage highlights in your Union Fade Store?

I have a strong affinity with clothing from the USA and its history. My research is influenced by my trips and my passions. I hope that Union Fade Store reflects my way of looking at the world and that our clientele are fascinated by the selection on offer.

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