We Don’t Want to Leave Anything to Chance Anymore

“We want our retail partners to generate profits from cooperating with us.” – Wolfgang Lohe, Managing Partner at Better Rich

The aim is to develop Better Rich, a lov- ingly designed col- lection, into a highly visible brand.

BETTER RICH “WE DON’T WANT TO LEAVE ANYTHING TO CHANCE ANYMORE” Wolfgang Lohe, formerly the Gant Wholesale Director DACH, is the new man on the bridge. In him, Helmfried Strupat, the founder of Better Rich, has found an experienced 50 percent partner. The aim is to increase the visibility of Better Rich as a brand. Lohe sat down with style in progress to discuss the strategy.

Interview: Nicoletta Schaper. Photos: Better Rich

Wolfgang, you describe Better Rich as a Ferrari without a driver. Could you elaborate?

I believe that Better Rich has tremendous potential. There are so many tools, but they are not being utilised optimally. The logistics concept is designed for three times the volume, for example. We can realise very individual customer campaigns in our own photo studio. We also have direct access to production, which allows us to manufacture a minimum of 30 to 40 items and deliver them within three weeks. We have what every customer wants.

What appeals most to you?

I love that I can shape the brand. I am thrilled to have my own business that allows me to implement ideas and make a difference in terms of sales. Better Rich is such a lovingly designed product. The team I inherited is great and highly motivated to move the brand forward. In my eyes, Better Rich is a product brand that I strive to make more visible as an actual brand.

How?

First of all, we plan to professionalise sales by working more closely with agents. It isn’t enough to merely hand over the collection. We want to see which items are well received and how to adjust accordingly. Over the next three years, we plan to establish 200 shop-in-shops at larger trading partners in the DACH and Benelux markets. I prefer partnerships to own stores, because nobody knows how to retail better than retailers. It’s all about managing bestsellers and flops, about providing the right products at the right time. These shouldn’t be hollow phrases. We want our currently 350 retail partners to generate profits from cooperating with us. This number will increase significantly. There’s still loads of potential in menswear. Better Rich is currently 90 percent focused on womenswear. We have decided to bring the menswear sales department back in-house and strengthen the team.

How are the collections changing?

We plan to expand the blouse and knitwear range for women. We will also debut our first outdoor range. The same applies to the men’s segment. In addition, we strive to structure our pricing strategically and establish an entry-level price range without sacrificing quality. Retail prices will start at 39 Euros for t-shirts, 99 Euros for knitwear, and 179 Euros for jackets. This allows us to address local heroes such as Hagemeyer, CJ Schmidt, and Garhammer, which should increase both the stock turnover rate and brand visibility. We don’t want to leave anything to chance anymore. My vision is to make Better Rich a truly desirable brand in the next three years. And I’d like to see Ferrari win the World Championship again…

WANT IT

UNIQUENESS REINTERPRETED: HIGH-QUALITY FASHION THAT DOESN’T DEPEND ON SEASONS, WARDROBE, AND ACCESSORIES – TAILOR-MADE FOR A NEW GENERATION OF CONSUMERS.

Yellow Border

National Geographic. No other magazine nine yet uncomplicated. That’s Marivie in a nutshell. In 2018, the founders decided to combine their know-how in fashion design and international management. Marivie was born. The elegant dresses and skirts, with ever-changing prints and cuts, are made of viscose and manufactured in Italy. The focus is on colour variety. Be it a short beach dress or an uncomplicated evening gown, fashion by Marivie is always easy to combine. The label offers an easy-going “pronto” pro gramme, which minimises the risk for the buyer. The mark-up stands at 3.0. With four collections per year, the label presents a vari ety of cuts and prints that can, upon request, be customised individually. Sales in the DACH region are handled by Room von Berlin.

Marivie, Munich/Germany, T 0049.89.25546793, info@marivie.com, www.marivie.com

embodies the spirit of adventure like Nation al Geographic. An urban menswear collection now makes the National Geographic brand wearable. CoreM, a member of Omnibrand Group, acts as licensee and producer. Retail prices range from 29 Euros for shirts to 599 Euros for jackets. It will be launched at selected retail partners such as Breuninger and Zalando in autumn 2020. “National Geographic is an incredible storyteller with rich and inspiring content. The brand has so much to offer: an excellent narrative and the desire to explore and improve the world,” says Patrick Andrist of CoreM/Omnibrand Group. It goes without saying that the collec tion is committed to sustainability. The line heavily features recycled down and polyester made of PET bottles.

Corem GmbH, Düsseldorf/Germany, T 0049.152.55126123, felix.palm@corem-licensing.com,

Interplay

Marivie. Comfort dresses that are femi

www.corem-licensing.com

Mission Fairness

Stoffbruch. Certified organic cotton, Tencel, and linen form the basis of Stoffbruch, a label launched by Moritz Biel and André Hofmann in 2010. “The name reflects our commitment to hand-crafted designs, the associated know-how, and the love of working with high-quality fabrics,” Biel explains. Neither of them abandoned their sustainable principles when they gradually handed over production to partners in Poland and Lithuania. “We attached great importance to fair production processes right from the offset. Thanks to short distances and direct contact with our suppliers and production sites, our supply chain remains transparent.” For example, the purchase price for a dress is 29 Euros (with a 2.7 mark-up). A top costs 20 Euros (with a 2.6 mark-up). The label’s 100 or so customers include its own store in Berlin Friedrichshain, Green Guerillas, Zeitzeichen, Monkey Garage Madrid, and Brand Mission Amsterdam.

Stoffbruch Fair Fashion GmbH, Berlin/Germany, T 0049.30.24647949, info@stoffbruch.com, www.stoffbruch.com

Denim Cult

Agolde. Founded in 1989, relaunched in 2014. Agolde has resurrected the jeans style of the 1990s, but with a modern twist. The contemporary premium collection consists of high waist jeans, coloured denim, skirts, and shirts, as well as feminine body suits. The label’s denim expertise is both tangible and visible, especially since Agolde is from the same stable as Citizens of Humanity. The list of celebrities who wear Agolde includes names such as Amanda Seyfried, Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Kendall Jenner, and Miley Cyrus. The list of key accounts is equally high-pro file: Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, and Net-a-Porter. At a markup of 2.6, retail prices stand at approximately 249 Euros.

Citizens of Humanity GmbH, Düsseldorf/Germany, T 0049.211.938859112, mhennes@citizensofhumanity.de, www.agolde.com

Esde. One bag is called “The Woman”. Another is called “The Provider”, because all essentials fit into it. If you like the names, you’ll love the bags made of vegetable-tanned leather. They truly redefine luxury. Ron ny Schröder launched Esde for men and women in 2015. In a studio in Düsseldorf, he combines traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary social media strategy. “We create all content ourselves. Communica tion with the target group is everything to me,” Schröder says. “I try to get in touch with every new subscriber personally. It’s time-consuming, but it builds a relationship.” Social media is the label’s primary distribu tion platform. The list of 30 retail customers includes L’Eclaireur Paris, Tuxedo Düsseldorf, Layers London, and Eastern Market Mel bourne. The purchase price for the bag called “The Woman” is 422 Euros, at a mark-up of 2.5.

Esde Bags, Düsseldorf/Germany, T 0049.211.15771664932, info@esde-bags.com, www.esde-bags.com Old Acquaintances with New Name

Âme Antwerp. Alizée Van Strydonck and Ysaline Grangé embarked on a new adventure with spring/summer 2019: Âme. The two had previously worked at Essentiel Antwerp, Grangé as marketing manager and Van Stry donck as designer. With their new, feminine women’s collection that is perfectly suitable for everyday wear, they take their collabo ration to a new level. They see their womenswear competing in stores against brands such as Ganni, Forte Forte, or Anine Bing. They have already convinced 40 European multi-brand stores to order for spring/sum mer 2020. With an average purchase price of around 20 Euros for a t-shirt, 72 Euros for an alpaca sweater, and 240 Euros for a coat, as well as an extensive NOS programme and early delivery dates in December and June, the label is eager to win over new partners. The aim is to grow to around 100 retail cus tomers over the next three years.

Âme Antwerp, Antwerp/Belgium, T 0032.473394177, hello@ame-antwerp.com,

Craft and Social Media

www.ame-antwerp.com

WHAT IS YOUR CONTRIBUTION? A QUESTION THAT BRANDS HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THESE DAYS. A PRESENTABLE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT IS ONE THING, STYLE ANOTHER – BECAUSE A GOOD CONSCIENCE SHOULDN’T LOOK BAD.

Bohemian Elegance

Tassel Tales. The designs tell stories of their own, diverse and lively. They tell of Moroccan landscapes and markets, tradi tional craftsmanship, and the people who craft the clothing, accessories, shoes, and jewellery. Babouche slippers and denim jackets, decorated with tassels, are made of repurposed vintage carpets. They stand out as timeless, unique, and wearable key pieces. The label also processes gently sourced raw silk, GOTS-certified cotton, and chrome-free tanned leather. Retail prices start at 39 Euros for yoga tops, 69 Euros for earrings, 139 Euros for shoes, and 260 Euros for denim jackets. Tassel Tales was founded in 2017 by three sis ters eager to change the fashion industry for the better. The label stands for sustainable ready-to-wear and yoga fashion. For the most part, the collection items are manufactured by women’s collectives. Tassel Tales pays fair wages and every production step is fully transparent.

Tassel Tales OG, Vienna/Austria, T 0043.650.4514204, hello@tassel-tales.com, www.tassel-tales.com Independent

Sankt. The driving force behind the Sankt label, which was launched in Istanbul in 2016, are sisters Merve and Hande Aksu. Right from the start, the collection has been focused on sustainability. This starts with design, which is the responsibility of London-based design er Louise Amstrup. The straightforward – yet always detailed – pieces are non-seasonal and timeless. Materials, such as the vegan Cupro fabric, are just as important as short transport distances. The sales agent for the DACH region is Dahhan Operations. At a mark-up of 3.0, purchase prices range from 80 to 145 Euros. The label issues two collections per year.

Sankt, Istanbul/Turkey, T 0090.539.2440142, contact@wearesankt.com, www.wearesankt.com

Making Statements

Hey Soho. SoHo – known as vibrant city districts of New York and Hong Kong – is the namesake and inspiration for this slow fash ion label launched in 2017. Hey Soho stands for fun. It strives to convey a lifestyle with meaningful statements. The label’s wearers should have a positive feeling about wearing fair fashion in organic quality. “Our procure ment and production processes focus on transparency, sustainability, and fair trade. These aspects are particularly important to us. We want to inspire people to change fash ion. They should leave their comfort zone and stand up for a good cause. Every small step counts,” says founder Elise Seitz. The current unisex collection for men, women, and chil dren includes t-shirts, sweaters, and hoodies. Retail prices start at 49 Euros for t-shirts and 89 Euros for sweaters and hoodies. Sizes range from XS to XXL.

Hey Soho, Hamburg/Germany, info@hey-soho.com, www.hey-soho.com

Zero-Impact Sneakers

Womsh. The label – an abbreviation of Word Of Mouth Shoes – stands for many things: fair production conditions, vegan and sustainably sourced materials, recyclability, commitment to the environment, and mod ern streetwear designs. Italy-based Womsh, which was launched in 2014, not only offers fair and environmentally friendly sneakers, but also compensates for all CO2 emissions during the life cycle by reforesting areas in It aly and South America. Only recently, Womsh launched a vegan line of apple leather. The material consists of 50 percent apple fibre from food production waste and 50 percent polyurethane. In addition, the label relies on recycled cotton and leather obtained from slaughterhouse waste, as well as Oe ko-Tex-100 certified leather and rubber. Worn out sneakers can be returned to Womsh, where they are recycled and processed into flooring for playgrounds in collaboration with a partner organisation.

Womsh, Padua/Italy, T 0039.0499.801663, commerciale@womsh.com, www.womsh.com

New Dimension

Armargentum. Fashion that is willing to take responsibility. Newly founded Armargentum not only focuses on social and ecological production standards, but also on the health of its wearers. Innovative materials with spe cial textures, such as Miracle Fibre, form the foundation and act as a protective shield. By preventing a build-up of bacteria, Miracle Fi bre promotes skin regeneration and prevents itching. Therefore, the lightweight cotton and jersey materials are particularly well-suited for sensitive skin types or people suffering from neurodermatitis. The label, which is the brainchild of Sophia Bitter and Walter Moser, is certified by both Bluesign and Öko-Tex. Armargentum offers an all-season collection, which is regularly supplemented by new key pieces depending on the season in question. In terms of price, the brand ranks in the upmarket segment. The first A01 collection is now available via the label’s online shop. The trade fair debut is scheduled for January. “Sustainability has always been an important issue for Walter Moser and me. There’s plenty of movement at Airfield, but the collection is quite polarising and appeals to specific customers. That’s why we decided to create a new label with clean, timeless, and long-last ing looks,” says Sophia Bitter.

Armargentum, Seewalchen/Austria, T 0043.766.258222122, office@armargentum.com, www.armargentum.com Perfect Essentials

Phyne. The newcomer label, pronounced like the English term “fine”, embodies the positive and the good. Its most modern form of sustainability is transparent, meaningful, and cool. From the point of view of the three founders Kerstin Mikeska, Marc Langner, and Andri Stocker, it is the combination of a sustainable value chain (from raw material cultivation to shipping) and lasting quality that creates a product that allows both the wearer and the environment to blossom. The result is a reduced collection that is vegan, (GOTS) certified, and “Made in Europe”. The essentials are made of organic cotton or Ten cel. Purchase prices start at 14.80 Euros for shirts, 33.31 Euros for sweatshirts, 40.72 Eu ros for dresses, and 41.87 Euros for bomber jackets. The mark-up is 2.7. Limited editions and collaborations with, for example, the German edition of Vogue or influencer Veron ika Heilbrunner have already earned Phyne a certain level of cult status.

Agentur Twowear, Sindelfingen/Germany, T 0049.7031.6792865, magali.steidle@twowear.de, www.twowear.de, www.phyne.com