The menswear provider Only & Sons has been strategically built into a profitable brand in recent years by the Danish parent company Bestseller Group, which also includes brands such as Only, Jack & Jones and Vero Moda.
Only & Sons has a clear profile and a growing store portfolio, which will soon number 40 locations in the Netherlands. The 100-store mark has already been broken in Germany. Enrico Leatemia, Country Manager for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (BeNeLux) for three years, explains the steps that led to the transformation.
restructuring
“Before Corona, our former partner wanted to join us [Bestseller] Group, Finn Poulsen, to concentrate fully on Only,” explains Leatemia. “Back then, we converted many Vero Moda and Jack & Jones stores into Only & Sons stores in a very short space of time.” However, because the collection was much cheaper, the same sales could not be achieved. The plan proved unprofitable, which is why it closed “hundreds of stores” during the pandemic, leaving only six retail spaces in Europe.
The time after the closures was used to redesign the remaining stores. In addition, a new approach should be found for the brand. “Only & Sons was a niche brand when Only started in 2013,” said the BeNeLux boss. “The collection was more alternative than today.” That worked well for wholesale customers, but not for independent businesses. “We had to broaden the collection. We had to figure out what sold well and what didn’t.”
Only & Sons is profitable again
This focus led to clear specialization. “We saw that we were strong on a sweatshirt and a certain pair of pants,” Leatemia said. “We have further developed these in terms of quality and made them more attractive in terms of price. We have built a complete collection around it.” With this approach, the brand ultimately became profitable again.
The repositioning and product development paid off. Only & Sons grew to 33 stores in the Netherlands. By March there should be 40. 50 are planned in the long term. Germany shows how quickly such an expansion can happen. Almost 100 Only & Sons stores were opened there in two years. This was largely achieved through the continued use of Only’s existing premises. This keeps costs manageable. The store portfolio is also being expanded in Belgium and Denmark.
Jack & Jones as a role model
Product development plays a major role in success. Leatemia explains: “We work closely with our design studio in Denmark. They use all the data from our stores to improve the products.” A sweater is available exclusively in its own stores. It is of higher quality than comparable products. According to the country manager, the quality of the sweater is now better than that of Jack & Jones. It is also being sold more frequently. However, the group’s established men’s fashion division remains an inspiration. “There’s a lot of knowledge there and we can learn from it. The goal is to become as big as Jack.”
Leatemia emphasizes that Only & Sons’ success is the result of a targeted strategy. First, it was downsized to make the company healthy. Then it was rebuilt with a sharp product portfolio and a clear target group in mind. “So we ultimately established a stronger brand.”
This article was created using digital tools translated.
FashionUnited uses artificial intelligence to speed up the translation of articles and improve the end result. They help us to make FashionUnited’s international reporting quickly and comprehensively accessible to a German-speaking readership. Articles translated using AI-based tools are proofread and carefully edited by our editors before they are published. If you have any questions or comments, please email [email protected]