The Düsseldorf streetwear label LFDY actually wanted to celebrate its first international store with loud beats and big hip-hop stars like Future and Offset, but Corona thwarted the opening.
The new one opened on Saturday Store in Amsterdam with limited admission and only for one day. Already on Sunday – when shops are usually open in the Dutch capital – LFDY had to Lockdown-related to stay. However, FashionUnited took the opportunity to visit the store when it opened.
International expansion
LFDY has been around for almost nine years. In Germany, the streetwear brand operates stores in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Munich and is available online worldwide. The company relies on a D2C concept. LFDY also wants to expand in the stationary trade and that internationally.
For the first store abroad, the company opted for the Netherlands because of its proximity to home and because the BENELUX market is the strongest after the DACH region. The approximately 230 kilometers from Düsseldorf to Amsterdam made it easier for the brand to expand – especially during the Corna era. “We were able to drive to the viewing appointments and to the construction site,” said Riccardo Ballarino, Executive Creative Director at LFDY, in an interview with FashionUnited.
Actually, LFDY had already targeted big fashion capitals like New York and London. However, these plans were redirected to Amsterdam at the beginning of the year. However, these projects have not yet been completely written off and are to be implemented in the near future. Ballarino has not yet been able to reveal more precise details.
“The international expansion of the brand will continue to play a central and important role at LFDY in 2022. The store in Amsterdam is a first milestone in this respect, ”said LFDY CFO Karl Krumland.
LFDY wants to be discovered by international guests
In Amsterdam, they have chosen the Hartenstraat in the De Negen Straatjes shopping district (Nine Streets). With brands like Dr. Martens and Carhartt in the neighborhood have a similar environment as the Cologne store on Ehrenstrasse. The aim is to address walk-in customers. According to Ballarino, the streetwear brand is still very small in the Netherlands and wants to be discovered by international guests.
As in the other stores, LFDY relies on a showroom concept in which individual items are presented, including photos. As in a showroom, the pieces are divided into the various collections that appear in several drops per year. The employees should then advise and approach the customers. This is to prevent customers from “taking a tour of the shop” and leaving it again without any interaction, says Ballarino.
Large screens, a comfortable seating area in the back and loud rap booming through the speakers round off the otherwise rather simple store of the streetwear supplier. In terms of color, it is gray, black and white and relies on metallic details.
About LFDY
LFDY (Live Fast Die Young) stands for streetwear with large prints and many washes. The brand offers around 100 different tones, especially for black products. “Not all blacks are the same at LFDY,” jokes Ballarino. In addition to t-shirts (49.90 euros) and other typical streetwear items such as hooded sweaters (84.90 euros) and jogging pants (79.90 to 89.90 euros), the brand also offers accessories such as scarves, caps and socks. There are also collectibles such as cups, ashtrays and even a logo rug.
Live Fast Die Young Clothing GmbH, based in Düsseldorf, is not only responsible for the brand of the same name but also for the production and distribution of the Peso Clothing brand, behind which Youtuber Justin stands. Both brands should, however, be viewed separately from one another. Peso is not part of the LFDY range and is offered in its own online shop.
The company has grown strongly in the past two years despite the pandemic, said Krumland. “To react quickly and in a goal-oriented manner and that with a strong team – especially in such a crisis – is one of our great strengths.”