The Dutch men’s store Van Westen Mannen celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. The men’s clothing store in Zaamslag is run by the third generation of the Van Westen family. Johan and Peter van Westen now have the reins in their hands: They make the fashion business a real experience with vintage furniture, technical innovations and their own gastronomy. FashionUnited spoke to Johan van Westen about the fall/winter 2024 order season.
Van Westen Mannen is one of the largest men’s fashion retailers in the Dutch province of Zeeland and has already received several awards. It was named Fashion Company of the Year in 2000 and received the ‘Retail Excellence Award’ four years later. In 2023, the men’s fashion store celebrated its 100th anniversary and accepted the award as
Royal Supplier in contrast to.
Van Westen Men is in the mid to high price segment and has around 48 fashion brands in its portfolio, including Van Harper, Genti, Law of the Sea and CG Club of Gents.
Good to know: In June 2023, the Goes-based label Van Westen Menswear was taken over by OFM (Only for Men). The Van Westen Menswear name will continue until mid-2024, after which it will be officially integrated into OFM. Van Westen Menswear, run by Pim van Westen, is not part of the Van Westen company Mannen.
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Van Westen has just completed a celebratory year. What is your conclusion for 2023?
“2023 was fantastic. We had a very busy year with many activities and events. We also gave away 100 prizes every month. As the icing on the cake, we also received the “Royal Supplier” award. Of course that’s great.”
“Economically Seen, we are in good shape. Sales in 2022 were 13 percent higher than the previous year. We will exceed that this year. I am very happy about that, because 2023 was a very special year due to the political tensions and inflation.” Laughs: “It never gets boring in our industry”.
There is actually a lot going on. How do you see the situation in retail at the moment?
“We have noticed in recent years that consumers have had more control due to the Corona and energy crises, but businesses like ours have come out of the difficult situation well. During the corona pandemic, we were able to switch directly to the online sales world.”
“However, we are facing declining profit margins due to inflation and other socio-political risks. It doesn’t get any easier. We are currently in a difficult retail landscape: we are dealing with a large number of online competitors. In addition, the manufacturers are also our competitors in online retail. There are also many questions regarding the sales areas. There is a lot going on and that makes it exciting. But name me an industry that isn’t under pressure…Retail is a high-performance sport.”
“But that’s what makes it fun and interesting. Of course, we sometimes do company comparisons and they show that larger businesses like us are doing quite well. We don’t rely on busy shopping streets, we have a large customer base that remains loyal to us. This is something very good and we are also seeing this in our anniversary year. But we’ve weathered other turbulences than this.”
What is your conclusion on the sales of the FW23 season?
“Autumn was hard because at the end of September it was still far too warm and that is actually still the case. The weather is slowing down sales of winter collections – that’s the case for everyone.”
“We are taking the path with our manufacturers
Open to Buy-Option. Part of the collection is purchased in advance, with the other part we react to current trends and circumstances. In this case, we bought less winter clothing; we ordered more cotton sweaters than wool ones. We can do this with the manufacturers slow mover against fast mover
exchange – this is necessary until well into the season.
“This year we see a very clear trend in colors. Men ask for sand colors, beige, khaki and ecru. These bright colors sold well in the spring but remained popular in the fall. We sold a lot of pants, sweaters and sweatshirts in ecru. The men from the coast are finally getting away from the image of dark blue fashion!”
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Now the FW24 order season is just around the corner. Where do you find inspiration?
“Our shopping adventure always begins with a visit to Pitti Uomo in Florence. We also visit the Preview Men in Nieuwegein.”
“I am a real trade fair fanatic. For me, attending trade fairs is like a game. You have to leave your own nest and see what’s going on, what trends are popular. Normally we would first go to Florence and then to Berlin – that was the ideal combination, but now nothing is happening in Berlin. The Modefabriek in Amsterdam no longer shows men’s fashion either. Luckily we still have the Preview Men – a well-organized trade fair that meets all our requirements. We visit Pitti Uomo and the Preview Men with our purchasing team and then discuss what catches our eye, what we hear and what we see: What are we shying away from this year? Which brands stand out for us? And what do we want more of?”
“For me, the trade fairs are not just about the trends and collections of the brands. I also pay attention to what’s happening in the industry and what’s new. For example, I look at the shop windows and the people on the street. Last year I gathered so much inspiration! I collect all of this in my so-called ‘idea bank’ and use these ideas to make a plan for the coming year.”
What procurement plans do you have for the FW24 season?
“In addition to the trade fairs, we want to include the weather as an important factor in our purchasing policy. I regret that we have to take this into account, but there is no other way – it is a necessity. We used to buy a lot of wool sweaters and thick clothes, but these items are not selling well at the moment due to the mild weather.”
“We will also ensure that prices and margins are distributed appropriately. This is more important today than ever before.”
“In fashion, we’ve seen the popularity of looser trousers and tops increase over the past year. We want to benefit from this this year. This development is really exciting because loose fits for men are a real trend right now. In the big cities, men almost exclusively wear wide trousers and oversized shirts, but here in Zeeland, developments are progressing rather slowly. But people are becoming more and more open to it.
“When it comes to colors, we buy everything that has to do with sand colors, beige tones, khaki, brown and taupe. The general trend for FW24 will be: less casualmore elegant“.
What are their procurement plans based on?
“I use my sales data for my planning. I put all my data from the last few years in a common file where the ideal amount is calculated for me. I then pass this on to my manufacturers and don’t deviate from it. Some people don’t like that, but it’s clear: my planning and my budget are based on statistics.
Van Westen has 48 brands in its portfolio. Is there room for expansion?
“There is always room for new brands. The rule is: one in, one out. Our store is fully stocked. Personally, I believe there should be a brand change every season, but in menswear that is more difficult than in womenswear, where there is a much quicker change.”
“There are always brands that should not be changed – they serve as the foundation of the business. For us these are all JustBrands brands. Last year we also covered an entire wall with Carl Gross suits. We also work well with Lexson Brands, which includes labels such as St. Steve, Plain, Law of the Sea and Van Harper.”
“We are now increasingly opting for manufacturers in the medium to high price segment, which is where we operate – we like that.”
Besides the procurement plans, what else is on the agenda?
“The anniversary year was very hectic for us – in a positive sense. We will now recover well from this!”
This translated article previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl. Translation and editing: Pia Schulz