There’s a lot going on at German clothing retailer Clinton. The company based in Hoppegarten near Berlin has just relaunched the Dutch brand Gaastra. Now everyone is looking forward to the upcoming anniversary of the flagship brand Camp David, which is getting a makeover shortly before its 30th birthday. Meanwhile, the streetwear brand Harlem Soul is becoming a problem.
About Clinton:
The foundation stone for today’s Clinton Wholesale GmbH, based in Hoppegarten near Berlin, was laid in 1992. The founders are the brothers Hans-Peter and Jürgen Finkbeiner from Baden-Württemberg. Two more Finkbeiner brothers later joined the company. The company’s reputation has been contributed to by its more than ten-year cooperation with the German music producer Dieter Bohlen, who was Camp David’s brand ambassador until a few years ago.
In addition to the menswear brands Camp David, the company’s portfolio also includes the womenswear brands Soccx and Senses as well as the streetwear-oriented label Harlem Soul. In 2025, the company took over the licensing rights of the Dutch brand Gaastra.
In 2023, a change at the top of the company took place for the first time in Clinton’s history. Management was transferred to long-standing employees from various areas. The management team currently consists of head of marketing and sales Mathias Voigt, Alexandra Krüger-Simon, responsible for design, production and goods management, and Nicholas Hasslacher, who is responsible for IT, finance, HR and legal.
Clinton brings Gaastra back
A few weeks ago, the Dutch outerwear specialist Gaastra relaunched its own online shop and a men’s collection for spring/summer 2026 after Clinton secured the licensing rights in October. The collection was put together at very short notice and was still able to reliably meet delivery dates, explained managing director Alexandra Krüger-Simon in an interview. In the coming spring/summer 2027 collection, the range will be expanded to include womenswear.
“We are very satisfied with the progress so far,” summed up Krüger-Simon, who is responsible for design, production and goods management at Clinton. “Considering that we are starting again for the end consumer and the web shop has hardly been advertised so far, the start was really good.”
At Gaastra, wholesale is currently a clear priority, so the goal is to moderately increase the number of trading partners and deepen the presence in the core markets – Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) as well as Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (BeNeLux) – without losing exclusivity, according to the company. The brand, which was founded in 1897 and has repeatedly disappeared from the market in recent years after several bankruptcies, is currently available at a total of 70 points of sales.
“The brand has lost trust in the past because ordered goods were not delivered,” says Krüger-Simon. “We now have to earn back this trust. The current spring collection proves to retailers that we deliver the quality and meet our deadlines. As soon as this consistency returns, we can build on it.”
In the future, Gaastra will also be sold via marketplaces in addition to the wholesale business and online shop. However, there are no plans to have our own branch network, as is the case with the Camp David and Soccx brands.
At the group level, the wholesale business, which not only the new integrated brand Gaastra but also the womenswear label Senses is designed for, accounts for just ten percent. The majority of sales are now generated through direct sales of the flagship brands.
Camp David is expanding through digital channels
Camp David and Soccx not only share a common online shop, but also around 250 self-operated stores, 230 of which are in the home market. The remaining stores are now in Austria (twelve), Switzerland (two), Spain (three) and the Czech Republic (eight).
There are also around 100 operator stores in Germany, with the partners concentrating on personnel and sales. Meanwhile, Clinton takes care of the rest. This is intended to ensure flexible goods control and an efficient division of labor between the partners.
Clinton currently has no concrete plans to further expand the network of locations for the two brands. The company is concentrating on maintaining strong locations, explains Krüger-Simon. If necessary, weaker branches would be closed and “new, good areas” would be opened. “We are not planning an all-encompassing expansion; we are trying to stabilize ourselves at this level.”
Meanwhile, new markets are to be opened up via digital channels. To achieve this, the company relies on the marketplace business for its brands in the Netherlands and France. In addition, a separate web shop has just gone online for the Polish market.
Overall, Clinton was able to position itself stable in 2025 – partly through the introduction of the new concepts – and build on the previous year’s level, reports sales manager Mathias Voigt. “For 2026, given the current economic and geopolitical conditions, we are aiming for stable development. The current focus is therefore less on strong growth and more on consolidation and sustainable development.”
Is Harlem Soul on the verge of extinction?
While the other brands are keeping Clinton on track, Harlem Soul has become the problem child in the portfolio. The streetwear label, which was launched in 2019, is currently being re-evaluated because last season showed that economic momentum had slowed compared to other brands in the portfolio. Therefore, as a small, medium-sized company, we decided to sharpen our priorities and focus our capacities on those brands that currently offer greater growth and earnings potential.
Accordingly, there is currently no longer a dedicated design team that creates new collections for Harlem Soul. The existing goods will continue to be sold at reduced prices via marketplaces such as Zalando and About You as well as via our own online shop.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Harlem Soul will be discontinued, emphasizes Krüger-Simon. A final decision on how to proceed should only be made in the next one and a half to two years.
Hype about Camp David – Clinton is modernizing its brands
Clinton is not only revising his portfolio, but also the direction of the individual brands. In this way, Gaastra should appeal to its former customers, but also inspire a new audience. “We are not leaving the collection as it was, but are integrating modern elements in order to specifically attract new target groups,” explains head of design Krüger-Simon.
Camp David and Soccx should also appeal to a broader audience in the future without scaring off existing customers. To achieve this, Krüger-Simon and her team revised the direction of the artwork for Camp David and incorporated younger designs into the collection. Sporty themes that are somewhat simpler in orientation were also integrated. “It does say Camp David on it, but the implementation is more toned, with new types of printing and qualities. The look remains loud, but is no longer as colorful.”
This approach should be supported by various marketing campaigns. This includes a small-field soccer tournament that is scheduled to take place in mid-June at Berlin’s Uber Platz with six influencer teams. Also taking part are Youtuber Aaron Troschke, musician and extreme athlete Joey Kelly and the Eintracht Spandau club, which is in connection with the German web video producer HandOfBlood.
In doing so, those responsible seem to be responding to hype among a younger target group. The Berlin rapper Ski Aggu, whose real name is August Jean Diederich, appeared in the brand’s polo shirt several times last summer and even dedicated his own line to it in the song Palermo (2025). Previously, Swedish artist Yung Lean also wore a white long-sleeved shirt from the brand when he visited musician Charli XCX at her ‘Brat’ tour stop in London.
This trend is associated with Y2K “ugly fashion” among Gen Z, in which a mixture of nostalgia and supposedly “unfashionable” pieces in the style of the 00s and 10s are given a contemporary twist. The phenomenon could be observed, among other things, during the comeback of the US brand Ed Hardy.
Whether the new direction of Camp David can build on this hype and really inspire the young target group in the long term remains to be seen.
The YouTube format Hypeculture from Funk, the content network of public broadcasters (ARD and ZDF), provides a deeper insight into this hype about Camp David.
