The order season HW25 is in full swing. How does it start for fashion companies and what expectations do you start the year? Managing Director Louis Bezner gives an insight with knitted goods specialist Maerz Munich.
How do you perceive the situation and mood in the industry after the Christmas business?
The fashion industry still faces major challenges, but also with opportunities. The year 2024 once again shows how demanding the fashion industry is currently. Especially in the first half of the year we stayed well below our expectations. The second half of the year was significantly more positive and in the end in the Christmas business the sales with our partners were pleasant: inside and in our own retail and online shop. So we feel a good and optimistic mood at the beginning of the year, which gives us the necessary tailwind.
Overall, Maerz Munich posted a slight drop in sales last year – what expectations do you start in 2025?
We grown with the women’s collection and in our own retail last year. For 2025 we take growth over all sales channels and also for the men’s collection. We consistently continue our strategic path. Our focus is on strengthening the brand as an International Premium Knitwear Brand, the targeted further development of our collections and sustainable growth – both in existing markets and internationally. The high demand of the consumers: Inside, according to our high -quality, high -quality Maerz Muenchen knitting products in our own direct sales channels confirms our course to further develop the brand in the premium segment and to expand them in a targeted manner.
How does the HW25 order season start?
The first signals are very positive. The start of the Pitti Uomo with the presentation of our menswear collection was a strong statement and an important impulse for us.
With the collection highlights, we were able to inspire the most important buyers: inside the industry and the press. This is a good start to the order phase and we have managed to carry this dynamic to Düsseldorf. The momentum for us is there: In addition to a high frequency of the visitors: Inside in our showrooms we were able to take targeted appointments with our most important partners: inside. The consistently positive echo confirms our strategic course. In particular, our knitting competence and the consistent product and collection further development were the focus. The next important date for us is the Supreme in Munich, where we focus on our Womenswear collection.
Which styles do you put on? What is going well?
For men, the troyer and cardigans play a major role as a highlight. For women, it is the total knitting look, for example knitting pants with further leg and capes.
How do you deal with inconsistent weather conditions in the upcoming collection?
We developed our collection from the point of view of the “Transseasonal Looks”. It is strongly about layering of knitting looks that can be worn from July to October.
How do you rate the order volume for HW25?
The start of the Order season Fall/Winter 2025 was extremely promising. We experience consistently positive feedback from our dates. It is particularly gratifying that the overall package from the content of the collection in combination with our new visual language is very well received. The change that we have initiated with our new focus on complete looks shows a clear effect and is welcomed by the market. In particular, our new strategic orientation and the revised positioning model – from a product -oriented towards a more brand -focused perspective – are positively received.
And international?
We were also able to leave a stronger footprint in the international area. Cooperation with new agencies, for example in Austria for women and in the Netherlands for men, is very promising. Thanks to our presence at the Pitti Uomo in Florence, we were also able to gain other international customers: in the inside – especially from important markets such as Italy, Japan and beyond. The market clearly shows us that real brands are in demand with a clear identity and vision. These feedback confirms that we have taken the right way with our further development.
What is the relationship between the preliminary order and the follow -up order? What do you enable as a fire?
Traditionally, our company is characterized by a strong NOS competence that takes a significant share in the HAKA. In the area of DOB, too, our offer has grown continuously in recent years and is extremely positive by the market. In our fashionable collection we work with clearly defined clusters that range from timeless fashion to trendy fashion elements to premium articles. This clear structure enables us to precisely control the degree of fashion and at the same time ensure a clear differentiation in terms of storage skills. This is how we create a transparent basis for our partners: which enables a targeted division of the seasonal budgets.
What does the order process look like now – where do you have to digitally and physically
Be fire today?
The direct exchange with our partners: inside is essential for us. We focused on the order in our showroom to discuss potential and opportunities in dialogue with the partner. In addition, trade fairs such as Pitti Uomo, Düsseldorf Fashion Days and Supreme are again an important meeting point for us as a brand.
This interview was led in writing.
