As a growing fashion label, how do you ensure that investments continue to be made in the right places and that creativity is not lost in the process? With an intelligent use of the back-end systems and a streamlined process, we learn after a look behind the scenes from Fabienne Chapot. Fabienne celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2021 and is experiencing tremendous growth averaging 40% per year. How do you do that? In short, by staying focused and maintaining simple processes so investments can be made in those aspects of the business that truly add value to customers and consumers.
A big task for Jorrit Weekenborg, CFO/COO of Fabienne Chapot. We speak to Weekenborg (33) on a sunny afternoon in the beautiful building on the Herengracht in Amsterdam, amidst the colorful new collection. We talk about the growth path Fabienne Chapot has taken and how to make the right decisions. About investments and a good balance sheet. And above all about simplicity in a complex world of fashion.
From a corporate career to the courage to trust your own intuition
Weekenborg started his career in the fashion world six years ago when Fabienne Chapot was still Fab. was called and only made bags, purses and shoes. After studying business administration and joining Unilever, he was looking for a job where he could really make a difference. At exactly the same time, Fabienne dared to set up her own fashion label and set up a large professional organization. Weekenborg was part of the first wave of new hires when Fabienne launched the first SS17 collection. At that time, his intuition, luck and the courage to make the right decisions came together in a special way, because it wasn’t a logical step. From a corporate job at Unilever to a newly founded fashion label in Amsterdam.
Weekenborg: “I recognized Fabienne’s potential as an entrepreneur, the brand, the ideas and the people she had already gathered around her. Looking back, it was a very good decision. Now that we’re starting to have success, it was In retrospect it was a logical way, but it wasn’t clear at the time.”
Carte blanche
It quickly became clear that Weekenborg could achieve the effect he wanted on Fabienne Chapot. In the early days there were very few systems. “It is something very special to have a clear view of all processes and systems at the age of 27. What do you actually want to achieve? Of course, this vision becomes clearer and clearer over time”. Here, too, intuition plays a major role. You don’t have an immediate vision, but you already make certain decisions based on feeling.
Lightning-fast migration to smarter processes with Itsperfect
One of the first decisions Weekenborg made in 2018 was choosing a new ERP package. For this he is still grateful to his colleague Michel Strooij, the Operation Manager. “It is thanks to Michel alone that we Itsperfect to have met. A good discovery. We signed very soon because I was so sure. Sometimes it just goes really fast.”
With a “we can do it” mentality, Strooij and Weekenborg, together with the Itsperfect team, ensured a lightning-fast migration within three months. Even the open orders were migrated. A huge professionalization step. “When we started rolling out Itsperfect, we transitioned a whole bunch of processes to the Itsperfect model because it was a natural fit. We then found that the way they came up with actually worked was much smarter than our previous structure. A good ERP package also promotes discipline.”
Choosing Itsperfect for all back-end processes laid the foundation for Weekenborg’s vision of managing a fashion company.
“The funny thing is that Itsperfect was a big influence on my vision for the backend of a business. It was all a bit iterative. Itsperfect implemented the best and most logical way to run a fashion business. So I’m very satisfied as a user. “
Keep it as simple as possible
Hardly anyone knows better than Weekenborg himself that the fashion industry is incredibly complex. “We have an incredibly beautiful and large collection. With many different fabrics, colours, patterns and prints, it is extremely complex. There are three sales channels: e-commerce, own Retail and wholesale. Thousands of consumers and over a thousand retail businesses. So the system is already very complex. With 250 pieces in the collection, as many sizes, two collections a year, 5 drops”.
Weekenborg therefore has a clear strategy: “Remain as simple as possible. For me, that means thinking very carefully about what kind of systems are being purchased, because there are no limits to the complexity.”
Invest where the difference is made
Weekenborg is now applying the “keep it simple” principle to many other areas of the company. On the wholesale side, for example, the company has deliberately chosen to target a limited number of customer types. Many fashion labels work with intermediate collections. Fabienne Chapot, on the other hand, opts for two mission seasons with five chapters in winter and five in summer.
Weekenborg: “I want Itsperfect to do the work automatically. The processes should be simple, without anyone having to do anything. We create added value for our customers in the design and development of the collection. Help on the sales and marketing side we help customers to choose the right items. The rest should actually be done blindly through the system. And then of course there are people who keep an eye on the system, but there shouldn’t be many, otherwise ten people will be working in the Back office. That’s money that you can’t then invest in the collection and the customers or consumers. But that’s where the difference is made.”
Pioneer work behind the border
Fabienne Chapot already has a large agency and sales network in Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. For future international growth, the focus is on Germany. An exciting expansion that also creates room for decision-making. “After the Netherlands, Germany is the first country where we are doing this ourselves, with our own showrooms and sales staff. We are investing heavily in a German web shop, a German marketing plan and a collection tailored to Germany. It is very important that you do that don’t do a little bit everywhere, but stay focused.”
Since December 2021 there has been a separate German team with two showrooms in Munich and Düsseldorf. And the first big customer has already been won. Breuninger, one of the most beautiful department stores in Germany.
The magic touch
Of course, working with so many creative people brings challenges. But Weekenborg has also found its way here. “It’s important to be flexible at the right time and to explain well why we do things a certain way. But above all, we rise to complexity when it’s in the interest of the company. And we trust our expertise. We have guidelines and common goals, but no rules. Of course there are sometimes more in-depth processes, for example on margins, which are an important issue because of inflation. Then we dive in together. We have to find out how we can influence it without losing the “magic touch”. But I try not to interfere with the really creative areas.”
The same applies to the customer perspective. “There are fashion companies right now that are swapping out really skilled fashion managers for more business analysts. Because it’s all about resale and numbers and data. But I just don’t believe that. I think “, the retail trade, but also the customers, want to be advised in our shops by someone who embodies and radiates the brand and who knows the collection very well. If you really engage with the customers themselves, you can build a lot of trust. That is “It’s a very complex process that shouldn’t be skimped on. And there’s room for that through the decisions we’ve made. Precisely because we can say that the trading arrangements in place and our order flow are working as they were once laid down.”
That sounds like a pretty well-thought-out strategy that will bring plenty of balance to the brand even over the turbulent past two years. From 2016 to now, sales have increased tenfold, to over 30 million this year, and eight employees have grown into a team of 100 people. The goal is to keep growing and become a global brand. A great challenge for Fabienne Chapot’s team. Weekenborg’s conclusion: “Since all processes are standardized and integrated, I can qualitatively concentrate on the areas that are important now. And I think that for me as CFO that is also the key in this industry. You really have to understand where the added value lies. For us, but above all for those who buy and sell our products”.