At a time when many fashion brands are struggling with a volatile global economy and intense competition, Maximilian Böck, managing director of German fashion brand Marc O’Polo, is sticking to his goal: making the company a truly global presence.
Böck, whose family led the brand, which was founded in Stockholm in 1967, to its current level of recognition, has systematically initiated a transformation process since he took over the company. Under his leadership, the brand aims to achieve annual sales of one billion euros. As managing director, he drives international expansion, the modernization of the brand identity and the anchoring of sustainability in Marc O’Polo’s corporate structure.
A family legacy
Maximilian Böck’s connection to Marc O’Polo is deeply rooted in his family history. It is a story that is closely intertwined with the brand’s expansion into the German market. His father, Werner Böck, met the Swedish founders of Marc O’Polo at a men’s fashion fair in Cologne in 1968.
Werner Böck, himself the son of a Rosenheim fashion retail family, then founded Marc O’Polo Deutschland Vertriebs GmbH when he was just in his mid-twenties and became the majority owner many years later. His son Maximilian grew up in this entrepreneurial environment and as a child saw his father fly to Stockholm once a week to work on product development and become increasingly involved with the brand. In 1997, Böck Senior finally moved the company headquarters from Stockholm to Stephanskirchen in Germany.
However, his father always made it clear to him whether he would work in the company, says Böck in an article about the generational change in the business magazine Manager Magazin. Böck earned a master’s degree in business administration. At that point it was not a given that he would work in the family business or in fashion. He was also interested in career paths as a controller or management consultant. At the beginning of his career, he also gained international experience through various stays abroad, including at the KPMG auditing firm in New York.
This time gave him a broader insight into global business practices before delving deeper into the operational aspects of fashion retail. He deepened his understanding of retail through various positions in purchasing at the Düsseldorf department store chain Peek & Cloppenburg KG. These experiences gave him a mix of financial understanding, international perspective and practical retail experience that would later prove valuable.
Promotion to the management level: from co-pilot to CEO
“I was already on Marc O’Polo’s supervisory board during my time at Peek & Cloppenburg,” Böck recalled in an interview with Manager Magazin. “So I was familiar with the key issues, the board members before me and the history of the company.”
He began working operationally at Marc O’Polo in 2017; his first role within the company was as a buyer for the brand’s own stores. He later took over responsibility for the entire retail, store network and e-commerce of the family business.
In June 2020, he became Chief Retail Officer and Co-Managing Director, working alongside then Managing Director Dieter Holzer. This preparation phase enabled Böck to fully immerse himself in the strategic direction of the brand and day-to-day business.
A year later, at the age of 32, Böck took over the role of Chief Executive Officer from Marc O’Polo and thus responsibility for more than 2,000 employees. His previous focus as Chief Retail Officer on all business-to-consumer channels, including e-commerce, enabled him to drive the brand’s digital development and omnichannel strategy. His appointment marked a generational change, with his father, Werner Böck, remaining majority shareholder and chairman of the board, according to the company website.
“My father has not been operationally active at Marc O’Polo for more than ten years,” noted Böck in the Manager Magazine article. “The fact that I didn’t take over directly from him I think made it easier for me.”
On the way to becoming a global premium brand
Maximilian Böck’s vision for Marc O’Polo is clearly global. He aims to make the Germany-based brand a leading modern and sustainable lifestyle brand in the global premium segment.
Under Böck, digitalization is an integral part of the business model. While Marc O’Polo invests significantly in its own online presence, the company does not pursue a digital-first strategy but also attaches great importance to stationary channels, he explained in a podcast interview with OMR, a digital marketing platform. “Only online is not the route we want to take. Our customers can decide for themselves where they want to shop.” This omnichannel approach accommodates consumers’ diverse preferences and ensures a seamless shopping experience in both physical stores and digital platforms.
Sustainability is another central pillar of Böck’s strategy. According to its own definition, the company offers almost 100 percent sustainable products, as shown in Marc O’Polo’s sustainability report. The company has also received “Leader” status from the Fair Wear Foundation initiative, which specializes in workers’ rights, which further underlines the company’s commitment.
In February, Marc O’Polo was one of the few fashion companies of its size in the world to receive certification as a B Corporation and hopes to set an example in the industry.
“The renowned B Corp certification makes it visible and measurable that responsibility and economic success must be considered together,” said Maximilian Böck in a statement. “We see this certification as a clear signal – and an invitation to our industry to think about corporate responsibility holistically.”
Growth trajectory
Under the leadership of Maximilian Böck, Marc O’Polo achieved significant growth and achieved significant milestones despite difficult market conditions. In the 2021/2022 financial year, the Marc O’Polo Group achieved sales of 539 million euros, which corresponds to an increase of 39 percent compared to the previous year and means that the company exceeded the sales mark of half a billion euros for the first time.
This strong performance continued, with the company achieving net sales of €630 million in the last financial year. Despite the difficult market environment, it has grown by 60 percent in the past five years, said Böck in the OMR podcast in August.
“The market hasn’t helped us, but we’ve always had a good base. We’re a great brand, with a super-solid financial position,” said the CEO proudly. “We turned a lot of screws in parallel, not just two or three, but hundreds.” Under him, for example, product development has become more data-driven, customer-centric and sustainable. In the area of marketing, the approach to customers was changed and the Facebook page and the web shop were redesigned.
Future vision
Germany is traditionally Marc O’Polo’s largest market, followed by Austria, Switzerland and Poland. When it comes to products, knitwear and puffer coats are among the brand’s bestsellers. The growth in the menswear sector, which now generates around 40 percent of Marc O’Polo’s sales, also contributed to the success. The Marc O’Polo denim line, aimed at a younger demographic, as well as the footwear and accessories divisions, have also performed successfully, indicating a broader appeal of the Marc O’Polo lifestyle concept.
A key driver of growth was the brand’s international expansion. Although the company is already represented in 60 countries with 2,200 sales points worldwide, Böck admits that there are still more territories to conquer if the group wants to move further towards its self-imposed goal of one billion in sales.
Currently in his sights are markets such as Thailand or the United Arab Emirates, where Marc O’Polo is exploring potential partnerships with local companies, said Böck in the OMR podcast. With the USA, he prefers to wait given the customs uncertainty.
The Böck family took over the troubled denim label Closed in October. The former Marc O’Polo managing director Dieter Holzer is now supposed to bring the Hamburg company back into calmer waters. It remains to be seen to what extent this acquisition will play a role in Marc O’Polo’s operations.
A pragmatic CEO
Böck embodies a leadership style that is both objective and approachable. In Stephanskirchen he is often called “Maxi”. His background and statements suggest a team-oriented and down-to-earth perspective. He wants to be open and authentic and doesn’t believe that CEOs have to be “tough”.
“In the end, it’s not just the CEO who decides, but the team,” said Böck in the OMR podcast about his entrepreneurial success.
Böck also sees his job as bringing the right people together. “The corporate culture is extremely important to us; we have been investing in it for decades, even before my time. It is something special to work here,” said Böck. This allows the company to attract motivated top talent to Upper Bavaria.
He calls joining the family business a life decision in which it was clear to him that he would also have to accept hardships. For example, after becoming a father three years ago, he was unable to take parental leave like many of his friends, he said in Manager Magazine.
“I don’t question it. I have decided on the task and responsibility – a great motivation for me. I see the job as a privilege.”
This article was written with the help of AI.
