After the flagship in Amsterdam, a second Mr. Marvis store was opened on Thursday in the Schuttershofstraat in Antwerp. During a visit, FashionUnited asked co-founder and CEO David Sipkens about further plans.
“As an online brand, we’re used to testing a lot in advance, as is the case with our retail business,” said Sipkens. After our temporary Antwerp store proved successful, we began looking for larger premises in the long term Looking for.”
Between Hermès and Chanel: The new store in Antwerp
The brand chose Antwerp because of its proximity to customers from the Netherlands and its increasing popularity in the neighboring country. “A large part of our target group moves in and around Antwerp, so that seemed to be the best location,” said the co-founder. “In addition, people from the south of the Netherlands often come there to shop”.
The new store is located on Schuttershofstraat, between luxury stores such as Hermès and Chanel: “We are in a different price segment, but Mr. Marvis is also positioning itself as a premium brand and our focus is on quality. There are also other young, hip brands like Ace&Tate on the street,” says Sipkens. “Our target group is very diverse. Of course, we mainly focus on men, but sometimes women also find their way to us. They are looking for high-quality shorts and trousers with a good fit, which are available in different colours.”
Unchanged model
Mr. Marvis prides itself on never changing the fit so consumers can continue to find the perfect style in stores next season. Instead of designing a new collection every season, the brand focuses on a single end product: shorts and trousers. However, new models have been added in recent seasons: “For summer 2022 we are launching the linen shorts, ideal for hot weather. Last winter there were two new models of long pants. However, the product itself does not change in terms of cut. The colors also remain the same, although more are being added. Although we offer many colors, the best seller is still the safe dark blue,” said the Mr Marvis general manager.
Online, the brand serves a large number of markets, but there are no major differences in sales: “We offer the same thing everywhere. In the flagships, we show the entire collection. The shop is designed in such a way that customers can see the entire range at a glance can grasp. He can enter directly into the world of Mr. Marvis.”
Slow fashion
“Because the models never change, we don’t have excess inventory. So we don’t do bargains,” says Sipkens. In this way, Mr. Marvis distances himself from the traditional fashion system. They also place high demands on their Portuguese producers: “We have several production partners of different sizes in Portugal, but all are family businesses that have been in the country for generations are business – that’s where we have the best experience. We have a strict code of conduct that they are judged against. It’s about sustainability, but also about human resources policy: a good salary, working conditions… In Portugal it’s usually quite good , compared to Asia for example. We are also working on B-Corp certification. The production method is a very important pillar for us”.
expansion plans
Sipkens does not believe in selling through other retailers, online marketplaces or other channels: “We deliberately chose a direct-to-consumer model where we control everything ourselves. We also want to become active offline ourselves and follow our own ideas of a good customer experience. We want our own stores where we can offer the full Mr. Marvis experience.”
The brand currently employs around seventy people, fifty in the head office and twenty in the stores. Sipkens does not provide any information about capital and sales figures. He also prefers to keep his expansion plans short: “We are now concentrating on our main markets. After Belgium and the Netherlands, these are Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Our plans in Germany and England are becoming more and more concrete. I can only say that we are close to the negotiation phase.”
Mr Marvis will continue to be managed by founders Steven Vrendenbarg, Aafke Tuin and Sipkens himself, as well as COO Carl Brenninkmeijer. They have secured capital through Angel Investments and a sizeable capital injection in 2021. are recent [Fred Gehring und Ludo Onnink](https://fashionunited.de/nachrichten/business/mr-marvis-frueherer-ceo-und-cfo-von-tommy-hilfiger-steige-als-Teilseigner-ein/2022040645962) – Former CEO and CFO of Tommy Hilfiger – came on board as new shareholders. Is it a coincidence that not so long ago, in an interview, Sipkens gave the book “American Dreamer: My Life in Fashion and Business at Tommy Hilfiger” as a reading recommendation? “Fred Gehring was already on my radar, but the rest is pure coincidence. Things can turn out wonderfully in life sometimes. We are very happy that we can now count on their knowledge and experience,” concludes Sipkens.
About Mr Marvis Mr. Marvis is a D2C menswear brand with a focus on shorts and trousers. All products are handmade in Portugal from high-quality materials, in the spirit of slow fashion. The company is currently active across Europe through its online sales channels and through its flagship stores in Amsterdam and Antwerp. Mr. Marvis was founded in 2016 by Aafke Tuin, Steven Vrendenbarg and David Sipkens.
This translated and edited article previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.