McGregor has found a new home. The brand will be continued by Clé Enneking, CEO of Steppin’ Out and The English Hatter. Enneking is supported by Ellen van Klinken, who has been the brand’s creative director since 2019. Enneking has taken over the licensing rights from McGregor, he said in an interview with FashionUnited at his office in the Dutch city of Den Bosch.
First we should take a step back. McGregor made a comeback in 2019 under the wings of fashion veterans Fred Gehring and Ludo Onnink. But due to the Corona crisis, the shops were soon closed again and the entrepreneurs decided to discontinue the brand. Enneking, who knows the entrepreneurs well, heard that too. Enneking didn’t want McGregor to disappear from the scene. The trademark rights were eventually sold to a licensor and Enneking received the licensing rights.
As a result, McGregor has not missed a step – no collection has been left behind, assures Enneking, but also Van Klinken to FashionUnited. “Actually, we don’t want anyone to notice that we’re carrying on the brand now.” It helps that Van Klinken has been responsible for designing the collections since 2019. She explains that she felt she hadn’t worked with the brand before Having closed when it became apparent that the previous owners were about to leave, she is pleased that the brand will be continued.The brand will once again offer the high-quality basic items that consumers and retailers have come to expect from McGregor.Price levels will also increase do not change.
Enneking describes McGregor as a brand that has had a bit of bad luck. The brand had slipped into bankruptcy under different owners. She was supposed to be saved by entrepreneur Rens van de Schoor, but then he gave up. Then Gehring and Onnink took over, but then came the pandemic. “It wasn’t the brand. Still not.” Enneking also has confidence in the brand. “She is and will remain a household name.”
The very first collection created under the leadership of Enneking and Van Klinken will be launched soon. This is the spring-summer collection 2022. The winter collection consists of 100 items and the summer collection of 90 items. “It’s the slim version of McGregor,” says Van Klinken. They plan to expand the collection at some point, but the motto is: “Not too fast, not too big”. According to Enneking, McGregor therefore focuses on the “must-haves”. “Clothes that every man should have in his closet like polos, chinos, jeans, shirts and sweaters.” McGregor needs to start appealing to a slightly younger man, but that’s more a matter of marketing than making big changes to the collection, Enneking said.
The fashion brand McGregor finds a new home
The Den Bosch office has several McGregor archives. For example, several campaign posters from the brand’s past hang on the wall in the entryway, and in the back there is a cupboard and shelves with items from the brand’s previous collections. The team even searched eBay for real gems from McGregor’s past. All this should help with the inspiration for the brand. “We really want to let the heritage speak for itself.”
The collection is mainly sold through its own channels. For example, Enneking took over the branch in the Dutch outlet Batavia Stad and the brand’s web shop. McGregor will soon be available in Steppin’ Out stores. Online, the products will be available on various marketplaces such as Zalando, Veepee, Iboot, Limango and Otrium, but there are no wholesale partners with physical stores yet. Enneking hopes that will be the case before summer SS23. “We want to put this on hold for now,” he says. He thinks that could happen in a year. Ultimately, the dream is to make McGregor an international player like he was a few years ago Enneking’s unbroken enthusiasm will definitely not be missing.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.