With four departments for clothing and shoes, its own atelier, a brasserie and a café, the Roetgerink fashion house in Enter, Netherlands, can be described as a place of experience. For more than 165 years, the family business has focused on fashion, shoes and the well-being of visitors. Business is booming, but how do you fill 6,500 square feet with an assortment of 450 brands in different styles? FashionUnited asked Roetgerink’s women’s trends buyer, Esmee Bussink, how she approaches the topic for the upcoming winter season.
How would you describe Roetgerink’s style in a few words?
At Roetgerink you will find hundreds of Dutch and international fashion brands both in our physical store and in our webshop. As far as the range is concerned, we follow fashion trends. Whatever your taste, whether young or old, everyone will find what they are looking for at Roetgerink. You can come to us to dress for everyday life, from leisure to business, but also for a celebration such as a wedding. You can also complement your outfit with a pair of nice shoes.
I myself shop for the ‘R-Base Women’. Fashion fans will always find the latest in our ‘R-Base’. The trendy brands can be found as soon as you walk down the stairs. A fashionable journey of discovery full of different styles begins there. Our huge denim collection, for example, is a true paradise for denim freaks. ‘R-Base’ women’s brands include Airforce, Alix The Label, Fabienne Chapot, Geisha, G-Star, Harper & Yve, Khujo, Msch Copenhagen, Studio Amaya and most recently Neo Noir.
Where are you in the purchasing process and how is the implementation going?
In mid-December we started preparing for the new order season for autumn 2024. Budgets are always distributed globally. They are then fine-tuned based on how the current season is going and how the brand is performing, combined with what we see at the trade shows. The first orders were placed in December, primarily for coats and items from the pre-fall collections.
I’m currently working on three collections. The current winter collection 2023 is still on sale. The spring 2024 collection has largely been purchased and is already arriving. We use short-term suppliers to supplement what we are still missing or what is new on the market. After all, we are already busy preparing for winter 2024/2025. We have to constantly change gears, but that also makes my job super exciting. No day is the same as the previous one.
Do you also buy based on feeling?
Yes, of course! Especially in the trend department, it is very important to not only follow the trends, but also your own gut feeling. Last year’s success does not always guarantee success next year. But you can’t just buy based on your gut feeling. I keep an eye on the numbers and adjust them if necessary. These numbers are important for economic success and are also used for forecasting and budgeting for the coming shopping season.
How do you get inspiration before placing an order?
First of all, by being on social media a lot. Instagram and TikTok are now the most important channels. I follow brands, influencers, but also international shops. We also regularly attend trend presentations, such as those by trend researchers Christine Boland and Truus Dokter.
We also get inspiration at the various fashion fairs and see what the brands are introducing. We visit the Modefabriek in Amsterdam and the Preview Women trade fair of the Cast trading platform in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands. We used to visit the international trade fairs in Berlin and Copenhagen, but they either no longer exist or are no longer that important to us. We typically follow a brand for a few seasons before purchasing it for the store. So we often don’t specifically look for new brands at trade fairs, but sometimes a gem suddenly appears that we are really convinced of. The trips we take to Milan, Munich and Copenhagen, for example, are also very inspiring for us as a purchasing team.
Do the brands you carry still have a say in how their store square footage is designed?
They would like to do that, but it’s our square footage. We know our own business and our target group from A to Z and can therefore best judge how to best present the collections – for the best result. We also have ‘soft shops’ with some of our key brands and shelves, hangers and display materials from the brands we work with to create the best brand experience. This way a brand has a bit more say. The collaboration with our suppliers is generally very close and pleasant. We both want the best result.
Have you been working with the same brands for a long time or do you change regularly?
Roetgerink is very loyal and very loyal to the brands we carry. We change the smaller fashion labels more often than the larger brands.
How do you notice inflation and how do you deal with it?
If it’s a real eye-catcher, we find that customers pay more for it. The quality and uniqueness of an item are increasingly buying arguments for our customers. We feel inflation, like the whole world. Prices are rising, but we are also seeing them stabilizing now. We had a very high peak and now it’s leveling off a little bit. We are seeing a price reduction for some brands.
Do you pass on price increases to customers or do you compromise on profit margins?
Most brands work with recommended retail prices for consumers, we have no influence on this. The online shops have made prices extremely transparent, which is why we consider surcharges for a higher margin not only to be unfair to customers, but also not sensible in terms of our competitive position.
What other developments will impact the purchasing process this year?
Given all the uncertainties on a global scale, we have been facing high inflation and rising costs for consumers and businesses for some time. That’s why we have to look more critically at all the costs that arise. Think about the logistics costs, personnel costs and of course the procurement costs.
Do you mainly take the initiative yourself or do the brands also do the same?
We ourselves are held responsible for this. I even think that some suppliers of branded goods are blaming retailers too much for the problem. An example of this is that the logistics of shipping are so fast that the items come out of the packaging in our logistics center crumpled. Then we first have to steam and iron them so that they are presentable in the store.
What do you expect from this season?
Winter 2024/2025 will be a very nice season. The qualities and materials become more important: richer fabrics, more luxurious materials. A little less hassle in the color palette and prints. Jeans will return, as will be seen in next spring’s collections. I’m really looking forward to it.
What role does sustainability play in this process?
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important. Customer awareness is becoming ever greater. Most of the brands we work with are taking the lead in this space themselves. We sell a number of brands that are “green”, but I think sustainability is such a big issue worldwide, manufacturers are already working on it in different areas. In addition, price still plays an important role in the purchasing process.
This translated article previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl