The German clothing supplier Drykorn continues to position itself internationally.
In addition to its showroom presence during Paris Fashion Week, the company celebrated its return at the Pitti Uomo menswear fair last week. In addition, Drykorn is presenting its men’s collection at the Copenhagen fashion fair CIFF for the first time in August, as the brand announced on Tuesday. Scandinavia is one of the pants specialist’s current focus markets.
In an interview with FashionUnited, Benny Jandl, Chief Sales Officer, and Sebastian Ross, Head of Sales International, explain what exact expansion plans Drykorn has and what the company is currently doing.
Drykorn is back on Pitti Uomo. You also want to underscore your international ambitions. Which markets are you particularly targeting?
Horse: We are just about to enter the Scandinavian market. This is the next big market for us. We have been working with an agency in Denmark since April and will start selling for the spring/summer 2024 season. In addition, we start in Greece and Cyprus. We have been in contact with a very good partner in Greece for years, who is currently using his momentum and will approach the market in a focused manner.
Dry grain expands:
- Scandinavia: For the Scandinavian market, Drykorn has partnered with The Agency. The commercial agency, managed by Morten Faarbaek, has worked with brands such as Tiger of Sweden, Sand Copenhagen and Les Deux. The focus of the collaboration is on menswear for Denmark and Sweden.
- Greece and Cyprus:For Greece and Cyprus, Drykorn works with Sports & Fashion Freedom. The sales partner from Athens also has brands such as The Kooples, CPCompany, Aspesi and Missoni in its portfolio.
Furthermore, through our presence with a showroom in Paris, we are still in the process of positioning ourselves more broadly in France. In SS23 we also had our first experiences with Parisian department stores and it will become a mainstay for us as a brand – we want to serve the Paris area there, but also position ourselves significantly more internationally.
Which markets are currently strong for you and which are more difficult?
Horse: The pandemic hasn’t actually changed it. We are very stable in all of our markets. Germany and the Netherlands are our two strongest markets. But the smaller markets – Belgium, Austria and Switzerland – are also super constant for us.
Jandl: You just notice that we have our ‘base’ there. We come from Germany and then you also have the structure around Germany, which is very learned, stable and strong.
The nice thing is that we can approach the topic of internationalization step by step, but are not forced to push into these markets. We learn something new every season and can thus approach the respective countries in a conscious and focused manner. We use the momentum, the desire and energy to want to make a difference, coupled with the tailwind of our owner-managed company.
What pieces are you doing well at the moment?
Horse: The topic of formalwear is very strong with us, but young and reinterpreted – cool combinations that go in the direction of ‘young formalwear’. The pants are super stable.
Jandl: The entire ready-to-wear area is very strong – from split suits to pleated trousers to double-breasted suits, and of course the current trend with knitted polo shirts and knitted shirts. It is precisely in this combination that one notices the readiness for a more casual silhouette in the pants – it no longer has to be very narrow.
What problems are you and your partners currently dealing with?
Jandl: There are two perspectives we need to look at – trade and procurement. In the direction of trade, we notice that in SS23 one or the other partner still has stocks or that the plans were too optimistic. The partners in particular who are also active online wanted to take the euphoric momentum from the pandemic years with them, but have now been slowed down a bit.
And in procurement?
Jandl: The procurement side was also extremely challenging for us. This is currently calming down a bit, but we remain vigilant and try to keep flexibility high – the last few years have shown us that challenges can arise at any time and remain a permanent challenge.
With production facilities in Ukraine and producers and suppliers, for example in the earthquake area in southern Turkey, we had to be able to act at short notice. Due to long-standing partnerships and experience, we always get it solved in the end for the most part.
Peek & Cloppenburg’s bankruptcy also impacted some brands. How do you feel about working with the Düsseldorf fashion retailer?
Jandl: We are in close contact and have known those responsible for a long time. It’s never nice to experience such cuts – especially on a personal level.
From the commercial side, we are largely secure, so the focus is now on gradually and above all continuing to build up the whole thing together and to have a close partnership as usual. We’ve never overpaced things, so we’re positive about the coming seasons.
Horse: The nice thing is that we don’t really have that dependency. We are often attested that we work together “with all the big ones”, but dependency is very low, especially abroad.
We are super market-penetrated both domestically and existing abroad. We have a number of smaller dealers who are doing very well and who, despite the not so easy start – also because of the climatic conditions – have been ordering very well again this season. This is actually a kind of wave movement. We have a few big ones who just stumbled a bit, but a number of small ones who are doing very well. And also in such a season or in such a phase in which many retailers keep their budgets rather tight, rely on us and rather throw out a brand that may not deliver well and that is not so reliable.
Jandl: That was also a lesson learned from the last few years – from the Corona situation. We were always present, we exchanged a lot with the customers and had a certain reliability. We have paid into the partnership and are keeping the flexibility high.
How was the first half of the year for you?
Jandl: The first half of 2023 was fully satisfactory. It came via a very strong pre-order. Reorders were ambiguous. NOS and Ready-to-Wear strong, seasonal items started late due to weather conditions.
What is the outlook for the rest of the year?
Jandl: Autumn/Winter 2023 is still difficult to estimate. Retailers are currently proceeding with a certain degree of caution, since SS23 is still putting some pressure on stocks. But I’m totally confident. The summery weather drives the end consumers outside and will charge them with a positive mood – then the desire for fresh clothes will come again and ensure good results for the retailers. The HW delivery is running to the fullest and brings a lot of good new input.