Almost a year has passed since the parent company of the denim brand Kings of Indigo went bankrupt and nine months after the relaunch. The brand has found a new owner in the German entrepreneur couple Kathrin and Sebastian Proft and is building its future again.
While Kings of Indigo is still the same on the outside, on the inside it is “100 percent a different company,” its managing director for the Netherlands, Mariska Stolwijk, told FashionUnited by phone. Kings of Indigo is part of the couple’s Proft company and joins the Feli + Hans, Stapf and Dollinger Shops brands. All brands have a strong focus on sustainability. “All partners had to be brought together again,” explains Stolwijk, “that’s a lot of work. The result is that we are growing in a new way where many values remain the same, but other things have had to be adjusted.”
With the arrival of the new owners, a lot of commercial knowledge has flowed into Kings of Indigo. Sebastian Proft also works as Sales and Finance Director, while Kathrin Proft mainly works behind the scenes for Kings of Indigo. In addition, the structure of the brand has also changed since last year. For example, sales in several markets were taken over internally. In the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria, for example, the brand no longer works with agencies. In Germany it controls a larger area and only works with two agencies. The company is also working on new markets in Northern and Southern Europe. “We look for agencies there, also because they are closer to the customers and there are often cultural differences anyway.”
Kings of Indigo: What happens next?
Kings of Indigo has also started working with several new suppliers. For example, the company has started producing in North Macedonia and Ukraine. Stolwijk admits that trading with Ukraine is not always easy, for example because not every shipment arrives in the country, but Kings of Indigo receives a lot of gratitude from its Ukrainian partners. “Fortunately, we are on the border with Slovakia, so further away from the conflict. People are very happy that we started working together at exactly this time,” says Stolwijk. She also says that the new owners are trying to support the people there in other ways than just doing business with the country. “That’s very nice,” she says.
More diverse products will also appear from these suppliers, among others, but also from the rest of the production chain. In fact, Kings of Indigo also wants to expand its range of product categories, such as knitwear, blazers and outerwear. What will also change within the collections is the introduction of pre-collections. In fact, a pre-fall collection is set to begin from FW24, so there is a wider spread and Kings of Indigo is “more relevant at the moment with the changing seasons”. “This allows us to better respond to the needs of retailers. It is sometimes difficult for stores to get all these goods at once. “The seasons also change.” At the time of the telephone conversation, it is still a very warm autumn in the Netherlands. “Now you might want to wear a blouse, but in a few weeks it will be knitwear. And if we want to work more with southern countries where summers are longer, a pre-collection helps.”
Ultimately, it’s about Kings of Indigo becoming a profitable brand. “We can be sustainable, but if you don’t look at it commercially, it’s worthless. “You shouldn’t put commercial value above sustainability, but you have to be a profitable brand to make a difference,” summarizes Stolwijk. With the changes in the company, the managing director hopes that consumers will “vote for Kings of Indigo with their wallets”.
This translated article originally appeared on FashionUnited.nl.