PARIS — Danish menswear model Les Deux Is constant its progress streak with huge enlargement plans for each Europe and the U.S.
The privately held Copenhagen-based firm launched its 2024 numbers in early April, reporting gross revenue was up 13 million to 13.9 million euros, with earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, at 8.26 million up from 8 million euros within the 2023 fiscal 12 months.
It follows a gentle 12-month stream of retail openings, together with 25 new shops-in-shop all over the world at key retailers corresponding to Galeries Lafayette in France and De Bijenkorf within the Netherlands. It additionally entered Nordstrom within the U.S., the place it already had a presence at Bloomingdale’s.
Chief govt officer Kristoffer Haapanen and chief model officer Andreas von der Heide are the duo behind Les Deux. Launched in 2011, it’s now carried in additional than 1,200 retailers worldwide.
The U.S. is now the model’s sixth largest market, and exhibits no indicators of slowing down thanks partially to a profitable three way partnership with Blackwatch Company with Marc Gammiero and Marc Psarolis that has helped construct the model within the U.S. during the last two years with a deal with unbiased retailers.
“The entire private relationship with the outlets [strategy] that we’ve succeeded with in Europe, we wish to do within the U.S.,” von der Heide mentioned in an interview.
Whereas post-pandemic communication patterns can facilitate gross sales, von der Heide finds that trend is “ultimately, regardless of the way you take a look at this business, a ‘folks’ enterprise.” Living proof: the wildly common collaboration the model did with Yale College, which got here by way of a kismet connection.
As a part of its firm mission, Les Deux invests in what it calls its “Legacy Program,” to assist neighborhood works in native markets. To mark the enlargement in New York, it refurbished a basketball court docket. Von der Heide and workers have been taking pictures hoops one evening when Michael Feinberg, level guard and former captain of Yale’s basketball group, occurred to hitch in.
The model had been in search of a collegiate collaboration to strengthen its Ivy League aesthetic, and Feinberg linked the corporate and faculty. The result’s a group of logoed hoodies, half-zip fleeces, basketball jerseys, varsity jackets and preppy knitwear. The primary capsule debuted final 12 months, the second dropped in March.
General, the model performs on the codes of prep and collegiate put on, blended with informal avenue fashion. However for all of the T-shirts, basketball shorts and coach’s jackets, Les Deux’s bestselling merchandise is a short-sleeved lace button-down. The recognition of such a chunk speaks to a rising curiosity in additional fashion-forward items for males, one of many few vivid spot classes at departments shops as luxurious gross sales have slowed total.
“Sooner or later we’ll look towards extra formalwear,” von der Heide added.
A glance from Les Deux.
Courtesy Les Deux
With manufacturing at 37 suppliers in Europe and China, the corporate remains to be formulating a technique to deal with potential import hurdles for the U.S. market. For the time being von der Heide is taking it in stride, noting that the enterprise has already weathered COVID-19, the struggle in Ukraine and the spike in rates of interest over the previous few years.
“We now have at all times come out on the opposite aspect, higher than earlier than the disaster,” he mentioned. “We’re going to sit down with our companions.…We don’t have all the data but. I feel there shall be necessity for locating options each from the U.S. aspect and likewise from the Europe and China aspect.”
The model launched in Australia this season. And whereas the U.S. stays a progress area, tariff jitters are additionally pushing the founders to solidify their positioning within the close by markets in Europe. Germany, France and the U.Okay. are specific targets.
The corporate opened two new gross sales places of work in Paris and Düsseldorf, Germany, to strengthen its presence in these territories. It’s also transferring gross sales in-house for the U.Okay. and an workplace in Munich opened final 12 months. Transferring gross sales in-house has strengthened outcomes.
“From a strategic standpoint, it simply is sensible as a result of we’ve now reached a degree of turnover the place we’d like our personal folks on board,” he mentioned. “We see a constructive change when we’ve our personal gross sales [operations]. We might be extra available in the market, extra on the street, and be there extra for the purchasers. That technique actually works.”
A glance from Les Deux.
Courtesy Les Deux
Les Deux now has 4 stand-alone shops: three in Denmark and one in Oslo. Plans to open in Paris are within the works, with an eye fixed towards the fourth quarter of 2025.
The corporate will even proceed to broaden its footprint in malls by way of shop-in-shop areas.
“Each time we construct our shop-in-shop surroundings, we see excessive site visitors and we see some actually excessive turnover,” he mentioned. “We’ll focus in creating the entire shop-in-shop expertise.”
Whereas the Yale assortment is unisex, the model has no plan to launch a girls’s line.
“Contemplating the market proper now — we’re actually good at menswear and we’re specializing in the product, on the model. With the basketball [positioning], we’ve turn into very clear and really strict on what we do properly,” he mentioned.
A glance from Les Deux.
Courtesy Les Deux
