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[Nettavisen:] "In the future, there will be a series of bankruptcies in the fashion industry and other industries, and only those merchants will survive that time," says Ola Mæle, investor and co-owner of Nettavisen's fashion chain Follestad.
Mælle has been engaged in the Norwegian fashion industry for nearly 40 years. One of the founders of Bik Bok and Poco Loco. We then use the company's Voice of Europe and the chains concept Match, Vic, and Boys of Europe.
After a decade of rest, he returned to the industry as owner of the Follestad chain.
– These will die.
He expects clothing stores and other shops to fly in the next few years. Some chains such as PM, Simpler Life, and Spent have already broke down, and many stores have many stores.
– Someone was able to adapt to change by finding a niche, but many people have disappeared. People who do not have a clear profile or do not gamble online will die, Mæle says.
But he does not think it will be because of competition with online stores.
"E-commerce is a challenge. In the last few years, the industry's biggest problem was not e-commerce, but it was an overcompletion of stores, and it was a lot of it," says Mæle, who now thinks there are simply too many clothing stores in Norway.
"It's not just about fashion, it's about consumer electronics, sports, shoes, interiors, etc. In Norway, we have twice as many trade areas as other European countries," he says.
obscurity
With bankruptcy, fashion neighbors believe that big chains are trying to reduce the number of stores.
"I expect big national players to drastically reduce the number of stores in the future, but in the long run, it is better for us to stay," Mel says, waiting for the shed to end soon.
– It's like building a house. When the market collapses, everyone immediately brakes. Over the next two to three years, he says we have seen a lot of adaptation in the industry.
He thinks the most vulnerable people have an obscure profile.
"In many cases, you can go to Zara and get that item at half price. People who do not change say they die.
Jeans and dresses
He creates specialty shops for Yme, which specializes in sneakers, as an example of a shop that has been successful in finding a niche market. The same goes for existing fashion stores such as Trondheim's Retro or Bogart. There is a shop with a profile that reminds me of Follestad.
"Follestad's niche market is a good product for adults and young people.We sell at an affordable price, but at a fair price.With us, the cost of the lawsuit is about 5,000 kroner and Nedre Slotgate is 25,000 You can find real luxury shops. "
Follestad is a fascinating niche – the men's fashion, which has been the strongest growth in recent years.
– Men's fashion has increased, but it's from zero. Measure and laugh.
"Men of my generation have worn hats, coats and dresses, and that's all. Now men are more interested in clothes. We are now selling overcoat jackets like Uber, Parajumpers and Canada Goose.
He does not think growth will slow down as the first.
"New products and new sectors still exist and the fashion industry has to keep up with the news, I've been together for so long and I see the same thing happening again, it's in the fashion business," the same asshole, new wrap.
No at 250 stores
When Mèle in the late 1970s began in the fashion world, street scenes were dominated by clothing stores, and their fashion for young people was not found.
It changed when Mæle and four other partners started the Bik Bok group with brands such as Bik Bok, Poco Loco, Poco Lino and Poco Classico.
At the same time new competitors, especially Hennes and Mauritz and Vera Moda, have emerged in Sweden and Denmark. These chains are now emerging in most markets, and formerly dominant merchants have disappeared.
"When I started the garment industry, we had Samtex, Qualitex, Herrcon, Contex, Texpartner and Teksil chains, each of which was boring with 100-200 stores," says Mæle, almost everyone but Texcon has disappeared.
I even lost control of the hemisphere to the Bik Book group in the late 80s. Then we launched the concept of the chain of the Voice of Europe and Match, Vic and Boys in Europe with apparel brands like Jean Paul and Henry Choice.
I entered the coolest.
In 2003, he sold his chain to Olav Nils Sunde, an entrepreneur of Color Line, but returned from the fashion industry in 2014 when he bought over 50% of Follestad's stock.
It happened after Bengt Follestad and his son William took care of the investors in relation to the generation change.
"When I was working at Voice, Follestad was the nicest merchant I know, and when I tried to show Bengt the collection, he knew exactly what he should have and was not interested in buying anything else. I realized then that I went in, telling Mæle and laughing again.
Follestad currently has 11 stores in Greater Oslo. They do not plan to expand to other parts of Norway but look at the possibility of entry into Sweden.
"There is a store called Ströms in Stockholm and it's tempting to translate 100 million krona into a shop in Stockholm, but entering Sweden is a big step, and we have to find the right reason."
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