Eric is proud. Proud of the teamwork and young people around him, proud of his target market, proud of the quality clothes he sells at an acceptable price. And proud of the shops he opened at a time when everyone was putting the brakes on. Eric: "I started in 2010 and slowly but surely we expanded Dstrezzed. Now we sell our clothes internationally and we have expanded our team considerably over the years, including marketing people and IT people. Cooperation is the key to our success. Cooperation and courage. During the Corona period, I chose to open shops in good locations, against the prevailing sentiment. Where the fashion industry was in dire straits, I saw opportunities. We now have A-locations in major cities like Maastricht, Den Bosch, Utrecht and Antwerp. That was a conscious choice; if you can continue in A1 locations, you work on your brand awareness. Of course, you can invest a lot of money in billboards, but those shops are also a very good marketing tool to keep our fans loyal to us. And there are more and more of them! Step by step I want to expand further, in that respect I see the whole world as my playing field."
Against the current
"How I got to this point? By rowing against the tide and using my common sense. But also by working with the right people and right partners. By now I have become wiser through trial and error and with my experience I think I know how to take steps and make decisions. I like working with young people, we can learn a lot from each other. In recent years, I have invested heavily in IT, we built our own webshop and platform and are working more and more data-driven. That way, we can serve our customers better and better. I can tell you that there really is a lot of love in that. But the most important thing remains the basis: our clothes, good and beautiful products. Because if that's not right, nothing is right for us."
Engagement
"One of the partners we work with is Xolv. Funny, I met Paul van Uden at a meeting in Rotterdam and we knew each other from a long time ago. We had a chat, you know: 'What are you doing these days?' We decided to have lunch one day and that's how the collaboration came about. I run all my insurance through Xolv and I am seriously satisfied with their service. To be fair, the start-up with the insurances could have been faster for me at the time, but that has turned out fine. I have a lot of contact with Fred, we spar about figures and Xolv thinks along with everything. That relieves my worries, it's in trusted hands. And it's always nice to see each other; at the opening of the shop in Den Bosch, Jelle and Paul from Xolv were present. That says something about the commitment. And if they want to look neat, of course they can come to Dstrezzed!"
