Dutch denim brand Petrol Industries has newly created the position of country manager, Germany, and has filled it with Bertram M. Laufer. Laufer is familiar with the denim industry. The 44-year-old worked as sales director international of Pioneer Jeans. Previously, Laufer spent six years at Colorado Denim, most recently as brand manager. Before joining Colorado, Laufer held several leading positions, including stops at Lee, Big Star Jeans and Scotch & Soda. We asked him about his new position and plans for the future.
Why did you switch to Petrol Industries?
Petrol Industries is an exciting brand with potential. The roots of Petrol lie in the Netherlands where the brand was founded in 1989. Since 2002 Petrol Industries has strategically developed the textile assortment. Petrol Men was conceived and developed as a collection that is retail productive. The collection consists of three categories: Classics, custom and collectables. Petrol Men stands for craftmanship, perfect fit and the raw denim look. NOS and seasonal denims as well as a Basic Essential tops collection form the basis of the collection. Motor-centric thinking drives our direction.
What potential does the brand have?
Today Petrol Industries is distributed in more than 25 European countries and is experiencing dynamic growth. New in the Petrol family is the women’s collection! What we offer our trading partners with the Petrol Women Collection: Conditions individually tailored to the partner, four color drops/delivery dates per season, a seasonally adjusted basic essentials capsule, a b2b platform, an onsite support from our agencies and customer service. With these tools we have enormous potential to make Petrol an important player.
Can you tell us more about your position?
The position of country manager was newly created to serve the key market Germany even more focused. As Petrol has grown dynamically in recent years, this position was created. In addition to Germany, the focus is on Austria and Switzerland. Our home market, the Netherlands, is of course still a very strong market. The brand is active throughout Europe, with the Benelux countries, Germany and France as its main markets.
What are your plans in the new position?
Petrol Industries has a clear vision for the coming years. This vision must be implemented in every market. Petrol has enormous potential in all segments. The brand stands for "value for money" in the mid-price segment. Petrol offers dealers competitive conditions. Denim is the clear focus. With the launch of the Women Collection, a new building block has been added. A further step in the expansion strategy is a 360° marketing strategy from 2020. Our showroom and headquarters of Petrol Industries Clothing GmbH in Neuss is currently undergoing renovation. For the new season we are ready for our trade partners.
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