G-Star CEO on restructuring: three questions answered

G-Star announced a “strategic restructuring” in early February. The Dutch denim company aims to anticipate changing market dynamics with this move. Following the announcement, some questions remained, which CEO Rob Schilder answered in writing for FashionUnited.

G-Star on shortening lead times: is the brand abandoning seasonal collections for a drop model?

Shortening lead times does not mean we are completely abandoning seasonal collections; it means we are organising our processes to be more flexible and efficient. The goal is to supplement these seasonal collections with drops. This will allow us to respond more quickly to changing market dynamics and consumer behaviour. We will make more targeted and data-driven decisions about assortment, timing and replenishment. However, it is not a switch to a full drop model. It is a hybrid approach, allowing us to better respond to market demands while continuing to serve our wholesale customers optimally.

On the 'consumer-first' strategy: how important are retail partners?

If the impression has been created that we want to sideline our partners, then our communication has been wrong. This is certainly not the case. For us, “consumer-first” primarily means that the end consumer is central to all channels. It is in our interest and that of our partners that we operate more strongly together.

Our strategy is aimed at making the entire chain more agile. This ensures that multi-brand retailers and franchisees also benefit from faster decision-making, better data insights and a more focused product offering. We see that with our traditional collection structure, sold at fixed times of the year, we cannot always offer our partners the stock turn they would desire. We expect to improve this by replenishing more within the season. Partners remain an important part of our distribution model.

On becoming consumer-driven: will partners benefit from shorter lead times?

The strategic simplification is precisely intended to operate closer to the market and respond more quickly to demand. This means we can better forecast, adjust and allocate across all channels.

The goal is not to use speed exclusively for our own channels, but to make the entire organisation more efficient. Simplifying processes and shortening lead times creates more flexibility in production and distribution. This enables us to react faster to successful products, which benefits our wholesale partners just as much as our own channels.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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