Amsterdam, beyond the hype: Market seducing Spanish brands… and putting them to the test

I have been living in Amsterdam for just over four years and, subjectively, I fully understand what it is about this city that attracts both talent and Spanish brands.

Its manageable size, a life that moves between canals and bicycles, and the balance between tradition and modernity in one of the world's most international capitals are all part of its appeal. Its solid economy and constant tourism also contribute to its charm. This has captivated firms like Cold Culture, Nude Project, Alohas, Meller, TwoJeys… and soon Laagam or Hoff.

However, for a growing brand, taking on what could become one of the highest rents in its retail network or opening its first physical space abroad is not a decision based on mere intuition. It requires strategy, data and a realistic reading of the market.

Today, we present the aspects that make this choice an objective bet. These are the factors that support it 'on paper' in an office and ultimately materialise as a shop on one of the city's main streets.

To understand what makes Amsterdam a solid choice, I spoke with Michelle Paratore, a partner specialising in retail and private equity at the prestigious consultancy Bain & Company (Bain), who has been advising both established leaders and emerging brands in the region for over 20 years.

From brand identity to Dutch market fit

When a brand approaches Bain interested in exploring the Dutch market, the starting point is to 'understand what defines the brand, what its differentiation is—product, retail experience, meaning—and which segments it connects with,' explains Paratore. Only from that identity is it possible to assess the fit with the Dutch consumer and the competitive local landscape. This helps determine if there is real potential in the Netherlands, or if some adaptations would be necessary.

The first yardstick is the clarity of positioning. Paratore puts it in very simple terms: is the brand's purpose clearly communicated? What kind of 'emotional value' does it bring to its consumers? They then assess whether the product, price and experience are aligned with the expectations of Dutch consumers. The Dutch market responds well to authenticity and functionality, and to sustainability messages that go beyond a slogan.

Finally, an analysis is made of how well the brand integrates its online and offline channels to ensure a seamless experience, as it is a highly digitalised country.

"Consumers demand excellence and good value for money; competition is strong and digital demands surpass other markets,"

One of the first expectation corrections Bain makes with many companies has to do precisely with the perception of ease. “Many assume the Dutch market is a good testing ground because it is small, international, digitally advanced and well-connected. However, it is actually very sophisticated. Consumers expect excellence, including value for money; competition is intense and digital demands are ahead of other markets. What seems easy requires a lot of discipline,” warns Paratore.

“Price matters, but consumers value purpose and credibility alongside a competitive price. They want to know the story behind the product, who made it and how. They appreciate design and creativity, but trust and quality remain the biggest drivers of purchase and sustain that perception of ‘value for money’.”

Competing with giants

The Dutch market is heavily concentrated in the hands of established local players—G-Star Raw, Scotch & Soda, Suitsupply, Filling Pieces, Olaf—and international chains with a solid presence. In this context, Paratore stresses that the role of consultancy is not to match forces with these giants, but to identify a unique and defensible territory. "When the proposition is truly distinctive, not being a Dutch brand ceases to be a problem.”

Nude Project's experience offers a clear reading of how to compete from a place of meaning. During the opening of the first permanent store in Amsterdam last April, we spoke with its co-founder and creative director, Bruno Casanovas. He insisted that for them, retail is not just a sales channel, but a place to embody a universe that was born and has grown online. “Nowadays you can buy anything you want online from home. But if you decide to bother going to a store, it's because you're looking for something more,” he explained. That 'something more' takes shape in the Dutch capital with a versatile and welcoming space. It is designed to evolve throughout the day and to transfer the lifestyle and sense of community that the brand has built in Spain to a new market.

This strategy has been reinforced with activations that connect with the local culture. These range from a limited-edition T-shirt inspired by the city to a kit associated with the consumption of the tolerated substance in the city that is part of the local imagination. Additionally, during the Amsterdam Dance Event—one of the largest international gatherings for electronic music and club culture—the store became the stage for a series of parties that reinforced its positioning as a meeting point.

From testing to rooting: importance of building a prior relationship with the market

Another of Paratore's recommendations is that, before opening a store, brands clearly define what Amsterdam represents within their strategy and determine the most suitable format to test their hypotheses.

Laagam is a good example of this approach. The firm has been building a presence in the Dutch market for years with a stable implementation in the Bijenkorf department store, visibility in multi-brand stores and, more recently, a private pop-up aimed at strengthening business relationships. Each step has functioned as a test-and-learn exercise in the sense that Bain proposes, where market receptivity is measured, behaviours are observed and positioning is adjusted.

The public's reaction has been favourable, and this has led Laagam to prepare for the opening of its first international store in this city. Indeed, when the data confirms that the city wants you, you open.

In the case of Alohas, the starting point was not so much wholesale as digital data: “It is one of the countries where we already had a significant volume of online sales,” explained Alejandro Porras, founder and CEO of the brand, in conversation with FashionUnited. That information, read with the magnifying glass that Bain proposes, is not just an encouraging figure. It is a sign that the product, price and proposition connect with that sophisticated consumer Paratore speaks of and that it can reinforce growth towards northern Europe.

From micro to macro: Amsterdam as a laboratory for emerging brands too

The consultancy stresses that, despite the challenges, Amsterdam functions as 'a microcosm: small, cosmopolitan and advanced'. This combination makes it an optimal environment for testing concepts, understanding consumer dynamics and refining operations.

In this context, Cayetan Studios emerges, a Spanish fashion pop-up project based in the city that offers emerging and digital brands a physical gateway to the Dutch market without taking on the costs of a permanent store. Its founder, Alberto Peris, spotted a clear opportunity: numerous online brands with potential in the Netherlands lacked a space to validate their proposition, understand the local consumer and transform latent digital demand into incremental sales.

Each pop-up brings together between seven and 20 brands, with around ten references per firm, and configures a compact and curated assortment aimed mainly at a male consumer—although many proposals are unisex—who is looking for everyday garments with higher standards of quality, design and durability than those offered by fast fashion.

Both the standards and the motivations of the participating brands fully align with Bain's diagnosis. Some seek to open up the market in Amsterdam and northern Europe; others aspire to connect physically with an audience that was already buying online. However, the greatest value lies in the information they obtain afterwards: which products work, what objections the customer expresses, which styles generate the most interaction or what general perception the brand leaves.

In essence, this is the same strategic learning that Bain applies to large projects, but concentrated in a few square metres and with significantly lower costs.

To date, Peris has organised four pop-ups—two for one month and one for two weeks—plus a new edition currently underway at Prinsengracht 234. His goal is to scale up to six activations in 2026 and, eventually, to shape a more ambitious project: a permanent concept store, a multidisciplinary space or perhaps a hybrid of the two... In parallel, the entrepreneur applies the same logic of continuous iteration to his own project, refining the proposal with each activation.

In conclusion, Amsterdam is a small but sophisticated market. It is demanding yet permeable, costly yet full of opportunities, symbolic yet operational, and digital yet profoundly human. The brands that understand this best have managed to open a flagship store, become the trusted eyewear of the locals, or have their dresses seen on bicycles along the canals.