In this exclusive documentary series, Maxim Sion, fashion entrepreneur and Business Development Manager at Bleckmann, shares his experience of building a brand from the ground up – providing valuable insights on how to make your vision a reality. In this episode, he discusses the transition from online sales to establishing a retail presence.
Fresh from launching a web shop to sell bracelets inspired by traditional Mexican iconography, Maxim and his co-founder, were experiencing strong demand for their new Black and Gold brand. However, this digital success was just the beginning of an entirely new learning curve.“Everything was very new for us,” Maxim explains. And one of the challenges they faced was making the pivot from online-only to physical retail.
Press play on part two to find out about the brand’s expansion into physical retail.
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Transcript
Maxim Sion:
The first step we took after creating our webshop was to start selling and advertising on Facebook. During the first months of Black & Gold, we were only selling online. As the company started to grow, we generated around €500 to €600 in revenue during the first weeks, which showed that the webshop was already taking off.
Nothing about this was covered in my studies. I studied insurance and finance, so it had nothing to do with buying goods or logistics. Everything was new for us. Of course, we searched a lot online and talked to people, but almost everything we did felt like the first time we were exploring it.
In a way, we were lucky. We had started with events, and the bracelets were gaining popularity. My business partner also had some family connections to a fashion store, which gave us the opportunity to present our bracelets with a nice display in that store.
That was the moment we moved from events to our first retail location. We had to officially register a company—that was the first thing we did. To prepare for the meeting with the store, we needed to understand retail margins: how they are built, what sales solutions we could offer, and how a collaboration could work.
We explored different options. One was selling the bracelet box directly to the store. Another option was placing the box on a trial basis for one month, after which we would return to see how many bracelets had been sold. The results were quite good. At that time, the retailer had seven stores. We started with just one location, in a local shopping center, but it was already a strong success story.
The next step was convincing them to move from a trial setup to fully buying in. In return, they received better margins. From there, we started traveling to new stores. That was the moment we really began investing in retail and making sure we were present in strong locations across Belgium to build a network.
We felt that being available in physical stores strengthened the brand. When people visit a shop and see a new brand, it creates visibility. The store managers were also wearing the bracelets themselves, which was something we actively encouraged. We always gave a few bracelets for free to store managers to help them promote the brand. This also boosted the online visibility of Black & Gold.
At that time, we handled all logistics ourselves. Everything happened at home—we had boxes everywhere and prepared packages for both B2C and B2B orders. The bracelet business was not a 100% success rate; it was closer to around 60%. Still, it was relatively easy to convince stores because the product was small and low-budget. Retailers were mainly focused on fashion collections with higher prices and higher risks, while a bracelet display only required an investment of around €500 per store.
It was very exciting to see an idea evolve into a brand—starting with a single bracelet, then seeing people around you wearing it, and watching the volumes grow. That gave us a very good feeling and motivated us to create new products and expand into more retail stores, helping the brand gain traction in the market.
From online success to brick-and-mortar stores
Black and Gold’s first exposure to physical sales channels was with a Belgian department store. This gave them the introduction they needed, and they were soon preparing their first official sales pitch – refining out key details such as pricing strategy and brand positioning. The initial meeting was a big success, and Black and Gold bracelets were picked up for a month-long trial period. The response to this was so positive that the store decided to stock the products on a longer-term basis.
Using this initial foothold in the retail market as a springboard, Black and Gold began expanding its presence to more stores across Belgium. This increased the brand’s visibility, giving them access to a broader range of demographics than they would have been able to access through the e-commerce site alone. The next step? Expanding Black and Gold’s product range, a move that would introduce new layers of complexity.
Check out the next episode to learn more about Maxim’s approach to growing the brand and dealing with supply chain challenges. And, if you want to find out more about taking your brand to the next level, get in contact for a free consultation with a Bleckmann expert!
