We Fashion

WE Fashion, also known as WE, is a renowned Dutch fashion chain renowned for selling a wide range of products including clothing, shoes, bags, and other accessories. Originally established in 1917 by Engelbertus Hendricus de Waal as a wholesale business in Amsterdam, the company has seen a century's worth of transformations, growth, and success. The business initially focused on men's clothing, expanding to include women's and children's wear over time.

WE Fashion is a part of the European fashion conglomerate Logo International, which also owns other notable brands such as O'Neill and Van Gils. The company operates a staggering number of approximately 240 stores spread across multiple countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Austria, and Switzerland. Additionally, online sales have been available since 2009 for customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France.

The company boasts various store formats to cater to different customer needs. These include the "WE Store" which sells men's, women's, and children's clothes; "WE Men" and "WE Women" which focus specifically on men's and women's clothing and accessories, respectively. In some stores, a Kids department may also be added, catering to children aged 2 to 12 years.

The WE Fashion headquarters is situated in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in the industrial estate Lage Weide. This location also houses the company's distribution center, which manages the distribution of goods for branches across Europe.

WE Fashion prides itself on being a brand with a vertical organisational structure, which means that the entire collection is designed in-house. This approach extends to advertising, marketing, and store concepts, all of which are developed internally.

In its journey over the years, WE Fashion has seen international expansions, acquisitions, and even a rebranding. After its initial success in the Netherlands, the company expanded abroad, including to Switzerland and Belgium. In 1986, it acquired the women's fashion company 'Witteveen', which was subsequently renamed 'Zij'. The company made its move to Germany in 1992 and to France in 1994. In 1999, all shops were simultaneously renamed to WE, which has since become a trusted and recognisable brand throughout Western Europe.

However, not all expansions were permanent. In 2010, the company partnered with a Chinese firm to establish new shops in China, eventually opening 20 stores with plans to expand up to 200. But by 2014, WE had decided to withdraw from China.

Despite the ebbs and flows of its global presence, WE Fashion remains a significant player in the European fashion industry, committed to its unique in-house design and marketing approach and focused on delivering quality and style to its customers​.