Crisis in the fashion trade

“Corona funding has masked many issues”

"Brands often have a positioning problem," say Klaus Buchroithner and Michaela Geiseder.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Markus Wenzel (2))

Store closures, insolvencies, restructurings - the fashion trade has been thrown into turmoil. Klaus Buchroithner from Eferding, founder of the sustainable fashion brand Vresh, is certain that some brands have had a problem for some time. 

The lockdowns in the coronavirus era gave online stores wings, and even now bricks-and-mortar retail doesn't seem to be quite catching up: The textile world in particular is in crisis, with well-known brands such as Esprit and Gerry Weber slipping into insolvency.

"Situation not as dramatic as it is often portrayed"
"Many issues that already existed in the retail sector before the coronavirus pandemic have been delayed and concealed," says Klaus Buchroithner, founder of the fashion brand Vresh. For the Eferdinger, however, the situation is "not as dramatic as it is often portrayed": "I see more of a regional shift. A PlusCity is always pretty full, but Landstraße in Linz is suffering massively."

Esprit slipped into bankruptcy this year.

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

What does it take to be economically successful as a fashion brand today? "A clear positioning," he answers. And adds: "People often no longer know what the brands stand for."

Customers are currently either opting for super-fast fashion, such as that offered by Shein or Temu, or they want sustainable clothing. Vresh stands for fairly produced fashion from the EU. The fact that the Linz-based company, which mainly sells online, is accessible is well received, says Managing Director Michaela Geiseder: "We respond to every customer question."