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Start-Up New Amsterdam Apparel was founded in September 2020 and holds the licence for Michael Kors' men's line for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. However, founder Niek op den Dries is anything but a starter in the fashion industry. He worked as a merchandiser (the pivot between design, sales, and production) at PVH, the parent company of brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. He did not have to start from scratch with this start-up as he took over an existing business.

Factoring company
During the start-up phase of his company, Niek talked to a fellow businessman, who said: go and talk to Xolv because they are very good at finding financial solutions. By now, I can only confirm that. Initially, Xolv helped me find a factoring company. Fred Soers was my sparring partner for this. After that, I started working with Erik Bolsius for the credit insurance."

Long-term payment
According to Niek, it is also an advantage that Xolv is well-versed in the fashion industry. Niek: "Xolv also has fashion group PVH as a client. So, they know how the fashion industry works. Factoring is particularly important for us to achieve sufficient cash flow and working capital. Our customers are large retailers in Europe, such as El Corte Inglés in Spain and Zalando in Germany. All these companies have long payment terms, usually 90 days. So factoring is no luxury in order to be able to plan and purchase collections."

Right moment
Shortly before the Corona breakout in March 2020, Niek had already decided to start his own business and wrote the business plan for New Amsterdam Apparel. When asked whether it was not very risky to start a new company in the middle of the corona crisis, Niek replies: "In fact, I think we started at exactly the right time because during such an unprecedented crisis you get a bit more leniency from all parties as the whole industry is affected. Moreover, we started with a modest number of customers, not too big, so you know you can only grow. Now that we have the Michael Kors licence, we are completely ready to take off as soon as the market picks up after corona."

'Xolv understands how the fashion industry works, that's essential'

Corona and opportunities
Corona has set the entire fashion market in motion. Niek: "Brand portfolios are thoroughly reviewed. Where do we find new opportunities? Brands disappear, new brands appear. People are coming up with new concepts, brands, and, therefore, new agents. As a licensee of Michael Kors, we have acquired 15 countries in an extremely short period of time. We couldn't have done that in normal times."

Jip and Janneke
"What I like about Xolv is their personal approach. You can call them whenever. They are very good at introducing you to a world and subject matter that is not yours. They are well seasoned financial professionals who explain to you in plain language how financial solutions work. It's also nice that Xolv, as an independent broker, doesn't push products but offers solutions," says Niek.

PVH is a global fashion house with brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein in its portfolio. PVH Europe's head office is located in Amsterdam's Houthaven. Frederick Kolff's responsibilities there include managing credit insurance. In particular, he has relied on Xolv's expertise for many years when taking out the - often multi-year - policies.

Frederick has known Fred Colin, managing director and one of the founders of Xolv, for more than 20 years. "After our previous broker was bought out, we were without a broker for a while, until I got back in touch with Fred. As an expert in credit management, he had meanwhile started Xolv with a number of partners. Since then we have been working with Xolv to our complete satisfaction - for about 15 years I think."

Risk retailers hedged
PVH covers the risk that buyers, individual shops, retail chains but also franchisees with a Tommy Hilfiger or Calvin Klein shop cannot pay, with credit insurance. "That is such a specific matter, you just need an independent specialist and adviser for that," he says. Xolv speaks the language of credit insurers like Atradius and that results in a policy that is perfectly tailored to our business and working method. Xolv's strength is that we always have a policy that offers clarity to both parties, so that everyone knows exactly how to act when difficult or exceptional situations arise."

European market
As a partner in Keystone Trade Credit, Xolv can also optimally support customers doing international business. They then also benefit from the economies of scale offered by the partnership with Keystone. "Bear in mind that PVH is responsible for sales throughout Europe from our office in Amsterdam and also in a number of African countries, for example. Wherever we operate, we absolutely cannot afford not to be properly insured. In that respect, Xolv takes a lot of worries out of our hands.

 'The personal contact really makes the difference'

What really makes the difference in Frederick's view is the fact that there is one permanent point of contact. "In 99% of cases, Fred at Xolv is our contact person. That works nice and fast and pleasant. Together with the good personal contacts that Xolv has with Atradius, it leads to us getting an insurance product that fits our business environment, corporate culture and business ethics perfectly."

Open and honest
Besides the personal contact and thorough knowledge, PVH particularly appreciates the way Xolv does business. "They operate in an open and honest way. There are never unpleasant surprises and they are very flexible: if something comes up, they find a solution quickly. Asked if he has any areas for improvement for Xolv, Frederick replied in the negative after a long pause for thought.

"We are really super satisfied with Xolv, and I suspect that is mutual."

Founded in September 2020, Start-Up New Amsterdam Apparel holds the licence for Michael Kors' men's line for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. However, founder Niek op den Dries himself is anything but a starter in the fashion industry. For instance, he worked as a merchandiser (the pivot between design, sales and production) at PVH, the parent company of brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. With his start-up, he did not have to start completely from scratch as he took over an existing business.

Factoring company
During the founding phase of his company, Niek started talking to Xolv on the advice of an industry peer: "He said: go and talk to Xolv because they are very good at finding financial solutions. By now I can only confirm that. Initially, Xolv helped me find a factoring company. Fred Soers was my sparring partner. I then started working with Erik Bolsius on credit insurance."

Long payment period
According to Niek, it is also an advantage that Xolv is well versed in the fashion industry. Niek: "For example, Xolv also has fashion group PVH as a client. So they know how the fashion industry works. Factoring in particular is very important for us to achieve sufficient cash flow and working capital, because our customers are large retailers in Europe such as El Corte Inglés in Spain and Zalando in Germany. They all have long payment terms, generally 90 days. So then factoring is no luxury to be able to plan and buy in collections."

Right time
Shortly before the Corona erupted in March 2020, Niek had already made the decision to start for himself and wrote the business plan for New Amsterdam Apparel. Asked whether it wasn't very risky to start a new company in the middle of the Corona crisis, Niek replied: "In fact, I think we started exactly at the right time because during such an exceptional crisis, you get a bit more leniency from all parties as the whole industry suffers. Moreover, we started with a modest number of not too big customers, so then you can only grow. Now that we have the licence from Michael Kors, we are all set to shoot out of the starting blocks as soon as the market picks up after Corona."

'Xolv understands how the fashion industry works, which is essential'

Corona and opportunities
Corona has really stirred up the entire fashion market. Niek: "Brand portfolios are being held up to the light. Where are new opportunities? Brands disappear, new brands appear. People are thinking about new concepts, brands and therefore agents. As a licensee of Michael Kors ourselves, we acquired 15 countries in an extremely short period. That would not have been possible in normal times." 

Jip and Janneke
"What I like about Xolv is their personal approach. You can call them any time. And they do an excellent job of guiding you through a world and subject matter that is not your own. They are seasoned financials who explain how financial solutions work, so to speak, in plain language. Another nice thing is that, as an independent advisor, Xolv does not push products but offers solutions," says Niek.