Marc O'Polo

Marc O’Polo is a German clothing brand of Swedish heritage. In 1967, Marc O’Polo was established in Stockholm by Rolf Lind, Göte Huss, and Jerry O’Sheets. One year later, Werner Böck opened the German branch in Stephanskirchen, a village near Rosenheim. In 1987, he took over 40 percent of the shares in the company that he now owns 90 percent of. In 1997, the company headquarters was moved to Stephanskirchen. All European customers are supplied from a central warehouse there. The fashion collections are sold by 1600 retailers, 540 shop-in-shop partners, 60 franchisers, and 38 mono-brand shops. Today, the main office is in Stephanskirchen, Bavaria, a small town of 10,000 near Rosenheim. In 2005, the company had sales of 185 million euros, two thirds of them in Germany. In the latest business year 2007/2008 the company, with about 1305 employees around the world, had market sales of some 305 million euros (previous year 288 million euros. The percentage of total sales is divided roughly into: approx. 22% retail, 13% franchise, 27% own stores and 38% Shop in Stores. Brand recognition is today around 77%.

The brand started out with a unisex sweatshirt in dark blue, beige, and 23 other colors with the company logo on the back. The people who wore them in the early 80s were the pioneers of the brand freaks. At school parties, classes at the university, or even unconventional attire for a graduation party, wherever the masses wore suits and ties. Far more than a million have now been sold and now models like Marianne Schröder walk the catwalk for them.

All together, they have three brands for men and women under the Marc O’Polo logo. In addition to the core label Modern Casual, there is Campus-Linie, oriented to 20 to 30 year olds. Their own shoe line completes the picture. In addition to the two seasonal collections fall/winter and spring/summer, there are also two theme collections. “Portofino” rang in spring and “St. Moritz” indicated the beginning of the skiing season. Sweatshirts and pants usually go for between 90 and 130 euros. Jackets, blazers, and coats are somewhere in the 200 to 350 euro range. The clothing is produced in Turkey, Portugal, and Greece.

The company’s largest 900 square meters mono-brand store is in Munich in the shopping gallery “Fünf Höfe,” luxury brands such as Armani or Salvatore Ferragamo have showcase stores there also. The collections do not have the same colorful buoyancy as their US competitor Tommy Hilfiger. Instead, they feature earth tones and gray, blue, and black in all their different shades. The clear, narrow lines emphasize the puristic character. “Our style is timeless and modern at the same time.” That’s how Werner Böck describes his company’s fashion philosophy.

External links

• Marc-o-polo.com - Official site
• Marc-o-polo.co.uk - Official UK site
• Bread And Butter Fair on Marc O’Polo
• marc o polo online shop by sans-online
• marc o polo official dealer