Bestseller A/S is a privately held family-owned clothing company based in Denmark. The company was founded in 1975 and has 20 brands.
History
The company was founded in 1975 by Troels Holch Povlsen in Brande, Denmark. Originally its focus was on women's fashion. It introduced children's clothing in 1986 and menswear in 1988. Bestseller is family-owned and the company employs around 17,000 people.
Brands
Bestseller has a number of different brands under which it sells its clothing. The brands are listed below and are sold both in the company's own stores and through independent retailers.
Women's clothing
ONLY – Bestseller's largest brand, young female fashion
Vero Moda – The company's basic brand of women's clothing. In 2007, the company hired the supermodel Gisele Bündchen to promote the brand in 2007-08.
Jack & Jones – brand targeted at younger customers, with underwear and other garments. In 2007, the company established a new label "JJ ECO" which is Fairtrade-certified. They sponsor Danish sportsmen Mikkel Kessler and Kevin Magnussen, as well as Danish ESports team Astralis and American Formula One teamHaas F1 Team.
Selected Homme – contemporary menswear label, including tailored suits and shirts
Outfitters Nation – targeted at teenagers, later changed to LMTD
Only&Sons
Children's clothing
Name It – clothes for babies and children.
Other
Normal – personal and homecare hygiene store .
Retail stores
Bestseller has shops in most European countries, the Middle East, India, China, Uruguay, and Canada. Bestseller is one of the biggest European fashion companies in China with more than 1,200 shops and is said to be "one of the only foreign clothing companies successful at penetrating the middle price range Chinese consumer market". Shops sell either clothing of one single brand or of all brands of the company. There are more than 800 shops selling Vero Moda around the globe. The Jack & Jones brand is sold in approximately 2,000 retail shops, of which 270 are Jack & Jones franchises.
In February 2020, Bestseller shuttered its brand at all five Canadian stores. This involved rebranding the CF Polo Park location to a Jack & Jones and closing the other four locations. In June 2020, Bestseller filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada. The company operates 9 Vero Moda stores and 51 Jack & Jones stores.
Stakes in other retailers
Bestseller, via its parent holding company Heartland, is the largest shareholder at 29.5% of British e-commerce firm ASOS.com, and owns 10% of German retailer Zalando. In July 2018, Heartland invested $300m in German fashion startup :de:About You|About You. In November 2012, Bestseller bought 10% of SmartGuy Group, when they became quoted on the Danish stock exchangeNasdaq OMX.
