Human brand
Interview by Günther Misof with Moritz Schwack, Managing Partner of SWING Collections GmbH in Schermbeck.
Moritz, we got to know each other some time ago. I was fascinated by your age in the role of managing director, especially the product segment in which you operate in the fashion industry. This almost automatically raised the question of corporate/brand strategy. I founded my first company when I was 25, so I was very early in 1973. But you took the decisive step even younger, at the age of 22. How did you get started? How did you become an entrepreneur?
I actually started very early. And very small. Even as a 14-year-old, I was tickled by the entrepreneurial bug without being able to put my finger on it. It was triggered by a pair of long-awaited soccer boots for 200 euros that I couldn't afford as a teenager. When our local sports store offered a 2-for-1 promotion, I had the idea: I bought two pairs of shoes there and sold the second pair on eBay. A first success! It triggered a lot in me. The joy of trading, a flair for profitable business, confidence in my entrepreneurial talent - I'm still tingling to this day. Back then, I quickly turned my eBay experience into a small business model. In addition to sports shoes, I also offered soccer shirts and a flocking service.
The internet was only just developing in the online shopping sector at the time. I saw the opportunity, used it for my parents' business, which sold sewing machines and accessories, and convinced my skeptical parents to offer their sewing machine accessories on eBay as well. The next success! My online experience and the low level of competition in this segment quickly gave us a boost. We followed up with the sale of sewing machines and achieved six-figure sales with our online store after just a short time.
As an entrepreneur at heart, I finished my school career with a vocational baccalaureate and began a commercial apprenticeship. The fact that I ended up at the (former) Swing-Modelle Bekleidungs-GmbH was due to my parents' wish for me to do vocational training in a different company. When I started at SWING, everything else suddenly happened in quick succession. When the sales manager left unexpectedly, I took over key account management, even though the last year of my apprenticeship was still ahead of me. I shortened my apprenticeship and became sales manager a year later. The decisive step followed at the age of 22: a management buyout that was initially planned for ten years. It turned out differently by mutual agreement. I took over the entire shares in 2018.
What were your first steps after this spectacular decision? What was your strategy?
When I took over the management of SWING, I was just 22 years old and increasingly became the face of the brand to the outside world. I turned a lot of things upside down, first and foremost product development and the online strategy, which had always been mine. More modern, younger, more digital: without a fresh look, SWING would simply no longer have fitted in with the inner core. We are also breaking new ground in marketing: our online store has been around since 2022 and we are active on social media. And not just when Leni Klum is wearing one of our dresses.
In 2023, we deliberately launched HEY KYLA, a younger, more progressive brand. Elegant confirmation dresses, pompous graduation and prom gowns, beautiful wedding guest outfits: we have thus strengthened our target group in the young, fashionable segment and expanded our expertise in the "dress" segment.
But we also have big plans for our traditional SWING brand: This is why we are constantly questioning our actions in terms of collection orientation, prices and delivery rhythm and are trying to adapt optimally to consumer behavior and the wishes and needs of our customers.
The first question that arises from this is WHY, HOW, WHAT. As you know, I am a fan of Simon Sinek's philosophy. Or according to Grant Cardone:"When the WHY is clear, the HOW is easy".
In detail:
How did you deal with this very special fashion segment?
Honestly? At the beginning of my vocational training, I didn't know what to do with womenswear and had little interest in it. But at some point I got hooked! I started to pay attention to what this emotional product does to the wearer: it changes women, makes them look, transforms them and their day. Ideally in the direction of "beautiful" and "unforgettable". Watching and helping to shape this transformation is incredibly fun for me today. And the fact that, as a man, I can probably often make less emotional decisions when it comes to womenswear is actually an advantage.
How did you get the two brands up and running?
The engine of a company is sales. There is a lot of truth in this sentence - and my way. We have worked intensively on our brand perception and products. And invested just as much effort in our retail partners and their trust in us.
How do you deal with the two fashion brands under the joint umbrella brand?
Both brands have the same status. HEY KYLA is only in its second year. Some processes and the organization can of course still be optimized synergistically. Especially as I want to make our company brand multifunctional in the long term. In other words, we are thinking about new brands and products in the long term.
Are there separate performances?
Yes, quite deliberately. We play off the two brands in such a way that the end consumer does not realize that HEY KYLA is a brand from SWING.
Which brand experiences do you want to achieve and how?
Own stores are of course the best way to create a real experience. So far, we have made SWING and HEY KYLA emotionally tangible in our online store. At the POS, on the other hand, it's all about becoming visible in the first place. We have just opened our first dedicated shop-in-shop area and are rolling out the concept. Our promotional concept is also brand new and is currently in place at 20 retailers in Germany and Austria.
What is the respective brand statement?
With "WE CELEBRATE LIFE", SWING invites you to join in the celebrations. Feelings of happiness, community: this is the symbiosis that SWING wants to be a part of. Special occasions and big family celebrations bring us together and connect us emotionally. Everyone wants to be there.
HEY KYLA promises "FOR TODAY AND FOREVER". The focus here is on the big moment and therefore on the wearer of our dresses herself. She enters the stage she has earned (e.g. graduation). Self-confident, courageous - and yes, of course instagrammable. With HEY KYLA, the here and now becomes a glittering celebration that gives us memories that will last forever.
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