Marc O'Polo

Marc O’Polo is a Swedish-German fashion label founded in 1967 by Rolf Lind, Göte Huss and Jerry O'Sheets.[4]

Not to be confused with Marco Polo.
Marc O’Polo
TypeAktiengesellschaft (AG)
Industry
Founded1967 in Stockholm, Sweden
Founders
  • Rolf Lind, Göte Huss,
  • Jerry O.Sheets
Headquarters
Stephanskirchen, Bavaria
,
Germany
Number of locations
2,727 (2014)[1]
Key people
  • Werner Böck (chairman)
  • Dieter Holzer (CEO)
  • Maximilian Böck (Co-CEO)
  • Markus Staude-Skowronek (CFO)
Products
  • Clothing, shoes, bags,
  • small leather goods,
  • eyewear,
  • home furnishings,
  • underwear, beachwear
Revenue€472 million (2018/2019)[2]
Number of employees
1,899 (2014)[3]
Websitewww.marc-o-polo.com

History

Founding

Marc O’Polo was founded in Stockholm in 1967 by Rolf Lind, Göte Huss, and Jerry O'Sheets.

In 1972, the label introduced logo-imprinted cotton t-shirts, and launched a unisex sweatshirt.[5] The first Marc O’Polo store opened in Düsseldorf in 1979.[6]

Expansion
Marc O'Polo store, Münster, Germany

In 1997, the company's original distribution partner for Germany, Werner Böck, expanded his shareholdings and formed Marc O’Polo International GmbH, which is responsible for all company operations including design and production to distribution and marketing.[4][7] The same year Marc O’Polo relocated its headquarters from Stockholm to Stephanskirchen in the district of Rosenheim.[3][8]

Marc O’Polo then began to make bags and small leather goods from 1997 and launched beachwear and children's clothing in 1998.[4][9] In 2003, a flagship Marc O’Polo store opened in Munich's Theatinerstraße[4][10][11] and the company launched its online store.[6]

Since 2008, and the opening of the first Marc O’Polo store in Asia (in Singapore Changi Airport),[12] the company has invested in international expansion.[13][14] The first Marc O’Polo stores in China opened in 2014.[15][16]

Partnerships
'Follow your Nature'

In 2013, Marc O’Polo introduced a new claim, ‘Follow your Nature,’ and began featuring celebrities in its campaigns.[17] The actor Jeff Bridges was featured in campaigns for the company's menswear collections.[6] In 2013 and Spring 2014, the campaign introduced Amber Valletta,[18] followed by Uma Thurman[19] in Fall/Winter 2014 in campaigns photographed by Mario Sorrenti.[20]

For the Fall/Winter 2013 and Spring/Summer 2014 seasons, Marc O’Polo co-created collections with the fashion illustrator Garance Doré,[21][22] and for the Fall/Winter 2014 season with the graffiti artist André Saraiva.[23]

Since 2011, the company has sponsored the Marc O’Polo Design Award which honors innovative approaches to design among the students of Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm, Sweden.[6][24]

Marc O'Polo has also supported specific creative ventures by a range of international artists, such as the 2013 publication of a bilingual (German-English) edition of photographer Werner Eisele's chronicle of auto racing in the '60s and '70s, Formula 1 Legends;[25] floral artist Thierry Boutemy's installation ‘A Piece of Art’ exhibited in the Marc O'Polo store in Brussels during the 2014 Art Brussels contemporary art fair;[26] the 2014 photo::vienna exhibition of contemporary Austrian photography at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK);[27] and artist Stefan Gbureck's 2014 motorcycle ride from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro.[28]

References
  1. Marc O’Polo: Sales and Show Rooms Archived 2015-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Facts & Figures" (in German). Marc O'Polo AG. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  3. Marc O’Polo: Corporate Profile Archived 2015-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Marc O’Polo: The History of Marc O’Polo
  5. ‘Die Väter des Casual Looks: Marc O’Polo’, Elle: Portraits
  6. Marc O'Polo: History
  7. ‘Company Overview of Marc O’Polo International GmbH’, Bloomberg Business
  8. 'Marc O'Polo: Drei Prozent mehr Umsatz dank Technik', Handelsblatt (January 3, 2015)
  9. ‘Marc O’Polo Watches’, Montre: Watch Portal
  10. ‘Marc O’Polo expandiert im In- und Ausland’ von Doreen Wilken, Fabeau (April 25, 2002)
  11. ‘Marc O’Polo’s neue Altbauwohnung’, TextilWirtschaft (September 9, 2012)
  12. ‘First Marc O’Polo store in Asia celebrates Changi Terminal 3 opening in style’ by Melody Ng, The Moodie Report (January 23, 2008)
  13. ‘Marc O’Polo’s FY 2011/12 sales grow by 9.2 percent’, Fashion United (July 26, 2012)
  14. ‘Marc O’Polo to Expand in Germany, Russia and China’ by Alexandra Spiegel, Sportswear International (July 21, 2014)
  15. ‘Marc O’Polo Opens First Store in China’ by Elena Reudenbach, Sportswear International (September 5, 2014)
  16. 'Marc O’Polo Shanghai’, Fashion United (September 3, 2014)
  17. ‘Marc O’Polo: Neue Markenkampagne’ von Sabine Spieler, TextilWirtschaft (June 26, 2013)
  18. ‘Jeff Bridges und Amber Valletta modeln für Marc O’Polo’, Vogue (July 16, 2013)
  19. ‘Uma Thurman in neuer Marc O’Polo-Kampagne’, Vogue (July 18, 2014)
  20. ‘Uma Thurman et Jeff Bridges sous l’objectif de Mario Sorrenti pour Marc O’Polo’ par Laurianne Melierre, Glamour (August 18, 2014)
  21. ‘Garance Doré für Marc O’Polo’, Vogue (May 27, 2013)
  22. ‘Garance Doré Teams with Marc O’Polo’ by Carter Inskeep-Rosenfeld, Women’s Wear Daily (June 14, 2013)
  23. ‘Coop with Mr. A: Marc O’Polo Further Bets on Celebrities’ by Maria Hunstig, Sportswear International (August 25, 2014)
  24. ‘Marc O’Polo Design Award’ Archived 2015-05-26 at the Wayback Machine, Glamour (October 18, 2012)
  25. 'Legenden des Rennsports' von Tobias Singer, GQ (February 18, 2013)
  26. Thierry Boutemy Florist: for Marc O'Polo Archived 2015-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ‘photo::vienna’ Premium Partner: Marc O'Polo Archived 2015-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
  28. 'Mit dem Motorrad zum Endspiel nach Rio' Archived 2015-05-26 at the Wayback Machine, Interview (June 16, 2014)
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