2024-04-17 06:54:35
At the store counter pop-up, in the pedestrian zone of Esch-sur-Alzette, negotiations are quick. The topic of conversation: around fifteen old football shirts that a Niederkorn resident took from the bottom of his closet and wants to sell. In the end, Anthony offered him 340 euros and the deal was closed, even though the customer didn’t understand why he was refused a piece with a small tear or another with a stain.
These sweaters will now be washed and will join all those that already adorn and fill a corner of the store with color. pop-up. Most of the jerseys are second-hand and some have the players’ names and numbers on them. It is a journey through the history of football, from the early 1990s to the present day. Prices vary between 20 euros and more than 200 euros. “We base our prices on three criteria: the condition of the shirt, its rarity and its history”, explains Anthony. With a golden rule: there are no fakes here, everything is authentic.
Three friends, all football fans, embark on the adventure
The sweaters are a real eye-catcher: almost a hundred have been sold since they were hung in the store at the beginning of April. It’s a real trend.
The use of old shirts is not just the preserve of football nostalgics. In recent years, the More or less vintage sweater has become a fashionable piece of clothing. Celebrities, not necessarily fans of the sport or a particular team, started wearing old jerseys, usually second-hand, and showing them off proudly on their social media. That was enough to create a trend and even lead many professional clubs to reissue “collectors” jerseys.
It’s a world in which a small company based in Wiltz is trying to make its mark: Iconic Football Shop. “As far as I know, we are the first of our kind in Luxembourg,” says Maxime Arsched, 32, one of the three partners. Or rather, three childhood friends: Maxime, but also Anthony Delperdange – who we met at the counter of the temporary store this Friday morning – and Florent Tittenbach. Originally from Bastogne, they are both football fans and embarked on this adventure just over two years ago.
Manchester, the starting point
Maxime explains the genesis of Iconic Football Shop: “I had the idea at the beginning of 2020, just before the Covid confinement, during a trip to Manchester. My father lives there, I’m a United fan and I’ve been going to Old Trafford since I was a child. . I was walking through the city center and I came across a store. In the window, I saw football shirts with the names of Zidane, Beckham, Ronaldo… The idols of my childhood. I went in and realized that they were authentic, vintage shirts. , second hand”.
Anthony Delperdange, Maxime Arsched and Florent Tittenbach (from left to right), the three partners of the Luxembourg company Iconic Football Shop. © Credits: DR
At the time, Maxime was working the night shift at a factory. The idea was born and he decided to take a chance. “I received some information about creating a company and website and was inspired by Classic Football Shirts.” This website is one of the world’s main references for shirts vintage.
The football shirt should be considered a piece of clothing in its own right.
Maxime Arsched
Iconic Football Store
The three Belgian friends created their company at the end of 2021, in Wiltz. “Any good cross-border traveler knows that it is more attractive to open a company in Luxembourg than in Belgium,” says Maxime. As for the online store, it was launched in March 2022 and communication was mainly done through social media.
“We started with around a hundred shirts, including those from our personal collections. We also asked some of our friends and bought them on websites. Sometimes it was difficult because there are many fakes. We learned to recognize authentic shirts.”
Nowadays, the three friends are well versed and can quickly distinguish a sweater vintage genuine from a counterfeit. This is essential when it comes to constantly replenishing your stock, through online shopping or when an ordinary person shows up with sweaters they want to sell, like this Friday morning in Esch.
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This guarantee of authenticity – with an “identity card” for each shirt offered for sale – is the leitmotif by Maxime. “We also added our personal touch, creating a world in our image, younger, less “dusty”, because when we talk about second-hand, we often imagine a second-hand store, and I didn’t want that. I wanted to move towards something more ‘luxurious’, so that football shirts could be considered a piece of clothing in their own right,” he explains.
While the online store is launching, Maxime, Anthony and Florent are also taking advantage of the stores pop-up to promote your business. Until April 21, the shirts will be on display in a commercial unit on Rue de l’Alzette, in Esch.
“We’ve been here a year now, which was a first for us, and it went very well. We also held a football festival in Dudelange in June 2023. That day, we realized how many “physical” customers we could attract: in a In just one day, we generated the equivalent of two months of sales on site”, reveals Maxime.
The pop-up shop will be back in Esch during Euro football from mid-June to mid-July. And the three friends are also thinking about opening a store in Luxembourg.
“We are at an advanced stage of discussions about a fixed point of sale. It is something we want, alongside online sales”, explains Maxime. However, despite this initial success, the three continue to have jobs outside of the Iconic Football Shop. “For the last year, the company has been living off its own income, reinvesting almost all the money in the purchase of shirts. But the next step is to make a living from it”, they say.
(Article originally published on Comma and adapted for Contacto by Tiago Rodrigues)
2024-04-17 06:54:35