Press Release - 22 march 2010
Erik van Bilsen appointed Managing Director of Gaastra International Sportswear BV.
Driebergen, 29 July 2010. McGregor Fashion Group has announced the appointment of Erik van Bilsen to the position of Managing Director of its subsidiary, Gaastra International Sportswear BV. Van Bilsen (40) has been working with McGregor Fashion Group since 1996, the last few years as director of the group’s Dutch retailing activities. Under Van Bilsen’s charge, McGregor’s own stores in the Netherlands have undergone a spectacular development, despite a clothing market which has been under considerable pressure.
In the last few years, Gaastra has been one of the most successful fashion brands in its segment. Gaastra's nautical range of sportswear is currently marketed only in a limited number of countries in Western Europe, but the business now stands on the verge of an international break through and anticipates an explosive growth in the coming years. Current annual turnover at Gaastra stands at EUR 100 million and this is likely to double over the next five years.
McGregor Fashion Group is an internationally operating fashion group with offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Hong Kong. Its key brands are McGregor and Gaastra which are distributed via around 3,000 multi-brand stores in Europe, Shop-in-the-Shops at leading department stores in Europe and a network of around 120 own stores. With a workforce of approx. 1,000 employees, the group will achieve an annual turnover of EUR 225 million this year with its brands.
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For more information:
McGregor Fashion Group B.V.
Hoofdstraat 23-25
3971 KA Driebergen – Rijsenburg
Joep van Straaten (COO) + 31(0)6.54.780.164
