The Kleine heldeN concept store may not be located on a premium site but this fact is not reflected in the number of customers coming across the threshold each day. Owner Franciska Nagelsmit has a simple idea: “I want to offer something for which people will come specifically to me. I don’t sell anything that you could get in other shops in the city.” Franciska wants only beautiful things in her shop: “Of course, what is beautiful is different for each person, but I aim to stand 100% behind my purchases,” she remarks. She buys only brands that are truly contemporary: exclusive, sustainable brands with limited production runs, for which people will make a special trip to her shop. “I believe my strength is that I don’t just buy the products in the combinations that a brand might expect. Instead, I tend to mix all the brands together for the entire season so that anything can be combined with anything else. I put together gift items, shoes and toys and create a complete lifestyle. That’s something my customers find amazingly cool.”

Relaxed atmosphere

The 140 m² shop is packed full of colourful branded goods and a cupboard that is filled to the rafters with shoes, toys and stuffed animals. The shop exudes a sense of peace and the atmosphere is very relaxed. The children can play here and help pack up the presents. “In the last few years I’ve developed from a children’s clothes shop to a concept store,” comments the retailer. “I’ve begun to buy more luxury brands such as Gray Label, New Society, Charlie Petite, American Vintage and Piupiuchick. I also sell a few mid-range brands such as Cars and Name It. But people come to the shop mostly for the beautiful, sustainable brands.” She knew right from the age of 10 that she wanted to have a shop one day. She didn’t care what sort of shop – it could be a furniture shop. Although she is the sole proprietor, she now employs permanent staff: her 23 year-old daughter and two others. “I’m lucky that I’ve got very nice customers. My customers live in Haarlem and the surrounding villages, they’re often highly educated and have the money to spend on beautiful children’s clothes. If I didn’t have those customers, I don’t think I’d enjoy it nearly as much.” To reward her customers she always calls them first when things go on sale. She also regularly gives them little gifts when they buy something, or sometimes a voucher for their next purchase.

Consciously sustainable

It is hard to imagine her concept now without the dimension of sustainability. “Even before it really became a current issue, I was already working at it, separating out the rubbish, for example, and looking for sustainable products. Now I only buy brands that are deliberately tackling it. Some, for instance, reuse their old collections, or make products from PET bottles or plastics fished out of the oceans. In the brand segment that I’m buying, though, that’s just standard – they have to be sustainable or the customer won’t pay the price. In the winter, we wander about the shop in thick pullovers and I hardly ever have the heating on. It’ll never be possible to be 100% sustainable but this way I do try to make as much of a contribution as possible.” For the future, Franciska Nagelsmit aims to stand out even more and stay relevant. After each season, she undertakes more fine tuning, because even brands have their lifespan. “If a brand doesn’t carry on developing and isn’t keeping in line with what customers want, I can see that in the sales. So for me the art is in keeping my share of the market. My target group is constantly being renewed and I have to stay in step with them. But that’s also what makes this work so inspiring and varied, and I can carry on developing it in future years,” says the ambitious Haarlem-based retailer emphatically.