LONDON — Trunk Clothiers, which stocks luxe, niche brands from Europe, Japan and the U.S., has always been a retail outlier, and its founder Mats Klingberg wants it to stay that way.
The indie store, which is marking 15 years in business, has always taken an old-fashioned approach to retail, holding its customers and brands close and keeping a close eye on spending — and expansion.
That strategy has helped it to weather the storms of Brexit, the fashion e-commerce flame-outs of 2023, and the post-COVID-19 slowdown in luxury demand. With just two stores — in London and Zurich — Trunk remains a profitable business, and sales that continue to grow.
There is no deep, dark secret to Trunk’s success. Over the past 15 years Klingberg has cultivated authentic relationships with brands and customers; kept an eye on spending and remained 100 percent in control of the business.
“We were never the coolest kid on the block, or had the hype of so many brands that have come and gone over the years. We’ve really focused on offering well-made clothes and — hopefully — good customer service in a non-rushed environment,” said Klingberg in an interview.
“There is so much mystery surrounding the world of menswear, and fashion, and I think a lot of guys can get quite confused because the rules keep changing. We just want to simplify shopping, and make it easy and enjoyable,” he added.
The Trunk stores carry a host of international names, many of which are small or under-the-radar.
There is tailoring and knitwear from Incotex, Boglioli, Caruso and Fedeli; footwear from the Vienna-based Ludwig Reiter and the Massachusetts maker Alden Shoes. There’s a big Japanese cohort too, with brands such as Ring Jacket, Kaptain Sunshine and Porter-Yoshida & Co.
He loves Japan, and is headed there soon. “I’m always on the lookout for new brands, and Japan was a huge source of inspiration when I started. I’m excited and I hope to discover new brands on the shelves there. Very often, it can actually be brands that are from back home, but it’s when you see them in a new context, they can often have a different meaning,” he said.
Trunk also has an in-house line of clothing, and offers its own bespoke tailoring services. To mark the anniversary, it has also done a series of collaborations including pens with Caran d’Ache; colorful tool bags with Ichizawa Shinzaburo Hanpu; cashmere flannel shirts with Gitman Vintage and cotton twill chinos from the Japanese company Echizenya.
Mats Klingberg and members of the Trunk team outside the London store at 8 Chiltern Street in London.
Klingberg said growth is coming from local shoppers in both cities, although London has a more international clientele than Zurich. Customers in both places, he added, are looking for clothes and accessories that last.
“There’s so much in my own wardrobe that’s over 10 years old, and the pieces are as relevant today as they were back then. I think people are willing to pay a bit more because they know these things will last for a long time,” he said.
Klingberg said he’s hoping to open other shops in Europe, if the right opportunities arise. But he’s in no hurry. His goal is to say small, independent and to serve the customer.
“If you look at Japan, you see much more focus on the ‘small.’ In the West, by contrast, companies are focused on billion-dollar unicorns. People launch a business and that is their end goal. But that doesn’t work anymore,” he said, adding that retailers need to “recalibrate. There needs to be a correctness in what we are doing because of all the over-consumption,” he said.
He also wants to remain his own boss.
“It’s the reason I’ve been able to sustain this steady, slow-ish growth. When the big money comes into lots of founder-led businesses, investors start demanding that you do things you don’t want to do. They suck the soul out of you, and then eventually the business just collapses, because no one is happy. I don’t have a million dollars in the bank, but I’m still here, I’m fine, and I think that means a lot as well,” he said.
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