Sport couture label Bikkembergs is set to open 23 new stores between 2024 and 2026. In the last few years, Bikkembergs has restructured its licensing business, inking production and distribution deals for its various product lines, and is now stepping up the pace of its retail expansion, by means of new commercial partnerships in Russia, Central Asia and Morocco, countries where it is planning to open 16 stores within two years.

Bikkembergs’s ambitious retail expansion drive kicked off last year, when the label opened seven stores managed by local partners: Three in Russia – an outlet store in Moscow and stores in Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar – two in Kazakhstan, in Astana and Almaty, one in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and one in Casablanca, Morocco. Five new Bikkembergs stores are expected to open in these same countries in 2025, and a further 11 in 2026.

“Russia and the whole of the former Soviet Union are among Bikkembergs’s main markets. Despite the difficulties associated with restrictions in the e-commerce channel, our wholesale clients and monobrand stores are performing very well, thanks to the cooperation with major local retail partners,” said Dario Predonzan, managing director of Levitas, the company controlled by Chinese group Modern Avenue, which acquired the brand in 2015.

Bikkembergs began to deploy its expansion plan in 2024, targeting the opening of approximately 20 new stores between Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan by 2026, as well as four addresses in Morocco, between Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakesh.

“2024 was a consolidation year for Bikkembergs, characterised by a stability that reflects the positive trend in our business. At the same time, it has been a year of growth, thanks to the constant rise of our sales on overseas markets, the regions where the brand is accelerating its expansion,” said Bikkembergs.

Last year, Bikkembergs strengthened its ties with 2Brothers, a manufacturer from the Puglia region of Italy, to which it licensed its childrenswear collections in 2020. In the three years that followed, Bikkembergs tripled its revenue in this segment. In early 2024, Bikkembergs also granted 2Brothers the licence for its men’s ready-to-wear collections, styled since 2016 by the label’s creative director, British designer Lee Wood.

Bikkembergs stops women’s ready-to-wear

The label was founded in 1987 by Belgian designer Dirk Bikkembergs, starting out as a menswear label. In 2025, it has decided to refocus on menswear and terminate its womenswear line, which did not reach the expected results. However, Bikkembergs will continue to commercialise women’s footwear. Ready-to-wear accounts for 42% of total revenue, followed by footwear, another key segment for the label, accounting for 35% of revenue. Bikkembergs’s brand identity is linked primarily to sport, football in particular.

In 2022, Italian producer Rodolfo Zengarini was granted the licence for the label’s footwear collections. The category is thriving, notably in the USA and in the lifestyle segment, driven by more upmarket models retailing at about €590. Bikkembergs has been very successful with the popular Met Hole shoes with metal heels, introduced in the 1990s and reissued in 2024. This archive model boosted the label’s online sales in the USA, enabling it also to partner again with department stores Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. The licence for children’s shoes was granted in 2022 to another Italian manufacturer, Elisabet.
 
For the production and distribution of its underwear and swimwear collections, two key categories for the label, Bikkembergs inked a license deal in 2021 with Padua-based producer Area B, while accessories (hats, scarves, and leather goods) are made and commercialised by Principe, from the Italian footwear hub of Varese, and a jewellery line was launched at the end of 2020 with Italian producer Arkano.

The licensing business generated revenue of nearly €30 million in 2024, in particular through the label’s e-shop, which accounts for a significant share of sales, and posted an 11% revenue growth last year. Italy is still Bikkembergs’s main market, accounting for 40% of total revenue, generated through some 250 multibrand retailers located chiefly in the south of the country, and followed by the Russian market, which has a 35% share of total revenue.