BORAGIO STORY
Quality over quantity
Born in textile, designed in Italy
If textile and enterprise are in your genes, there is only way to go.
This was the advice of their teacher in textile, also a professional in the industry: ‘If you are going to go into this business, you should start your own exclusive and high-quality brand’. So the BORAGIO brothers founded their own company even while they were still studying. And it was a great success. In five years’ time, Boragio grew from 30 trousers to the manufacture and sale of 10,000 pairs of trousers per year. Now Boragio boasts 40 retail stores and the brand has broken into the international market. Boragio is extremely popular with Dutch celebrities including rappers, influencers and footballers.
The popular Boragio jeans are defined by their exclusive Italian wash, characteristic slanted zip, perfect fit combined with superior Italian stretchy material and their high comfort rating.
Know-how, born and bred in textile
For his internship in 2015, the younger brother researched price-quality relationships, models, target consumers and trends in the fashion market. This led directly to the ambition to start up their own company and in 2015, the BORAGIO brothers launched their own jeans line. The extensive market research carried out during the internship stood them in good stead as a starting point for the business.
Another important training ground was the many years spent with their professional expert who had himself worked for big international companies in the textile and denim industry for many years. Since the brothers grew up in textile production, they learned what was involved in running a denim production company from a very young age. From unloading lorries to quality control and reconditioning, by the time the BORAGIO brothers started to market their own brand, they had accumulated a massive amount of knowledge and experience.
The perfect team
From founding the company to running the day-to-day operations, the BORAGIO brothers do everything together, while each is maintaining their own responsibilities. The elder brother is responsible for logistics, the younger one manages marketing, production and customer contact. They complement each other perfectly and are a good team, both at work and in private.
‘We have grown up together in this venture, from brothers and good friends to entrepreneurs. There have been times when we have had to fight hard. Blood, sweat and tears. Going the extra mile. But we always did it together, and it has brought us to the place we are now.’
Their professional expert is still closely involved in quality control at the production level. His knowledge and know-how make him the best quality control expert they could possibly desire. He ensures BORAGIO jeans remain high quality and indeed are continually improved further.
Exclusivity over quantity
From the very first day, the aim of BORAGIO has been to remain as exclusive as possible and to focus on quality rather than quantity. The trousers are produced with a great deal of experience, handiwork, exclusive design and by selecting exclusive materials. That is why BORAGIO has elected to present the brand in the medium to the upmarket segment.
The customer is king
BORAGIO offers all customers a one-year warranty on their denim trousers, simply because they are convinced of their extremely high quality. The customer is king and with BORAGIO the customer is always the number one priority. BORAGIO uses personal shoppers for individual contact with the customer. These personal shoppers are available every single day for any question, complaint or comment.
Boragio history
In 2015, Boragio started with 30 trousers in three different colours. Now, the company produces a wide range of exclusive jeans. Because of their exclusive appeal, the jeans shot to popularity with Dutch celebrities. The power of social media meant they gained a wide reach and the number of Boragio fans swelled quickly. Sales figures grew exponentially and retailers became increasingly interested in the brand. It was a flying start for the two ambitious entrepreneurs! However, the massive success and the high expectations had their flipside, too.
Try and try again – growing responsibly
The company grew so fast in a short time that the brothers soon hit their first obstacle. Production shortages, lack of stock – they were simply unable to meet demand. So, 2016 was the year of growth and at the same time, the year of taking stock, reflecting and developing a future-proof strategy for Boragio. One of the most important decisions to support a future-proof brand was to open one store in every big city. That way Boragio would retain sufficient reach whilst keeping its exclusive character.
Quality and service over growth
The next obstacle the brothers had to overcome was how to meet the high expectations. Initially, they had managed to surprise the market with their high-quality jeans, but more was needed to continue to meet those high expectations. The 2017 collection was not quite up to standard. It was crucial to return to the authentic Boragio vision and to increase quality. A conscious decision was then made to keep growth to a steady pace and to increase quality. This prevented garments being returned and ensured a service-oriented approach and happy customers. In addition, the brothers decided to keep total control themselves. Where is Boragio positioned in the store? Does the store reflect the exclusivity of the brand?
Total control
In 2018, the new strategy starts to bear fruit. Boragio is able to guarantee high quality and the jeans therefore come with a year’s warranty. The brothers have complete faith in their brand and remain completely hands-on. They keep total control of the design and production process. Selecting the best materials, patterns, designing the perfect fit, accessories – everything is done by the Boragio brothers themselves. Shops in Belgium and France aim to position the brand internationally, but again, the brothers manage the entire process themselves. This has led to the optimisation of internal processes and complete automation. The brothers are looking at a great future for their jeans collection, which makes them continue to strive for improvement and perfection.
They keep learning every single day and continue to aim for perfection in the future. The brothers’ ambitions are sky-high: they want to take BORAGIO to the next level in the coming years.
Massive ambitions for the Boragio range
In the coming years, the brothers plan to work on increasing the range. They will focus mainly on tops such as hoodies, sweaters, denim jackets and t-shirts. These types of garments are, of course, a perfect match for jeans. They are also planning to expand international sales, including Germany, the US and elsewhere in Europe. ‘We want to keep surprising our customers, to ensure that we can deliver the exclusive look that you are looking for, over and over again’. – The Boragio brothers.
STORY FROM ITALY
How we met
The first time I met the BORAGIO brothers was at a denim laundry in Italy where I worked as a Washing Designer Consulting & Developer. We had an immediate connection, discussing denim research and development and sharing our mutual passion and philosophy for the future of denim.
How I see Boragio
I felt that combining my background and experience with the ideas of those two young and passionate guys could lead to a successful brand, producing innovative jeans for modern consumers, respecting traditional standards of manufacture, ensuring premium quality for comfortable, versatile and durable denim, combined with fashionable forward-looking washing processes with a low environmental impact.
My background – wash evolution and sustainability
I started working in denim at the end of the 1980s. During a period of over 30 years, I have seen and lived every change in denim, especially in washing and treatments. Thanks to new technologies such as Laser, Ozone, Nano Bubble (Nebulizer), and thanks to the fact that we no longer use formaldehyde or chemicals containing heavy metals, that our materials are 100% biodegradable, and that materials are no longer sandblasted (endangering operators), the impact on the environment has become minimal in modern times.
How we work together
The involvement of an Italian laundry means that Boragio are able to produce ecofriendly jeans that respect people (from the worker to the consumer) as well as the planet. Thanks to the partnership between manufacturing and laundry, Boragio are always up to speed with the latest innovations, enabling them to look forward to an even better product. We are constantly communicating via all available channels, to ensure real-time updates on product development and production tracking, as well as trouble shooting etc.