125 years of quality, expertise and evolution

Hans H. Iversen has been dressing the people of Bergen for four generations. As the family business celebrates its 125th anniversary, its story is as much about the ability to adapt as it is about tradition. For Managing Director Birgithe Iversen, the formula is simple:

You need to know what to hold on to, and what you must be willing to change.

From hats to menswear

“If you want to run a business over a long period of time, you cannot keep doing things the same way simply because that is how they have always been done. Markets change, customers change and competition changes. We have to be willing to change, too, while never compromising on quality, expertise, good employees and personal service.”

The roots of the business date back to 1882, when a hat shop was established on Strandgaten in Bergen. On 7 February 1901, Hans Hjalmar Iversen took over the business, marking the beginning of the era that forms the basis of the company’s 125th anniversary.

Hans Hjalmar had ambitions beyond hats. He wanted to expand into ready-to-wear clothing, and in 1907, the first suit was recorded in the order books. According to family history, news of the sale reached him on his own wedding day. Suits and menswear would gradually become an increasingly important part of the business.

The company’s history was put to the test early on. The great Bergen fire of 1916 destroyed the building on Strandgaten. Following the fire, and the First World War, the business was rebuilt, and a new commercial building was completed in 1927. Since then, Hans H. has experienced several periods of major change, both in society and in the retail industry. Yet its ambition to remain a specialist retailer has never changed.

“We are very conscious of the kind of store we want to be. Our customers should meet people who know their trade, understand the products and appreciate the importance of fit and occasion. It is not enough to have great clothes on the rails. We need to help each customer find what is actually right for him.”

A new retail landscape

When Birgithe joined the business in 2002, the retail landscape was very different from what it is today. Competition was largely local and national. Over the following two decades, the internet, smartphones, global online retailers and increasingly convenient payment and delivery solutions transformed the rules of retail.

“Previously, we mainly competed with the businesses around us. Today, we are effectively competing with the whole world. Customers have enormous access to products, prices and information,” says Birgithe.

“That does not make physical specialist retail any less relevant, but it does raise the bar. When the same products and brands are available in many places, the expertise surrounding the product becomes even more important. We continually work on how we curate our range, how we follow up with customers and how we tailor garments. We need to offer something customers cannot get simply by clicking a button.”

Today, Hans H. has stores on Strandgaten, at Lagunen and at Vestkanten, as well as an online store. Its customers range from teenagers buying their first confirmation suit, to men who have shopped at Hans H. for much of their adult lives.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution. A good specialist retailer needs to understand the customer, his body, his needs and the occasion.”

A quality garment is not necessarily finished when the customer takes it off the rail. On Strandgaten, Hans H. still operates its own tailoring department, where three tailors work on alterations and adjustments to ensure each garment fits the individual customer.

“Fit matters enormously. A suit can be fantastic, but if it does not fit properly, it makes little difference. Our tailors have specialist skills that are a very important part of what we offer.”

The stores themselves are equally carefully considered. Hans H. has its own visual merchandiser, responsible for window displays, in-store presentations and the overall visual appearance of the merchandise. For Birgithe, it is all part of the same experience.

“Customers should notice that we care about the details. The products, the people, the tailoring, the stores and the way customers are welcomed all go hand in hand.”

Expertise lies in the people

When asked to identify the factor that has been crucial to Hans H. across generations, Birgithe quickly turns to its employees. Several have spent much of their working lives with the company, and recently, one employee was awarded the Medal for Long and Faithful Service in recognition of decades with the business.

“We would not be the business we are today without the people who work here. The experience and knowledge they have built up over the years are difficult to replace.”

Much of a specialist retailer’s value lies in these customer interactions. It is about knowing the products and sizes, but also about understanding what works, recognising what a customer needs and sometimes suggesting something they had not considered themselves.

“The goal is not simply for the customer to be happy in the fitting room. He should still be happy when he gets home and starts wearing what he has bought, and he should want to come back.”

Adapting before you have to

A 125-year history can easily be romanticised, but the anniversary also reflects difficult decisions. Over the years, Hans H. has opened and closed stores, adjusted its product range and adapted its business. Shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic, the company reduced its number of stores and concentrated its operations more closely around Bergen.

“Through these changes, we had already made some difficult decisions and created a more focused business. That gave us a stronger starting point when the pandemic hit. Such decisions are not always easy at the time, but as a leader, you have to be willing to make changes before you are forced to.”

Birgithe is keenly aware that a long history should never stand in the way of progress.

“Our history means a great deal to us, but respecting it does not mean copying the past. I believe we honour previous generations by ensuring that the business remains strong and relevant in the future.”

For Hans H., it is not about choosing between old and new, tradition and modernisation, or physical stores and online retail. It is about combining the best of both worlds while remaining clear about what the business does best.

After 125 years, the ambition remains the same: to be a specialist retailer where customers receive help from people who know their trade and leave with clothes that fit well and feel right.

“Perhaps the most important lesson we have learned throughout our history is that you must be willing to change almost everything, except what you truly stand for. For us, that means quality, expertise and people. That is what we will continue to build on.”