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Frans works his way out of the crisis. 1981.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the world was in severe economic crisis. Things were not going well for Van Bommel either. From a financial point of view, the factory was forced to produce at full capacity anyway. Producing less but still paying employees in full was simply too expensive. However, sales were not picking up. Stocks were so high that the company's financing was under pressure. In early 1981, the management was forced to apply to the Dutch Federation of Shoe Manufacturers for a reduction in working hours. The factory was completely idle while the office worked on a restart. During this time, the shoe factory was on the brink of collapse.

(Image below: Frans van Bommel (r.) with his father Jan (m.) and an employee looking at a leather hide in a leather warehouse in 1973.)

In the middle of the crisis, a German representative of international trade magazines visited the factory. He asked Frans if he wanted to advertise in the famous Italian trade magazine Ars Sutoria. The advertisement cost several thousand guilders. Back then, the factory couldn’t spare this amount. The representative added that Van Bommel would also register for the ‘Oscar Alta moda’. In 1978, German Lloyd had won this prestigious award, and this was widely reported in the press. Frans asked the representative how likely it was that Van Bommel would win. ‘One hundred percent’ was the answer, but for this, Van Bommel would have to place an ad. Frans scraped together the money and signed up for the award. A few months later, the win was leveraged into a huge good-news campaign. Press releases went out, there were celebrations with major buyers and the Oscar was featured on all packaging and communications. And it worked. Orders picked up and the factory was up and running again.

(Image below: Manuel van Bommel symbolically hands over the Oscar Alta Moda to Walter van Breda, the chairman of Van Bommel's works council.)

For Frans, the crisis of the 1980s was a traumatic experience. After this, he decided to do everything differently. When the company regained its strength, he revamped the collection with the fashionable sublabel ‘Manhattan by Van Bommel’. Frans specialised more and more in marketing and PR and introduced the now classic copper-coloured VB label that adorns the side of all classic shoes. Another big change Frans made was the partial outsourcing of production. Given that he was running his own factory, he never wanted to be so dependent on fluctuations in sales again. The company continued to grow, and all additional sales were now produced at an off-site factory in Portugal. To complete the culture change, Frans invited buyers to participate in collection meetings. Customers enjoyed that they could exert influence on the collection and this way, Van Bommel was closer to the market and its developments.

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(Image above: A press photo of the Oscar Alta Moda among some Van Bommel men's and women's shoes.)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the world was in severe economic crisis. Things were not going well for Van Bommel either. From a financial point of view, the factory was forced to produce at full capacity anyway. Producing less but still paying employees in full was simply too expensive. However, sales were not picking up. Stocks were so high that the company's financing was under pressure. In early 1981, the management was forced to apply to the Dutch Federation of Shoe Manufacturers for a reduction in working hours. The factory was completely idle while the office worked on a restart. During this time, the shoe factory was on the brink of collapse.

(Image below: Frans van Bommel (r.) with his father Jan (m.) and an employee looking at a leather hide in a leather warehouse in 1973.)

In the middle of the crisis, a German representative of international trade magazines visited the factory. He asked Frans if he wanted to advertise in the famous Italian trade magazine Ars Sutoria. The advertisement cost several thousand guilders. Back then, the factory couldn’t spare this amount. The representative added that Van Bommel would also register for the ‘Oscar Alta moda’. In 1978, German Lloyd had won this prestigious award, and this was widely reported in the press. Frans asked the representative how likely it was that Van Bommel would win. ‘One hundred percent’ was the answer, but for this, Van Bommel would have to place an ad. Frans scraped together the money and signed up for the award. A few months later, the win was leveraged into a huge good-news campaign. Press releases went out, there were celebrations with major buyers and the Oscar was featured on all packaging and communications. And it worked. Orders picked up and the factory was up and running again.

(Image below: Manuel van Bommel symbolically hands over the Oscar Alta Moda to Walter van Breda, the chairman of Van Bommel's works council.)

For Frans, the crisis of the 1980s was a traumatic experience. After this, he decided to do everything differently. When the company regained its strength, he revamped the collection with the fashionable sublabel ‘Manhattan by Van Bommel’. Frans specialised more and more in marketing and PR and introduced the now classic copper-coloured VB label that adorns the side of all classic shoes. Another big change Frans made was the partial outsourcing of production. Given that he was running his own factory, he never wanted to be so dependent on fluctuations in sales again. The company continued to grow, and all additional sales were now produced at an off-site factory in Portugal. To complete the culture change, Frans invited buyers to participate in collection meetings. Customers enjoyed that they could exert influence on the collection and this way, Van Bommel was closer to the market and its developments.

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(Image above: A press photo of the Oscar Alta Moda among some Van Bommel men's and women's shoes.)