On September 30, 1946, Pia and Paul Döbele founded the Döbele corsetry company in Murg in southern Baden. In 1958, the strapless, patented “Charmant” corsage with spring underwire was presented at the World’s Fair in Brussels. The company developed from a corsetry manufacturer into an international swimwear specialist and in 1976, daughter Maryan Mehlhorn took over the management of the company, which since has concentrated exclusively on premium swimwear and beachwear.
Today, the maryan beachwear group is a third-generation owner-managed company, since 2018 chaired by managing partner Maya Mehlhorn (granddaughter of Pia and Paul Döbele). The four brands – Maryan Mehlhorn, Watercult, Lidea and Charmline – represent the entire variety of swimsuits, bikini and beachwear, with 7 collections and 1,000 new models every year. 350 employees work for the company, in the design studio and administration in Murg, in the logistics centre in Laufenburg and in the company’s own production sites in the Czech Republic and China.
Maya Mehlhorn
Maya Mehlhorn, managing partner of the maryan beachwear group, sees a key to the company’s long-term success in the interplay between local expertise, international partners and the global orientation of the company’s brands. “Swim and beachwear from Murg can be found by consumers in more than 50 countries around the world. We work with renowned fabric suppliers from Europe, especially from Italy. Around 4,000 retailers rely on our swimsuits and bikinis. They range from boutiques with a hand-picked assortment, such as Nomads in Dubai, to large, premium department stores like La Rinascente in Milan or KaDeWe in Berlin.”
Dominik Bossert, managing director of sales and marketing, emphasizes the importance of the interaction between all sales channels for the company. “For us, an optimal sales strategy means that stationary retail and digital sales channels not only coexist but match perfectly. Each channel has its own character and its own special target group. It was the right decision that we launched our first online store back in 2015 and are now represented online with all brands, thus establishing our digital business even before Corona. We are also represented in multi-brand online stores like Zalando with a selection from our range.”
Creative design, craftsmanship and technical innovation are the success factors in the product area. The company’s reputation is based on the implementation of the highest quality standards, expertise in fit and functionality, the use of high-performance fabrics and high-quality workmanship. For Maya Mehlhorn, precision and variety are decisive factors in the success of the brands‘ collections: “Craftsmanship is an intricate hand embroidery with countless micro-beads, crochet trim with a boho look, a cleverly intertwined draping at the neckline, a placed print in just the right spot. In our studio in Murg, we sew and fit 5,000 fit patterns a year under tight time limits to develop our models in up to 20 sizes. This allows us to cater to the different figure types and sizes with each new collection and promise absolute comfort.”
Important to Maya Mehlhorn, who is responsible in the management board for the departments of design and development as well as purchasing and production, is reducing the ecological footprint in addition to diversity in terms of size, age and look. Just relying on recycled fabrics is not enough for her: “Sustainability needs to be looked at holistically in the apparel industry,” she says.
“Our latest step in sustainability is to collaborate with Italian fabric manufacturer Eurojersey and its patented fabric Sensitive Fabrics for the 2022 swimwear season, developing swimwear that goes beyond recycling and raw material selection. The basis of the collaboration is a holistic approach to sustainable production and the product life cycle. It starts with the careful use of resources during production, continues with short supply chains and ends with the longevity of the product. We take an honest approach to this issue – last year, for example, we switched our yarns completely to eco yarn. Part of this honesty is also the realization that sustainability is a long road for companies. We’re walking that path, but we’re still far from perfect, too.”
Today, the company considers itself excellently positioned to take on the challenges of the industry and of both digital and brick-and-mortar retail. After the impact of the pandemic, which significantly affected the business of the company in terms of planning, supply and sales, the management is pleased with the recovering markets. “Corona has brought us hard times, but our strategy of being fully present in our markets, with our customers, despite Corona without reducing the range, and focusing on partnership is paying off,” Dominik Bossert adds. “With our customers, we stand for the reliability of a family business, for uncompromising quality, craftsmanship, sustainability and very special design. Although we have not yet reached the pre-Corona level in terms of orders and sales, the signs are clearly pointing to growth.”
