Van Huizen - Biography
Ever thought that retailing was in the blood? If ever proof were needed, then the Van Huizen family are surely the living embodiment of this Dutch trading tradition, with many generations of the family, plus their spouse’s and families, having been involved in retailing over the years. Back in the 1930’s, Wim Van Huizen’s father ran a general store (pictured below) in his native Bilthoven, a small town in the west of The Netherlands. This was eventually handed down to both Wim and his brother Ed, who owned the shop until it was sold in the early 1980’s. By this time, Wim, an Anglophile, has already decided on a change of lifestyle, and in 1976 moved his branch of the Van Huizen family to England, whilst the brother eventually moved to Canada.
Van Huizen Family Shop, Bilthoven, The Netherlands - 1930’s
Having moved to the England, Wim quickly identified what he thought was a potential market within the UK for the colourful, and sometimes quirky, Dutch children’s wear he had previously been used to seeing in Holland. A friend from Bilthoven who at that time ran his own company manufacturing a brand of children’s clothing called Robbie, offered Wim the collection for the UK, and this is what started off the Van Huizen sales dynasty within the UK.
In those days, Wim traveled around the UK and Ireland as a roving salesman, visiting shops far and wide, and in doing so, made numerous friends and acquaintances in the trade, many of whom remain good friends today. As with all businesses, there have been ups and downs over the years, so much so, that during the boom years, most of the Van Huizen family, and their spouses, had some involvement in the running of the company at one time or another, and can truly claim to have been part of the action. However, by 2000, in the face of stiff competition, Van Huizen Enterprises (formally Van Huizen Agencies) had downsized considerably, and things reached a particularly low ebb when Wim suffered a serious stroke. Fortunately, after a while he recovered sufficiently well, so as to enable him to retire back to Bilthoven, Holland, where he remains today.
Maggie, Martin & Wim Enjoy A Dutch Gin The Traditional Way
Due to the number and size of the collections we have available for perusal these days, there is no way we can ‘take to the road’ as Wim did in those early days. Apart from the small and selective amount of ordering which is possible at shows, customers will generally need to come and see us in our Wiltshire showrooms, which, despite the distances involved for some customers, we are confident that you will find it a worthwhile and pleasant experience.
As with everything else in life, particularly during this current recession, children’s wear retailing continues to be a challenge for everyone involved. For us, Oilily going bankrupt in March 2009, after being their UK agent for 25+ years, brought about enforced challenges, financial and otherwise, not made any the more palatable by learning that we wouldn’t be having any future involvement in any resurrected Oilily clothing set up. A strange decision by anybodies standards, and one customers also fail to fathom.
Life goes on however, and thankfully we have other strong brands to represent, with Jottum, Cakewalk and Mim-pi continuing to form the backbone of our collections. We continue to remain flexible as to the additional choices of brands we offer you, with the proviso that collections must be colourful and interesting. To this end you should soon find two additional Dutch collections on offer for the Spring/Summer 2010 season. We are in the process of finalising these at present with the manufacturers involved, so please do come back soon, and have a look below at what these are!
Although supplying retailers in the UK with children’s wear continues to form the core of our business, this has recently been supplemented by the addition of Colorful Licenses’s, Oilily bag collections, plus the Oilily Stationery range, both of which can be viewed on our dedicated web-site: www.oililybag.co.uk
Van Huizen Showrooms, Melksham, England - 1990’s
People frequently ask questions about the various brands and where their names come from, so here is a quick resume: Mim-Pi, pronounced Mim-pee, which means ‘Dreaming’ in Thai, is a Dutch brand we have represented since 2005, which is not long after the brand was created by Leonora Niewenhuizen, the Owner/Designer, who continues at the helm today.
Jottum, pronounced Yot-um, which means ‘Hooray’ or ‘Whoopee’ in a northern Dutch dialect, originally started life as an independent label in Holland in the early ‘90’s, but later joined Cakewalk, and many other brands, as members of the Vilenzo group. When Vilenzo went bankrupt, Cakewalk and Jottum were bought out by the Logo-Alkmaar group, based in Alkmaar, in the Netherlands. Then guess what? They in turn went bankrupt (a common theme it seems) and from early 2007, the brands became part of the much larger 'Waalwear Kids BV’ group, based in Badhoevedorp, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, where they reside today.
Monique Van Huizen - Hard At Work
Anybody having contact with Van Huizen Enterprises since 2000 will have dealt with Monique Van Huizen, one of Wim’s three daughters, the sole survivor within the family business, being someone who had already been working within the business for 18 years prior to Wim’s departure. Since then, the company, after nearly a decade of growth, first saw the arrival of the recession in 2008, and then the departure of Oilily in 2009, which, along with many of our customers, has lead to some challenging times, but at least we, and most of our customers, are still around. Long may it remain that way, although we are often told by customers, that Agents are fast becoming an endangered species. Has anybody seen a young Agent recently?
So there you have it. The background to Van Huizen Enterprises. If you have an interest in any of the collection we have to offer, then please click on the collection name below, and this will take you to the respective website for that label, where you can look at the latest collections on offer, plus any relative information about that label.
| Collection | Catering For | Suitable For | Age Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cakewalk | Newborn, Toddler & Kids | Girls | 0 to 14 years |
| Jottum | Newborn, Toddler & Kids | Girls & Boys | 0 to 12 years |
| Mim-Pi | Baby, Toddler, Kids & Women | Girls & Women | 2 to 10/100 years |
| Oilily Bags by Colorful Licenses | Babies, Girls & Women | Girls & Women | 0 to 100 years |
| Toff Togs | Toddler & Kids | Girls | 0 to 12 years |
| Desigual | Kids | Girls & Boys | 4 to 14 years |
| Rosalita Senoritas | Kids | Girls | 4 to 10 years |