HERITAGE

"If you don't know where you've come from, you don't know where you're going"

1857

Bernard Willem Duetz laid the foundation stone of the story when he and his wife founded a textile factory in Wijk bij Duurstede in the Netherlands in 1857 with an adjoining restaurant. Their business also included an orchard and the rental of carriages, which today would be described as a concept store.

1917

His son Willem Bernard Jr. joins the business at the age of 21. In 1922, he opened a new store in Zeist. He was one of the first to offer ready-to-wear clothing. This made good clothing affordable for people who couldn‘t afford a tailor, and even then Duetz‘s mission was to sell “character clothingˮ - from people with character for people with character.

1934

Duetz makes affordable bespoke tailoring its unique selling point.

1957

This year, Duetz celebrates its 100th anniversary since its first opening in 1857 in the Zeist store with a huge crowd and one of the most successful years in the store‘s history to date.

1970

His heir Harry Duetz expands the menswear business. In addition to clothing for men and children, he also sells elegant fashion for women from 1982. He turns Duetz into a modern and respected company.

1974

Harry Duetz outfitted the Dutch national team for the 1974 FIFA World Cup (pictures left in the Duetz store in Zeist).

1980/1990

Harry‘s eldest sons, the brothers Coen and Pim Duetz, also follow in their father‘s footsteps: Pim takes over the Duetz company in 1990, which later officially becomes the “Royal Purveyor to the Courtˮ of the Netherlands.

Coen went his own way, studying textile business administration in Germany from 1980 onwards, before and after which he worked in New York, Munich, London, Scotland and Metzingen for Selfridges, Karl Lagerfeld and Hugo Boss, among others.

1992

With his experience in the fashion world, his work as a sales representative at Hugo Boss brings him to Dortmund. There, Coen opens a classic men‘s outfitter.

1995

Coen becomes the licensee of GANT Germany. He builds the American sportswear and lifestyle brand from scratch into the most successful GANT market worldwide and sells his shares back to GANT at the end of 2017.

2008

Due to Duetzʼs roots in the Netherlands, Coen developed a passion for the Dutch national sport: Field hockey. From 2008 to 2017, Coen Duetz was the main sponsor of the German Hockey Federation (DHB), supporting both the menʼs and womenʼs national field hockey teams. During this time, the menʼs team won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, Olympic gold in London in 2012, and bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

The womenʼs national team won Olympic gold in Athens in 2004 and bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

In 2011, Duetz partnered with GANT as the title sponsor of the European Hockey Championship, where the menʼs team won gold and the womenʼs team took silver.

2010

After overcoming two major setbacks—first, the most severe global financial crisis, and second, a serious, life-threatening illness affecting Coen - he invested millions into a new GANT headquarters. This bold move enabled annual revenue growth to exceed €100 million. An unusual time for most, but for Coen Duetz, it was exactly the right moment.

2013

Another milestone followed with the opening of the worldʼs largest GANT flagship store in a listed historic building from the year 1369, located in the Hofstatt district of Munich. The store spans over 850 square meters and includes a restored vaulted cellar.

2024

Seven years after selling Duetzʼs GANT license, he founded D-Brand Premium Lifestyle GmbH in June together with his eldest son Finn Duetz and other selected partners (including John Cloppenburg, Thomas Storck, and Angelika Schindler-Obenhaus). Coen and Finn combine the best of both generations as GenZoomers, and the brand D-Brand is born.

The D-Brand logo is derived from the curve of the heritage logo from 1857. The letter “Dˮ stands for the family name Duetz and also refers to the English phrase “D Brandˮ meaning “the brand par excellence.ˮ

2025

On May 15, D-Brand was officially launched.

D-Brand is a “True Heritage Brandˮ — the two founders, Coen and Finn Duetz, proudly look back on their long family history and tradition in the textile industry and aim to continue the Duetz family story with D-Brand.

On the right in the image: Coen and Finn in 1999 and in 2025 at the brand launch.