Meet Boris and CEO Rob Schalker

This article was published in Dutch newspaper Telegraaf and Telegraaf.nl.

By Sophie Zimmerman

From Prints to Pixels

Since Boris Schalker (21) joined his father Rob’s clothing brand, a fresh digital breeze has been blowing through A fish named Fred. Especially in the field of e-commerce, major steps have been taken. Rob: “The younger generation is just good at that. Boris grew up in a digital world.” 

Rob (59) knows how to find his way online, but he also sees its limits. “I think I’m less handy with digital stuff than many people from Boris’ generation. I also don’t like working with it as much. With the possibilities that WhatsApp offers today, for example, you can easily arrange meetings,” he says. “I do think it’s great to work on a website, for example, but building a new site from scratch is a whole different story — and that’s where Boris is simply better.”

Boris confirms that. “I didn’t grow up with retail, but I did with e-commerce. I’ve always been interested in business management. But I do understand how things work and I know not to just dive in — I always consult with my team — a whole new software system, for example, is only introduced after careful planning.”

The way Boris approaches things is impressive, according to his father. “What’s nice about Boris is that even though he’s still young, he has a good sense of timing and an innate entrepreneurial spirit. He also has a great sense of humor,” Rob laughs. “He now teaches me a lot about areas where I used to lead the way.”

Boris, who recently moved into the company’s office along with partner Mart van den Nouwland, still works from there during the week. On weekends, he regularly joins his father on store visits. “We often hear that we complement each other well,” Rob says. “I’m more about product, styling, and collections, while Boris is all about systems and processes.”

GENERATION SHIFT
Boris Schalker would like to take over some of the ownership mindset from his father Rob.

Boris is aware that it’s a bit unusual for a 21-year-old to be the boss’s son, but fortunately he hasn’t heard this comment yet: ‘What exactly do you do?’ Because of my commitment, I’ve now earned real respect from my colleagues.”

What Boris would most like to inherit from his father is Rob’s famous entrepreneurial spirit. “I think my generation may be a bit more modest and quicker to adapt to what others expect. My father doesn’t have that at all. He always believes in his own vision. That’s something I’d still like to learn from him.”

Rob recognizes himself in that description. “Especially in the early years, it was important to distinguish yourself. Our motto is still: dare to be different. You need to clearly position yourself — also with your collections — otherwise, you’ll just get lost among all the other brands. For example, we only sell our collections through our own channels. We don’t use platforms like Zalando. It’s all about exclusivity.”