BALR. was a Dutch premium lifestyle brand that sold branded casual clothing, footwear and accessories. The brand was known for its iconic designs with the colors black and white. The brand aimed to make the life of a professional football player accessible to a wider audience. BALR. sold their products online and in store. The brand filed for bankruptcy in July 2025. According to the company, this was due to rising costs, declining sales, and debt accumulated during the coronavirus crisis. In 2023, the company suffered a loss of over 1.7 million euros. In 2022, the company recorded a loss of 1.3 million euros.
History
The company was founded in 2013 by ex-professional football player
Demy de Zeeuw
Demy Patrick René de Zeeuw (born 26 May 1983) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He previously played for AGOVV Apeldoorn, AGOVV, Go Ahead Eagles, AZ Alkmaar, AZ and AFC Ajax. W ...
and internet entrepreneurs Ralph de Geus and Juul Manders.
Later,
Eljero Elia
Eljero George Rinaldo Elia (born 13 February 1987) is a Dutch former professional Association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger.
He turned professional at ADO Den Haag and then played for FC Twente, Twen ...
and
Gregory van der Wiel
Gregory Kurtley van der Wiel (born 3 February 1988) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer who played as a right-back.
Born in Amsterdam, Van der Wiel is a product of the AFC Ajax youth system. In 2010, he was awarded t ...
became shareholders, with the latter selling his shares in 2018. De Zeeuw, Manders and De Geus came up with the concept.
In 2014, a
pop-up shop
Pop-up retail, also known as pop-up store (pop-up shop in the UK, Australia and Ireland) or flash retailing, is a trend of opening short-term sales spaces that last for days to weeks before closing down, often to latch onto a fad or scheduled e ...
was opened in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. The first store opened on November 4, 2016 in Amsterdam at the Kalverstraat.
The label gained traction in 2014 when a lot of professional players started to get spotted with BALR. products, although they have no affiliation with the brand unlike with players that have a typical sponsorship deal.
BALR. Luxury Sports Brand
SoccerBible. May 10, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
References
External links
* {{Official, http://www.balr.com
Clothing brands of the Netherlands
Dutch brands