OLYMP Bezner Group acquires all trademark rights from competitor

The OLYMP Bezner Group acquires all trademark rights from its market competitor.

For many decades, the brands OLYMP and Eterna were competitors. Now, the OLYMP Bezner Group, based in Bietigheim-Bissingen, has acquired all trademark rights—particularly those to the core brand ETERNA—from Eterna Mode GmbH in Passau. The Bavarian shirt and blouse specialist filed for insolvency in mid-December 2025 and recently announced that it will cease business operations by summer 2026.

Mark Bezner, owner and CEO of OLYMP, explains:
“We have great respect for the entrepreneurial achievements of our long-standing competitor Eterna, which, together with OLYMP, has shaped the German and European shirt market for decades. Both brands have always shared a strong commitment to quality, a sense for timeless elegance, and the pursuit of the perfect shirt. We are already reviewing various scenarios for how we can successfully re-establish the Eterna brand in the market for its many loyal customers and retail partners.”

The acquisition of the trademark rights to the core brand Eterna, as well as other registered trademarks from Eterna Mode GmbH, represents a valuable addition to OLYMP’s growing brand and product portfolio. Given the differences in collection statements, market coverage, target audiences, and retail positioning, the two brands complement each other and offer OLYMP numerous opportunities to position itself more broadly and flexibly in a persistently challenging fashion market.

While OLYMP is gradually evolving from a product specialist into a lifestyle brand through the targeted expansion of its apparel range—achieving a more modern profile with innovative designs and a distinctive brand presence that appeals to more trend-conscious customers—Eterna stands for a tradition of quality-focused shirts and blouses with its own distinct brand identity. Additional potential arises from the brands’ differing regional and international distribution focuses, which complement each other ideally.

OLYMP Bezner KG, based in Bietigheim-Bissingen near Stuttgart, is the market leader for shirts in Germany and one of Europe’s leading shirt brands. Its high-quality apparel range—covering business, casual, and formal shirts, as well as an increasing number of knitwear, jersey items, trousers, and, since autumn 2025, jackets—is distributed in more than 40 countries worldwide.