Held Takes Over Hans van Wijk Motoren: Why the Manufacturer Is Buying Shops

• Following a joint refurbishment, Held is taking over the running of Hans van Wijk Motoren in Zoetermeer.
• The team, concept and product range are largely staying, while Held products will be given more weight.
• After Landau, this is the next takeover of an owner-run shop that had no successor.

Hans van Wijk has been running his motorcycle business in Zoetermeer for more than 47 years. Now he is handing it over to a partner he has worked with for a long time: the Allgäu-based manufacturer Held. The change comes at a special moment. In April 2025, a fire destroyed the old shop building, and a few months later a replacement shop was up and running. Now it is set to become a much larger store. For Held, Zoetermeer is not a one-off but part of a strategy with which the family-owned company is responding to the changes in motorcycle clothing retail.

What exactly is Held taking over in Zoetermeer?

Held will take over the day-to-day running of Hans van Wijk Motoren once the planned refurbishment has been completed. Both sides intend to carry out the work together.

At its core, the shop is to continue as customers know it. The team will largely stay on board, as will the concept and a large part of the product range. What changes is the emphasis: in future, Held products are to take centre stage. The connection is not entirely new. Hans van Wijk has been working with the German manufacturer for many years. The occasion for the handover is the planned expansion of the sales floor. Hans van Wijk no longer wants to take this step alone, but together with a long-standing partner.

Why is a clothing manufacturer taking over a motorcycle shop?

Held is responding to upheaval in specialist retail. Managing Director Markus Held describes the motorcycle clothing sector as a market that has been consolidating for years, shrinking to fewer and fewer players.

He explains that many owner-run shops are closing while international chains are growing. According to Held, it is happy to work with these chains. At the same time, Markus Held believes in the small, independent shop: “Hoe graag we ook met die ketens samenwerken, zijn we er evenzeer van overtuigd dat individuele winkels door klanten worden gewaardeerd en opgezocht.” In English: “As much as we enjoy working with these chains, we are equally convinced that individual shops are valued and sought out by customers.”

A model of its own has grown out of this conviction. Around three years ago, Held began taking over shops whose owners had not found a successor. These businesses are to be continued in the same spirit as before. In Markus Held’s view, a handover after such a long time only works if both sides’ ideas largely match and there is a great deal of trust. He also stresses that in Zoetermeer Held is not just taking over a shop, but also the team, and thus exactly what customers there are said to value most.

What happened at Hans van Wijk Motoren in Zoetermeer?

On the evening of 8 April 2025, a fire broke out in the shop on Goudstraat, largely destroying the building. The fire brigade quickly classified the incident as a major fire and shortly afterwards as a very major fire.

Despite the situation, the staff managed to rescue a lot from the burning building, including numerous motorcycles and tools. Residents were warned via an NL-Alert, the Dutch mobile phone warning system, and told to keep windows and doors closed. To protect the neighbouring buildings, the fire brigade used vertical water curtains and a firefighting robot. Parts of the façade had to be torn down so that firefighters could reach the flames. Because of the risk of collapse, a construction company was called in that same night to partially demolish the building. Firefighters were still dampening down the next morning.

By then, the business had already changed. Hans van Wijk Motoren had become the Hans van Wijk Motorshop. The focus was on clothing, accessories and the sale and servicing of used motorcycles. The business was no longer an authorised dealer for brands such as Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki.

What happened after the fire?

Hans van Wijk and his team carried on and, in less than ten months, opened a new shop on the opposite side of the street. It covers around 200 m².

The replacement shop cannot fully replace the shopping experience of the old building. However, the team has made sure that the character of the business has been preserved. Now there is an opportunity to expand the showroom in the same building to more than 800 m², more than four times the size.

For Hans van Wijk, the handover is above all about securing the future. “Ik wilde een veilige haven vinden voor de toekomst van het bedrijf en voor mijn medewerkers.” In English: “I wanted to find a safe haven for the future of the company and for my employees.” He says that Held respects the culture the team has built together and that a family business with the same long-term outlook is taking over. He felt from the very first conversation that both sides were a good fit. “Al vanaf ons allereerste gesprek voelde ik dat het DNA bij elkaar paste.” In English: “Right from our very first conversation, I felt that our DNA matched.”

Which shops does Held already run itself?

Held currently operates a flagship store in Sonthofen as well as Held Centers in Filderstadt near Stuttgart and in Landau in the Palatinate. Zoetermeer now adds a location in the Netherlands.

The flagship store in the Allgäu opened in 2011. On two floors and more than 1,100 m², it offers not only the complete Held collection but also helmets, technical gear and clothing from other brands. In 2023, the Held Center Stuttgart in Filderstadt followed, which Held opened together with the company Limbächer. It occupies 380 m² on the first floor of the Ducati building and, in addition to Held, also stocks Ducati’s clothing collection.

The Landau case is the one most reminiscent of Zoetermeer. The shop Seiboth Motorradbekleidung had existed there since 1995. After 30 years, owner Ute Seiboth decided to hand the shop over to new owners. Held turned it into the Held Center Landau, which opened in July 2025. The existing team remained almost unchanged, and a large part of the old range was retained and supplemented with the Held collection. On around 1,000 m², it stocks brands such as Alpinestars, Daytona, HJC, Schuberth and Shoei alongside Held. Exactly this pattern, keeping the team, keeping the range and integrating Held more strongly, is what the manufacturer is now announcing for Zoetermeer as well.

Where does Held stand in its anniversary year 2026?

Held is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2026. The family company is now run in the third generation by Markus Held.

The company was founded in 1946 by Bruno Held and his son Edgar in Burgberg in the Allgäu, after the family had been expelled from Abertamy in Bohemia. It started out with fashion, work and driving gloves. Only in the 1970s did protective gloves for motorcyclists become the focus. Textile jackets, leather suits, boots, luggage and airbag vests were added later. For a long time, Held relied mainly on specialist retailers: according to the company, more than 3,000 dealers in Europe and the USA were already selling its products in 1996.

Amid all the changes, Markus Held emphasises the values of the family business. Despite internationalisation and growing markets, the company wants to remain a reliable partner for employees, retailers and motorcyclists. “Humanity, continuity, fairness, professionalism and reliability define us as a company,” he says.

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