WE (pronounced as the word we, rather than W.E.) is an originally Dutch, slightly upmarket, high street fashion retailer selling clothing, shoes, bags and accessories of its own WE clothing brand as well as their Fundamentals clothing brand for more basic gear. Initially only operational in the Netherlands, it now runs over 230 stores in 7 European countries.
There are three types of WE outlets:
WE originally started as a retailer of menswear in 1962 under the name of 'HIJ' (Dutch for 'He') later followed by a separate chain offering Womenswear called 'ZY' (an alternative spelling of 'Zij' which is 'She' in Dutch). Those names were changed to WE Men and WE Women as the company decided to open branches internationally in 1999. Besides the Netherlands it now has stores in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland.