A true pioneer, he has spent the last 50 years building a retail business, always keeping an eye open for exciting developments and endeavors to pursue before anyone else. In the 1960s his father, Mario Bisio (Sr.) opened Mario’s, a family clothing store in Portland. Mario Jr. began working for his father as a kid and when the time was right, he evolved his father’s vision and rigorously expanded.

After graduating from the University of Oregon, Jr joined his father as a full business partner. Not long after, his father passed away leaving him Mario’s. Only a year later in 1975, Mario had transformed the store. He made his first buying trip to Europe, becoming the first retailer to bring Canali, Ermenegildo Zegna, and Diesel Jeans to the United States. Within 2 years, Mario had opened a second store at the Portland Galleria. The business continued to innovate, with shops dedicated to Zegna, expanding into jewelry, a third store, becoming the first and only Brunello Cucinelli stockists in the area, the list goes on. In late 2015, after decades of independence Mario entered a partnership with Mitchell Stores that merged the retail operations into one.

We for one are particularly thankful for his pioneering spirit, as Mario was one of the very first to see the potential in Atelier Munro as a brand. Mario’s had been a private label client of ours when he first proposed a stand-alone Munro brand and then became one of the very first major retailers to offer it to his clients. On a sunny day in Amsterdam, we took to the canals to speak about our shared past, present, and future.

How did your history with Atelier Munro start?

It started when Munro was just doing business with the private label around the world, and Harry Rosen wanted a Munro label as a consumer brand for Canada. When Harry Rosen decided to do this, I decided I really wanted to control the brand in our market. So, I switched from the private label which I had named Rosso, to Atelier Munro. I decided it would be best to become part of the vision of Atelier Munro as a stand-alone brand. And it quickly became a brand that has grown steadily over the years.

What was your relationship with Amsterdam at that point?

I didn’t really have one at that point. I had only been there once or twice. Now, I have fallen in love with Amsterdam. My wife also loves it here. It’s great. Living in Portland, we are also kind of blessed with a nonstop flight to Amsterdam. Our daughter worked for Cuccinelli for five years after getting out of college. And then she was recruited by Nike in Portland. So, there’s a lot of Nike people coming to the HQ here, which is the reason we’ve got a nonstop.

What kind of a city is Amsterdam in your eyes?

In my eyes, Amsterdam is one of the cities in the world that I find most unique. Culturally it is so diverse and inspirational. Visually it’s just like: wow. The colors, the buildings, the people — I love everything about it. There is a sophistication here too, found on so many levels of everyday life: the food, the stores, the culture as a whole. I wholeheartedly feel that it’s a really special place. Also, the fact that most of The Netherlands is under sea-level. To visit here and realize that fact alone: it shows the rich history and a current level of sophistication.

It is clearly a historical city, but its inner and outer workings, which you don’t see on the surface, are extremely engineered too.

There’s a high level of creativity here. A city like Venice is historically sublime, but here there’s a creativity that goes beyond that. There’s a history of creativity extending to this day: how you survive, grow, and maintain, when you look at all the canal houses that were built in the 1600s, to modern architecture, enterprises, thought-provoking design: there’s a reverence of history, and then there’s a modernity to it.

The Dutch are strong, talented people. I was listening to traditional Dutch music in the car yesterday, by Andre Hazes, amongst others. The attitude you sense in that music, without understanding the words. That attitude is all around. There’s a strength in how you pronounce your words. There’s a strong confidence, a high level of self-assurance. I find that very cool and inspirational.

That marriage of history and modernity feels very familiar to us here at Atelier Munro. On one end, tradition is something we study and honor, and on the other end innovation is core to what we do too — that feels very much in line with your observation of Amsterdam.

I’ve been in a lot of showrooms in my life. But when I first came here, I was just really impressed. The quality and taste level were so high. I will always remember that first moment.

Every time I’ve been in the showroom since, which is probably a half a dozen times, I sense that Atelier Munro mirrors what’s happening in the coolest segment of the market. That is quite a studied approach to what’s happening, which is very commendable. To me, Atelier Munro feels like an inspired company. People seem very content being at the company: having lunch together, even playing ping-pong. There’s an energy level that’s remarkable, and it has been consistent over all those years!

I’ve come across brands that had an extraordinary façade, but once I was able to look inside the company and how people were running it at the lowest level: I knew this would reflect sooner or later. Over all the years I’ve been able to see the inner workings, Atelier Munro has been consistent. The positive energy is palpable throughout the company, and it’s a joy to be around. I’m speaking about any level: that’s pretty remarkable.

Well, that’s a great compliment and humbling to hear from a person who has seen it all. We will do our best to stay this way!

Every time I come back, whether it has been six months, a year, or two years: it has grown. Things have changed. There is always the adaption to, and reflection of what’s happening in the market and having the confidence to change. There has always been a will to do whatever to keep up with the market. Our relationship has always been based on asking questions and listening. On both sides.

There’s room for dialogue.

Not only room for dialogue, it’s an integral part of our relationship.

How do you see the future?

Atelier Munro is our fastest growing brand in its price segment, and I’m excited to be here with my associate Simon, who’s our head buyer in charge of Atelier Munro. We want to continue this amazing trajectory that we’ve been on together.

It will be all about that energy I talked about and working with the right people towards those goals. Over the last few years, your VP of Sales in the USA, Daphne, has been an amazing partner for us. We had a long-standing relationship with Jasper and Sebastiaan before that. And there will be more people joining our shared ambitions in the future. With the right people doing what they do best, on both ends, we have everything at hand to be great partners to each other — listening, learning, understanding what’s important to both of us and eventually bringing this relationship to new heights.

We can’t wait to see what the future will hold for Atelier Munro as a brand. We hope we can live up to the success you envisioned all those years ago. Thanks for joining us out on the boat today.