Celebrating who you are: Nabil Salah's strategy to take Harper & Neyer to 100 million

Before dressing the players of Málaga CF, seeing his garments displayed in over thirty concessions in El Corte Inglés and in his five own stores, Nabil Salah Mohamed sold counterfeit football shirts.

He bought them online and resold them to acquaintances and at market stalls, until an encounter with Customs made him rethink his path. He understood that he no longer wanted to sell other people's products, but to build his own brand.

From that decision, Harper & Neyer was born. The Málaga-based menswear brand is now presided over by Salah, who is its sole owner. This is the story of a founder who learned to grow with patience and discovered that, in business, knowing how to wait is also part of success.

A boy from Fuengirola with a flair for business

Salah, born in Fuengirola and aged 40, comes from a family of retailers. His father ran a shop in Torremolinos, where he quickly noticed that a large portion of the clientele was foreign. He studied business administration and management at the Alfonso X el Sabio University and completed a master's degree at Carlos III University. His first job was at a technology company, where he began to consider starting his own business.

When he chose fashion, the ambition was clear from the start: celebrate who you are. “We believe that every person—and every brand—must dare to be who they are. We say this because we have experienced it first-hand”.

“When we started, we lacked self-confidence. The beginning was hesitant; we looked at other brands and almost did a copy-paste of their collections. There came a moment of identity crisis when we decided to be ourselves, and that is precisely when we took off. That is where ‘celebrate who you are’ comes from,” he says.

“This is something that happens to almost all new brands. They take references from others without daring to have their own clear identity. That is our message to the industry. Making those kinds of decisions is very brave, and not everyone dares to make them. It is exactly at that point, however, that a brand truly begins to exist”.

Harper & Neyer is born

“Harper & Neyer was born from an idea and a lot of hard work, not from significant financial backing. We started practically from scratch, with very little capital and no safety net, and that has defined us from day one,” says the executive. “Starting with so little forces you to be profitable almost from the beginning. Every euro counts, you cannot afford to waste anything, and you have to validate the business with real customers before investing. That resource discipline remains part of the company's DNA. For us, it is also proof that a brand can be built from scratch with conviction and a clear head”.

The brand officially launched in 2013 in Fuengirola, with Salah and brothers Javier and Alberto Cerezo as partners and an initial investment of just 3,000 to 6,000 euros. None of them had previous experience with fashion brands. The first premises, lacking a business licence, forced them to move almost immediately. The business was sustained by minimal production runs and a shop window that served primarily to gauge public reaction.

The name, two English surnames combined, was a decision guided by instinct. Salah wanted something that sounded international and would arouse curiosity among locals, but would also be familiar to the many international visitors who choose to visit the Costa del Sol.

A struggle with debt

The turning point was not a success, but a crisis. Towards the end of the decade, the Cerezo brothers left the company and transferred their shares to him amidst continuous losses. Salah took sole command, facing a growing debt with banks and suppliers.

He saw the pandemic, which paralysed much of the sector, as an opportunity rather than a threat. This was consistent with his belief in navigating uncertainty well, where difficulties strengthen a company instead of sinking it.

From that period, he says he learned a lesson about leadership: “Leading in a crisis is not about having all the answers, but about supporting the team and making level-headed decisions when the pressure is on. We learned that cash is king and must be managed carefully. We also learned that uncertainty is managed with transparency and focus, and that separating noise from the real problem is one of a leader's most valuable skills. Above all, we learned that people are what sustain the company. Those moments, however tough, are precisely what forged our culture and our way of working. We emerged from them with a stronger company and a very clear idea of who we are”.

The numbers

On paper, Harper & Neyer had a turnover of 7.5 million euros in 2022, surpassed 10 million in 2023, and closed 2024 with 15 million euros and a profit of 1.5 million, operating solely in Spain. Data for 2025 has not yet been shared, although they expect a turnover of 20 million euros. The workforce is now around one hundred employees. The network combines its own stores in Málaga, Seville, Zaragoza and Murcia; thirty concessions in El Corte Inglés; a multibrand channel; and online sales. The stated goal is to reach one hundred million euros in 2030.

"Right now, we have five of our own stores. We are at a point where we want to grow our retail presence selectively, in prime locations,” he says. Regarding El Corte Inglés, he adds, “we already have 30 concessions in the youth department and six for the kids' line. It is a channel that works very well for us, and we continue to grow within it.” The stated goal is to reach one hundred million euros in 2030, an objective Salah confirms he is maintaining. In addition, the workforce is now around one hundred employees and the network combines its own stores.

In parallel, he wants the website to “expand into other countries” and become a powerful international channel, supported by a digital marketing budget he describes as “challenging”. The ultimate goal is not to push product, but for the customer to arrive with their purchase decision already made. In a sentence that summarises his ambition for the brand: “The objective is not to have to sell, but for them to buy from us”.