Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy Statement and Consent for Data Use at Swim Essentials

Data protection is a matter of trust, and your trust is important to us. To ensure that you feel safe when visiting our websites, we strictly adhere to legal regulations when processing your personal data. This statement informs you about how we collect and use data. Below, we explain what data we collect on our websites, how we process and use it, and whom you can contact with questions.


1. Responsible Entity and Data Subject Rights

The responsible entity for collecting, processing, and using your personal data in accordance with the Privacy Protection Act is The Essentials B.V. (hereinafter: Swim Essentials). You can reach Swim Essentials using the following contact details:

  • By mail: Swim Essentials, Rietveldenweg 40, 5222 AR, 's-Hertogenbosch
  • Fax: +31 (0)73-7113713
  • Email: info@swimessentials.nl

You have the right to access, correct, block, or delete your stored data at any time, free of charge. Please contact us using the details above. If you object to the collection, processing, or use of your data as described in this privacy policy, either entirely or partially, you can send your objection via email, fax, or mail to the contact details provided above.


2. Collection, Processing, and Use of Personal Data

Personal data refers to any information about the personal or professional circumstances of a specific or identifiable individual. This includes, for example, your name, phone number, and address, as well as all data you provide when registering and creating a customer account.


2.1 Customer Account

When you register on our website using the "Register Now" function, we create a customer account for you. This provides you with password-protected direct access to your stored data, allowing you to view past, pending, and recently shipped orders, as well as manage your personal information and newsletter preferences.


2.1.1 Creating a Customer Account

The following information is required when registering for a customer account (mandatory information):

  • Email address
  • Password
  • First name
  • Last name
  • Gender
  • Consent to creditworthiness check and data protection terms

Your billing and shipping address only need to be provided when you place an order. We require accurate name, address, and payment information to process your order. Your email address is necessary for order confirmation, shipping updates, and general communication. Additionally, we use your email address for identification (as a login username) when accessing your customer account.


2.1.2 Using the Customer Account

You can log in to various European Swim Essentials online stores using your customer account. Your data will only be shared with these services when you log in. If these services do not belong to The Essentials B.V., data will only be transferred with your explicit consent, which you can provide during the registration process.

If you do not log out of your customer account, you will remain automatically signed in. This feature allows you to use some services (e.g., "Wishlist") without having to log in again. However, for security reasons, you will be asked to re-enter your password when changing personal details or placing an order.


2.1.3 My Preferences

On Swim Essentials, you can specify which brands or categories interest you the most and which do not. The "My Preferences" function allows you to update these choices at any time in your customer account. This information helps us personalize your homepage and enhance our services to make them more relevant and engaging for you.


2.2 Collection, Processing, and Use of Your Personal Data

We collect, process, and store your data for the complete execution of your purchase, including any subsequent warranties, our customer service features (e.g., "My Preferences"), technical administration, our own marketing purposes (more details in section 2.3), and to prevent criminal activity and fraud.

Your personal data will only be shared with third parties to the extent legally permitted, for purposes such as contract fulfillment, payment processing, marketing activities, or if you have given prior consent. For example, during order processing, service providers we engage (e.g., shipping companies, logistics providers, banks) receive the necessary information for order execution. These service providers are only allowed to use the transferred data to fulfill their respective tasks.


2.3 Use of Your Data for Advertising Purposes

In addition to processing your data to complete your purchase at Swim Essentials, we also use your data for the following purposes:

  • To continuously improve your shopping experience and make it more customer-friendly and personalized.
  • To communicate with you about your orders and specific products or marketing campaigns.
  • To recommend products or services that may interest you.

We use available data such as email receipt and read confirmations, information about your device, internet connection, operating system, platform, visit date and time, the products you have viewed, and any information we receive from you (including automatically transmitted or generated data). Additionally, we analyze your purchase history to make personalized recommendations.

You can object to the use of your personal data for advertising purposes at any time, either entirely or for specific activities, without incurring any costs beyond basic transmission fees. A simple written notification to the contact details listed in section 1 (e.g., email, fax, letter) is sufficient.


2.3.1 Newsletter

We send newsletters only to the email address you provide, and we require confirmation from you (as the email owner) that you consent to receiving the newsletter.

If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time without incurring any costs beyond basic transmission fees. A written notice to the contact details in section 1 (e.g., email, fax, letter) is sufficient. Additionally, every newsletter contains an unsubscribe link.


2.3.2 Product Recommendations via Email

As a Swim Essentials customer, you will regularly receive product recommendations via email, regardless of whether you are subscribed to our newsletter. We aim to inform you about products from our collection that may interest you based on your previous purchases.

If you do not wish to receive product recommendations or any advertising emails, you can object at any time without incurring costs beyond basic transmission fees. A simple written notification to the contact details in section 1 (e.g., email, fax, letter) is sufficient. Every email also contains an unsubscribe link.


2.3.3 Advertising Banners

We use data collected during your visits to display targeted advertising banners on third-party websites. These advertisements are usually displayed using cookies or pixels.

Our goal is to make advertisements more relevant to you, so you will primarily see banners featuring products you have previously viewed on our website or similar items (retargeting). These advertisements only use pseudonymous data—no plaintext personal information (such as your name or email) is stored in the cookies.

For more information on cookies, pixels, and retargeting, please refer to sections 4 and 7 of this policy.


2.3.4 Sweepstakes, Market Research, and Opinion Polls

If you participate in a sweepstake, we use your data to notify you of winnings and promote our offers. Detailed instructions can be found in the specific sweepstake terms and conditions.

We also use your data for market research and opinion polls. However, data collected for this purpose is not used for advertising. Details regarding data evaluation are provided in the respective survey or input form. Your survey responses will not be shared with third parties or published.

You may object to the use of your data for market research and opinion polling at any time, either entirely or for specific activities, without incurring costs beyond basic transmission fees. A written notification to the contact details in section 1 (e.g., email, fax, letter) is sufficient. Every survey also contains an opt-out link.


3. Creditworthiness Check

To provide you with the best possible payment options and protect against misuse, we conduct a creditworthiness check. For this purpose, we transmit the necessary personal data, including your address, to:

Experian NL

  • Online contact form: Experian Contact Page
  • Email: Inzage@experian.nl
  • Phone: 0900-EXPERIAN (0900-39737426)
  • Mailing address: Postbus 16604, 2500 BP Den Haag
  • Office address: Kantoorgebouw 't Schip, 9th Floor, Verheeskade 25, 2521 BE Den Haag

Experian performs an assessment based on mathematical-statistical methods. Your address data is also included in the probability calculation. The probability score we receive helps us determine the payment options we can offer you.

If you disagree with the automated decision regarding available payment methods, you may request a manual review by contacting us via email at info@swimessentials.nl or by mail.

You may also object to the transfer of your data to Experian at any time. A simple written notification (e.g., email, fax, letter) is sufficient. However, please note that in this case, the only available payment option will be prepayment.


4. Cookies

4.1 Introduction

As stated in the cookie banner, Swim Essentials uses various types of cookies, web beacons, and JavaScripts on its websites (hereafter collectively referred to as "cookies").

This cookie policy explains what cookies are, how they are used, and how you can adjust your browser settings to accept or decline cookies. Accepting cookies is not a requirement for visiting our website, but please note that using the shopping cart function and placing orders is only possible if cookies are enabled.


4.2 Consent

Under Dutch law, some of the cookies used by Swim Essentials require your prior consent. This cookie policy specifies which cookies fall under this category.

By clicking "I agree" in the cookie banner or continuing to use this website, you consent to the placement of all cookies described below when visiting this or other Swim Essentials websites. You automatically accept cookies by clicking on any part of the web pages of Swim Essentials (except for opening this cookie policy or the privacy statement) or by navigating to other pages of The Essentials B.V. websites.

If you do not agree with the placement of all cookies as described, you should not use the websites of The Essentials B.V. and leave them immediately.


4.3 What Are Cookies?

A cookie is a small text file placed on your computer when you visit a website. This file stores information that can be retrieved by the website on a subsequent visit.

  • Some cookies are necessary for the website to function properly.
  • Other cookies improve user experience, for example, by securely remembering your username and language preferences so that you don’t have to re-enter them every time.
  • Some cookies enable targeted advertising on Swim Essentials websites.

Additionally, we use:

  • Web beacons – Small, invisible graphics on a webpage that help measure visitor activity.
  • JavaScripts – Programs that run on your device to track user actions and improve website structure and advertising efforts.


4.4 What Types of Cookies Does Swim Essentials Use?

We categorize cookies as follows:

Functional Cookies

  • Essential for website functionality (e.g., carrying over information between pages).
  • Store preferences like language settings and text size.
  • Do not require prior consent.

Analytical Cookies

  • Help us optimize our website by tracking anonymized usage data.
  • Have minimal privacy impact and do not require prior consent.
  • Examples: Webtrekk, Google Analytics.

Social Media Cookies

  • Allow content sharing via social media buttons.
  • Require your consent as they enable third-party data collection.
  • Used by: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.

Advertising/Profiling Cookies

  • Enable Swim Essentials and third parties to show relevant advertisements.
  • Require your consent.
  • Example: DoubleClick by Google assigns a pseudonymous ID to track ad effectiveness.
  • To disable DoubleClick cookies, install the browser plugin.

Affiliate Cookies

  • Track purchases made after clicking an ad to reward advertisers.
  • No consent required due to low privacy impact.

Tracking Cookies

  • Collect data on browsing behavior for analytics and advertising.
  • Require your consent.

Unexpected Cookies
Due to the dynamic nature of the internet, third parties may place unforeseen cookies through our website. If you encounter such cookies, we appreciate your feedback.

View our current cookie list here. While we strive to keep this list updated, changes may occur.


4.5 Changes to the Cookie Policy

Swim Essentials may update this cookie policy at any time without prior notice, for example, due to website modifications or changes in cookie regulations. Updates take effect immediately upon publication.

We recommend checking this policy regularly to stay informed and adjust your settings if necessary. By continuing to use our website, you accept any updates to the cookie policy.


5. Log Files

Each time you access Swim Essentials websites, usage data is transmitted by your internet browser and stored in protocol files known as server log files. These records contain the following data:

  • Date and time of access
  • Name of the accessed page
  • IP address
  • Referrer URL (the website from which you accessed our website)
  • Data volume transferred
  • Product and version details of the browser used

We analyze these log file records to improve our services and the Swim Essentials online store, enhance user-friendliness, detect and resolve errors more quickly, and manage server capacity. Additionally, we use log files to defend against attacks on our website, such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which aim to overload and block access to our store.


6. Web Analytics

To continuously improve and optimize our services, we use tracking technologies such as Google Analytics and Webtrekk.


6.1 Google Analytics

This website uses Google (Universal) Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google Inc. (www.google.com). Google Analytics uses various methods, such as cookies, which store small text files on your computer, enabling the analysis of website usage.

The information generated about your website use is typically transmitted to and stored on Google servers in the United States. However, with IP anonymization activated on this website, your IP address is shortened before transmission within member states of the European Union or other contracting states in the European Economic Area. In exceptional cases, the full IP address may be sent to a Google server in the U.S. and shortened there.

The anonymized IP address collected through Google Analytics will not be merged with other Google data.

You can prevent Google from collecting and processing data related to your use of the website (including your IP address) by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at:
Google Opt-Out Plugin

Alternatively, you can click this link to prevent Google Analytics from collecting your data on this website in the future. This will store an opt-out cookie on your device. If you clear your cookies, you will need to click the link again.


7. Retargeting and Data Collection by Third Parties for Advertising Banners

For retargeting and advertising banners, we use services from third parties that place cookies on our site. These providers include:

  • Doubleclick by Google, Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, V.S.; https://www.google.com/intl/nl/policies/technologies/ads/
    Nugg.ad GmbH, Rotherstr. 16, 10245 Berlin, Duitsland; https://www.nugg.ad/en/privacy/general-information.htmlAdform Germany GmbH; Gr. Burstah 50-52, 20457 Hamburg, Duitsland; http://site.adform.com/privacy-policy/en/
    Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, V.S.; https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy
    Criteo CIL, 32 Rue Blanche, 75009 Paris, Frankrijk; http://www.criteo.com/privacy/
    The Rubicon Project Ltd., Walmar House, 5th Floor, 296 Regent St., London, W1B 3HR, Verenigd Koninkrijk; http://rubiconproject.com/privacy/consumer-online-profile-and-opt-out/
    Yieldlab AG, Colonnaden 41. 20354 Hamburg, Duitsland; http://www.yieldlab.com/meta-navigation/data-protection/
    Xaxis, Inc., 132 West 31 Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10001, V.S.; https://www.xaxis.com/static/view/privacy-policy-en

These third-party providers collect data to serve targeted advertisements based on your previous website visits.


8. Secure Data Transmission

We securely transmit your personal data using encryption protocols. This applies to all personal information, including:

  • Orders
  • Customer login information

We use TLS (Transport Layer Security) and SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption systems to protect your data from unauthorized access.

Additionally, we secure our websites and systems using technical and organizational measures to prevent loss, destruction, unauthorized access, modification, or distribution of your data by third parties.