by MILAN – Italy’s peculiar role in the fashion industry is not limited to its marquee brands or high-end manufacturing supply chain.
The country has traditionally had one of the strongest representations of independent luxury and fashion retailers who over the years have been key in launching and supporting hot labels and newcomers.
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Scattered across the country’s second-tier cities are retailers who have acquired the fashion taste and sensibility of local consumers, creating strong links with luxury brands and acting as closet curators with selected product and brand mixes.
As consumer confidence continues to suffer from severe economic instability and geopolitical turmoil, the reality check for local retailers has been difficult to grasp.
Performance of e-commerce operations was slow. Direct retail strategies of luxury brands have reduced independent stores’ access to marquee names. The discount policies of online retailers have hurt small businesses — and often brick and mortar.
How can the multi-brand retail formula evolve?
The subject was discussed on Monday at the “Retail: Technology, Market and Consumers in the Fashion Retail World” summit, the first organized by Camera Buyer Italia, the country’s association gathering around 100 fashion and luxury retailers in the country they have 500 doors. through and through.
The consensus reflected a return to basics, as retailers were rediscovering their unique selling proposition, relying on offering one-of-a-kind curation tailored to their customer base, as well as building a universe around the transaction could attract big spenders. in the shop.
“Our recipe in times of uncertainty is always ‘back to basics’, pointing to what we do best, which is to listen to our clients and define our offer based on their current needs and trying to predict their future,” said Luis. Sans, the chief executive officer of the Barcelona-based luxury boutique Santa Eulalia.
Santa Eulalia is one of the first global retailers to enter the Camera Fashion Retailer. Promoted by Camera Buyer The president of Italia, Maura Basili, the international organization aimed at grouping international players, has already drawn US Mitchells, Germany’s Emerson Renaldi and Benesch, and Antwerp-based Verso, as well as the Spanish shop and the Associates Buyer Camera Italia. .
Sans introduced the elephant in the room – the gray market – which has driven revenue for independent retailers for the past 10 years.
That was before global brands – especially the most popular ones with annual sales of more than 1 billion euros – began to reduce more and more by adopting a direct-to-consumer strategy.
“Many of us were doped in recent years by easy sales through e-commerce and thanks to that a certain ease in finding brands,” said Sans.
Roberta Banaglia, CEO of investment firm Style Capital, which acquired a 40 percent stake in online and physical retailer LuisaViaRoma, in 2021, echoed that sentiment.
While she acknowledges the importance of direct retail for large-scale brands, she believes those strategies are leaving some customers unserved.
“I believe that in the long term, the lack of marquee brands at multi-brand retailers will affect their accessibility to a certain inquisitive and trendy clientele,” but may avoid monobrand stores altogether, she explained.
“Multi-brand stores have to survive. They are so rich for end consumers as a hotbed for emerging talent,” said Benaglia, adding that this strategy could help offset the negative impact of marquee brands reducing margins. left by wholesale players more and more.
According to a study by HeyLight, Compass Bank’s payment service, interviewing around 90 luxury and fashion retailers that are part of Camera Buyer Italia, innovation starts from the purchase.
Some 64 percent of respondents placed a stronger emphasis on emerging brands that ensure a more engaging and emotional variety, while 36 percent of retailers said they are continuing to use brands more decisively established to ensure high sales.
Independent retailers have agreed that, despite the current headwinds, brick and mortar retail needs to be preserved for customers who are determined to shop in-store.
“I think every luxury customer, if you ask them today, ‘do they want to shop in several single-brand stores, or would they rather go to one store, and have it all catered to them?’ I would say 100 percent of customers would prefer to shop in a multi-brand environment,” said Bob Mitchell, co-CEO of Connecticut-based luxury retail conglomerate Mitchells, which includes eight stores under the Mitchells, Richards, Marios and Wilkes Bashford banners. with units. in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Palo Alto, Calif., and Greenwich, Conn., among others.
“We are very committed to being a multi-brand retailer, which is in the wholesale business. I am sure we are not making any concessions. I believe there are concessions in the real estate business as opposed to the retail business,” he said.
According to Claudio Antonioli, the platform behind the eponymous store and e-commerce platform, as well as the founder of Dreamers Factory, which is currently an incubator for emerging brands, the biggest challenge facing retailers today than analysis and optimization of market requests, as well as. building a universe that is not purely transactional: the modern concept store.
“Before it was service but today, we talk about generosity,” Mitchell said. “We are committed to creating an environment in the stores that customers want to be in, be it with food, drinks and having excellent professionals. [sales associates],” he said.
“We think it’s our time to shine….I think the customer still wants that multi-brand experience in a great store with great sales associates. And it all starts with remembering that stores are the heart of our universe,” he said.
“Our intermediaries, our clients are tougher than ever. They look for style and culture,” said Beppe Angiolini, CEO of Sugar, the multi-brand store based in Arezzo.
Long-term profitability is key to ensuring sustainability, as are investments to drive continued innovation in retail.
“It’s really a seismic shift, a real challenge because almost every point of reference has changed,” said philosopher and sociologist Gilles Lipovetsky. “Multi-brand retail can’t help but renew itself and innovate. It’s not some marketing whim, it’s vital.”
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