From Fashion Network “It’s been a tough year, weighed down by an unfavourable international environment. Next year, we hope to return to the growth rates we are used to”, Carlo Capasa, chairman of Italy’s National Fashion Chamber, said on Thursday.

No.
Hope is not enough.

The Italian #fashionindustry sees around 75% of its revenues made outside the Italian borders.

“Italy’s fashion industry expects its revenues to stall this year, with growth of just 0.1%, a far cry from the average 3% annual growth rate it has achieved over the last decade and which it hopes to recoup in 2020.” says the article

Hope is not enough.

– A very behind the scenes hard work is needed to revive what once was the bubbly and energetic fashion industry.
– A brand new mindset
– A deep cultural approach based on adaptive learning
– A fear-free environment
– A place where creative people and managers can share ideas and projects without judgement
– A place where leaders drive and make their people grow

There is so much to do. And so many opportunities.
And we are ready to move ahead.

#fashion #luxury #creativity #brandmanagement

The Hermès-Margiela collaboration as seen by Pierre-Alexis Dumas

“Jean-Louis Dumas …knew that he constantly needed to revive the perception and understanding of the brand through creativity. He was always telling me that Hermès needs to change all the time to remain true to its spirit.”

“My father later said: ‘Hermès has always been a house of hashtag#innovation. It is what has kept us alive through time. Martin has fit into this ‘tradition of innovation’. ”

“The Hermès continuity is evolution, not revolution.”

10 insights on the philosophy of the mastermind behind the first #luxury group in the world

1. “The man himself is deeply private”. No need to show off.

2. “I always liked being number one. I told my team we will build the first luxury group in the world” (Michael Burke was among his closest aides since day).

And you need a strong vision and mission to hit the targets.

3. “Some call him a predator”. As his close friend Karl Lagerfeld once said “Fashion is ephemeral, dangerous and unfair.” Let’s say it loud: the luxury and fashion industry is ruthless

4. “LVMH role is to produce products and experiences that convey an authentic sense of value to our customers…What matters the most is that in 10 years time our brands are as desirable as they are today” . The greatest marketing and branding speech.

5. “Profit is a consequence of what we do well; it should never become a goal”. That’s why CFOs attitude never took off at group level.

6. “My wealth is LVMH shares…the result of what we built with the LVMH group. We are the goup that pays the most taxes in France. I always paid my taxes in France”. No tax havens unlike far too many key players

7. “I hate the past. What interests me is the future”

Article in first comment

As per the McKinsey & Company “State of Fashion 2019” next year won’t be easy, and the consulting firm calls for an urgent awakening all the fashion brands.
The document is very interesting and insightful, and quite scary.
Competition is getting harsher, markets won’t grow enough to host the industry wishful growth.
But…are fashion brands ready to wake up?
Are they ready to move on in a fast-paced and very demanding environment?
At what cost?
The 3 most frequent words in the survey are “changing, digital, fast

”The implication is that change has become a key priority among industry leaders, with a particular focus on digital and speed-to-market…The attitudes of executives also reflect evolving consumer behaviours that are forcing industry players to self-disrupt”.

That could be extremely risky.
To go from old school rigidity to being nimble asks for articulate reflection before action.

What is most urgent?

1. Reaching Awareness. In depth.
2. Finding the Right Mindset.
3. Setting up the Right Strategy.

Rushing into developing trendy tools won’t help.
The industry needs fashion and luxury well prepared and continuously trained professionals, in all fields, at all levels.
People can lead to success or failure.

Bottega Veneta is the luxury brand of Kering group, clearly grown with the objective of representing the Hermès approach inside the Group.

Everything was perfect at the time of Bizzarri management, Tomas Maier creative direction, Francesca Bellettini heading merchandising and communications. Revenues growth were carefully managed and the brand was a queen in the group.
Suddenly Bizzarri “married” another department and then another brand of the group, Bellettini was promoted to CEO post at YSL. Other key executives moved in the group or left the brand. Everything happened in one year. Big disruption in the smoothly working mechanism of the brand.

BV went from the Queen brand, spoilt and loved, to the Cinderella. Losing money and appeal. Being stuck in a crisis. Suffering being left alone from the Kering relatives. Unable to rise like a phoenix from the ashes.

She had to see the “dad” who left her raising another brand like a Queen.
Even the man who made her success left a few days ago.

The half-sisters and brothers such as Gucci, YSL and Balenciaga blossomed at her own expenses.

Will BV find a Fairy Godmother and a Prince Charming that will make her shine again?

Will the dream come true?

One of the most often used word by marketers is “disruption”. The second most used probably is “digital”.
It seems that disruption is a must for a brand willing to stay in the market and rock.
And, even more, it seems that digital disruption is the only way to be successful.

It isn’t always like that.

In a very interesting article the Harvard Business Review points out at some key lessons that emerge when heavy commitments to digital capability development meet basic financial performance problems.

1. No manager (and no management committee nor board of directors) should view digital as their sure salvation.
2. Digital transformation is an ongoing process of changing the way you do business
3. It’s important to calibrate your digital investments to the readiness of your industry (and your brand mindset)
4. The allure of digital can become all-consuming, causing executives to pay too much attention to the new and not enough to the old.

Disruption should be the last tentative to stay alive for desperate brands.
The real deal is a daily, mindful management at 360°, integrating all the key activities into a precise strategy, kept alive and updated every day.

Maintenance is the only way to make a brand thrive in the long-term.

It’s not surprising that a CTO who worked at Tesco and Unilever before leaves Richemont after five months in the role.

The most relevant luxury companies should innovate in their own way, not following the FMCG.

Luxury groups and brands, to continue to be successful, should make sure they manage their own evolution following the 5 key rules:

1. Train and nurture talents at all levels inside the company and the industry. Sponsor fashion and luxury schools with relevant programs. Create internal academies for keeping managers in-the-social-flow.
2. Have clear what a “luxury mindset” means and clearly put it as a priority in the recruitment profile. Being specific and clear means to be respectful of a luxury entity priorities, which are very different from mass market.
3. Be open-minded about what’s happening on the market. Stay outside the ivory tower of a male-only, uber exclusive luxury approach. Federico Marchetti YNAP is teaching a great lesson about selling hard luxury online
4. Contaminate the industry with the right talents but integrate them with a great support and lots of vision
5. Have clear what it means to manage a luxury brand and how it is different compared to managing a mass market company.

Food for thought.

Alain Passard is a 3 star Michelin chef since the last 20 years. He started his restaurant as a “rotisserie”, fully dedicated to meat. One day he decided to turn to vegetables, starting his own vegetable garden and working as a passionate chef on a brand new chapter that astonished food critics and clients.
He kept the 3 stars and started a new exciting and successful adventure in his own restaurant where he doesn’t keep a recipe book and where he changes menu every single day.

Alexandre Couillon is a 2 star chef of a restaurant on a tiny island in Normandy. He started his own business from nothing, in a place visited by tourists two months a year.
He promised that, if after seven years he wasn’t successful, he would have quit. He was going to shut down the restaurant after many sacrifices and experiments when he got the first Michelin star. He decided to continue and to experiment even more and his restaurant, based on the terroir products, has become a destination for gourmets.

Key learnings about true luxury:

• is made by passionate people
• is niche and not based on rigid action plans
• is about gratification and not margin obsession
• is not a corporation business
• is made with the best ingredients

With love

Karl Lagerfeld is at the helm of the French legendary brand since 1983, he’s a legendary designer who left an indelible trademark in the fashion industry.
He works for Chanel and Fendi as well as for his eponymous contemporary brand.
There will come a time when changes will have to happen at Chanel as well and a new designer will have to take over some or most of the duties of Lagerfeld.

Phoebe Philo could be the perfect women’s designer to become the next designer at the French luxury maison.

Simply because:

• she is a visionary and a contemporary woman who could take the brand to the next step with a French touch
• she has a proper luxury attitude needed by a French uber luxury maison
• she is great in launching successful accessories
• she always starts from the vision of the Brand and declines it in all the product categories

This challenge could be very strategic for Phoebe as well as she should rework some of her too conceptual, minimal, essential features of the style she successfully imposed to Celine.
On the other side having managed well the transition from Chloe to Celine, there is good hope that she will do the same for the next chapter of her luxury life.

Maybe she will take a sabbatical and will come back at the right time?

LVMH Moynat CEO is right on luxury brands and pretty questionable on women customers segmentation

Authentic Luxury Brands Should Be ‘Slow,’ According to Moynat CEO

In brief luxury is:
1. Slow and niche
2. Balance between productivity and quality
3. No sales and revenues obsession (Steve Jobs anyone?)
4. Specific target of customers=5% High Net Worth Individuals
5. Streamlined distribution
6. No plans for e-commerce launch

On the other side is it really true that “Chinese ladies are relatively more independent and resilient than Western women, and have more autonomy when making decisions” or is he just fishing for compliments?

Probably it’s just a matter of luxury products life cycle/regions of the world and not an issue on Western and Chinese ladies