Published
Dec 15, 2015
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Fendi has the wind in its sails

Published
Dec 15, 2015

Fendi is on record as one of the fastest-growing brands of the LVMH group. According to analyst sources of the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the Roman ready-to-wear label specialised in furs has reportedly topped the €1 billion mark in revenue. "Fendi is going through a positive period, the brand is well-liked, it's desirable and it's growing," said boss Pietro Beccari.

For spring 2016 Fendi featured a rejuvenated look - © PixelFormula


The executive joined the French luxury group in 2006 and, once at Fendi's helm in 2012, he introduced a repositioning strategy targeting the very high-end segment, highlighting Fendi's Italian flair by way of major investments, especially in Rome, where the brand was founded in 1925 (Fendi celebrated its 90th anniversary this year). To this end the logo on the packaging was changed to 'Fendi Roma'.

Fendi has notably financed the restoration of the famous Trevi fountain and of the Quattro Fontane (four fountains) statues. The brand also revamped the imposing Palace of Italian Civilisation, a symbol of the Fascist era, also known as the 'Square Colosseum', where Fendi's new headquarters are now located with part of the building has been made accessible to the general public.

Finally, the fashion label is also about to re-open Palazzo Fendi, its historic headquarters in via del Plebiscito, which is set to host a flagship store and a luxury hotel and restaurant.

The Fendi 'fashion furs' show in Paris last July


The brand's repositioning in the top luxury goods segment was engineered through the accessories range, especially handbags and some long-standing models. But also through its fur collection of course, the brand's core product. To this end, Fendi organised its very first haute couture show last July in Paris, calling it 'fashion furs', designed by Karl Lagerfeld, who is also in charge of the womenswear collections.

According to Pietro Beccari's interview with the Corriere della Sera, another key axis of this strategy was the integration between traditional retail and online distribution. After Europe, Fendi recently launched online sales in the USA and Japan.

"If a salesperson manages to help a customer finalise an online purchase, we will pay him/her a commission as if the sale was made in-store," the CEO said. Beccari estimates that the "overlap between luxury and online customers is over 90%."

Fendi operates 200 directly-owned stores, 11 of which are located in Italy. The brand recently opened a store in Miami and is available worldwide thanks to its increasing visibility.

 

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