Moncler is no longer the niche professional ski wear brand. Its annual sales have exceeded the one billion euro mark and it has successfully transformed into a fashion brand. Now, the brand is about to undergo a new round of innovation.
According to the Women’s Wear Times, Moncler Chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini has officially announced the suspension of production of the brand’s women’s and men’s wear lines Gamme Rouge and Gamme Bleu, and the two designers Giambattista Valli and Thom who are responsible for these two series respectively. The cooperation between Browne and Moncler will also come to an end, and the 2018 spring and summer series designed by both parties will therefore become a swan song.
“Every company must innovate, and designers play a decisive role in this.” Remo Ruffini, chairman and CEO of Moncler, said that Moncler now needs a new project to draw energy. “This is a very difficult decision. In order to innovate the brand, we must eliminate the somewhat outdated brand strategy launched ten years ago.”
In fact, this is not a unilateral decision by Moncler. The designer also hopes to be able to withdraw from Moncler’s design work and allocate more energy to his eponymous brand. “The cooperation with Moncler has been very smooth over the years. Remo has given me maximum creative freedom, but now that Thom Browne has a new growth strategy, I realize that I need to focus more on my own brand.” Thom Browne said that when Moncler also began to rethink the development path of the brand, our ideas coincided.
As we previously reported, Thom Browne is beginning to pursue global growth. In September this year, after Thom Browne opened its Chinese flagship store in Shanghai Reou Department Store, it will expand its territory in the Chinese market. In the next four months, it will open five stores. In April this year, it also opened its home in Milan. The European store opened in London in June.
Moncler, which started out by producing professional ski suits and other down products, was founded by French entrepreneur René Ramillon in 1952. The company’s name comes from the abbreviation of Monestier-de-Clermont, a small town in the foothills of the Alps. The brand once provided uniforms for the French Olympic ski team. In 2003, Moncler, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, was acquired by Italian entrepreneur Remo Ruffini, who currently serves as the company’s chairman of the board and CEO.
It can be said that Remo Ruffini saved this marginalized brand and developed it into an international mainstream brand with more than 200 stores around the world, completing the brand reorganization. In the early stages of the acquisition, he once said: “The goal at that time was to Moncler moved out of sportswear stores and into a completely different channel.”
The Gamme Rouge women’s clothing line was established in February 2006. Alessandra Facchinetti was the creative director at the time. Two years later, Giambattista Valli replaced her. Gamme Bleu is the men’s clothing line corresponding to Rouge. Thom Browne launched it in January 2009. In March, he released his Gamme Bleu series.
Ruffini said that Moncler will launch a new brand strategy in February next year. Although he refused to disclose more details, the cancellation of the catwalk series also reflects the idea of returning to the original intention of the brand to a certain extent. “Since I launched the Gamme series, the world has changed There have been so many changes and the market is more unstable now than it was ten years ago,” Ruffini said.
In fact, there have been signs of changes in brand development strategy earlier. In the 800-square-meter flagship store just opened in Milan, it can be found that the main line products and capsule series including the Gamme series are sold together instead of separately. On display, “Customers now want to see new things every month or even every week, instead of waiting six months like before.” In Ruffini’s view, it is difficult to quickly respond to the market based on product line sales. In response, only shorter delivery times and more products can bring brands to the top of the market.
When asked whether he would return to the brand’s original model, he only said that he was trying to find ways to keep in sync with the brand’s DNA.
Currently, according to the company’s financial report, Moncler has successfully maintained double-digit rapid growth. In the first nine months of 2017, the company’s sales reached 737 million euros, a year-on-year increase of 15% in 2016, and sales in directly operated stores were even higher. It’s up 19%.
Being prepared for danger in times of peace, Ruffini sees changes in consumer behavior and competition from emerging markets. Luca Solca, head of the product department of BNP Paribas, said in a report in May that Moncler’s high growth rate and profitability have attracted the attention of new players and existing brands. Although Moncler is still in a dominant position, its Market share is declining.
“Moncler is one of the rare brands in the luxury goods industry that maintains growth.” Mario Ortelli, director of Sanford C. Bernstein’s luxury goods department, said in a recent interview with BoF Fashion Business Report that Moncler still has room for growth by developing new product categories and opening stores. to further expand and shift its revenue from wholesale to retail.
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