Luxury Brand Ferragamo Seeks New Life In China

Over the past 70 years, as a top fashion brand in Italy, the company headquarters of Salvatore Ferragamo have not moved out of the Ferroni Spini residence in Florence, Italy.

However, in March 28, 2008, when the global celebration was held to welcome the brand creation 80th anniversary, the company chose the site at the terminal of the new Shanghai port international passenger terminal just opened by the Huangpu River.

In the interpretation of CEO Michele (Michele Norsa) of Ferragamo, at present, the Greater China region contributes 10% of its profits to Ferragamo every year. This huge and fast growing market is the focus of the next development of the brand.

Shanghai is obviously one of the most index cities.

As a follow-up to the celebration, the company will also hold a 40 day exhibition at the MoCA Contemporary Art Museum in the Shanghai people's Park, including shoes, bags, costumes, scarves and jewellery, as well as raw materials, leather materials and wooden sacks customized for well-known customers.

According to Ferragamo's previous experience in Europe and North America, as though there are more than 20 cities in China with more than 5 million people, most Westerners can only remember five or six of them. Most Chinese can only remember five or six luxury brands from abroad.

Ferragamo obviously hopes that Chinese people will remember this through such activities.

"This is the foundation of our strategy in China, and I believe we will soon become one of the 6 international brands remembered by the Chinese people."

Norsa said.

Ferragamo is famous for its shoe making technology.

Founder Ferragamo has customised shoes for celebrities such as Greta Garbo, Audrey? Hepburn, Marilyn? Monroe and Mrs. Brian, Mrs. Thatcher and Mrs. Thatcher.

Over the years, Ferragamo has always maintained the tradition of Italy family businesses, acting in a low profile and rigorous manner.

No matter brand image or market strategy is very steady, it seldom adopts the vigorous public relations activities, but focuses more on attracting and maintaining the target customers.

Sun Zhe, who has rich experience in the fashion media, said that this is the tradition of Italy family businesses. There are also famous luxury brands PRADA, who have high brand persuasion and loyalty in the first group of people who are rich in China.

They are different from GUCCI or LV. The latter two have Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs as the soul of the brand, so designers become brand oriented.

And Ferragamo's pursuit of technology has not changed for years. What they need now is to expand the market space with more positive means.

This is also what Ferragamo is doing.

In the early stage of China's luxury market, Ferragamo is trying to find its own position with a brand new image and means.

Since entering the Chinese market in 1993, Ferragamo stores in China have reached 26 stores, and another 5 have been set up in the duty-free shops.

These stores are scattered in 18 domestic and second tier cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an and Dalian, and are still expanding.

In 2008, Ferragamo will open 8 new stores and will open new stores in more cities at the rate of 5-10 stores each year.

Of course, behind the expansion is the lucrative single store profit. Take the Ferragamo Shanghai mall and Beijing China World Trade Center store as an example. In recent years, the sales volume of these two stores has increased by 40% per year.

Ferragamo Shanghai mall is next to Shanghai's top luxury shopping center, Hang Lung Plaza.

At the beginning of choosing shops, Ferragamo also hopes to enter the same place as its European counterparts. Unfortunately, it is a little late.

After investigation, Ferragamo set the shop address on the street pavement beside the Shanghai mall.

Shanghai mall is the oldest office building on the Nanjing Road, and there are five star hotels, Portman Ritz Carlton, which bring steady and steady target consumers.

The store has also become the flagship store of Ferragamo, with three huge windows on the street as display and advertising posters.

Norsa believes that this is even better than the effect of stationing in Hang Lung: "we will insist on the image of our area and store, and when we are unable to achieve it, we will find other ways."

In China, the image ads of Ferragamo used in all kinds of fashion, luxury magazines and outdoor are obviously less than those of other international first-line brands. Norsa's explanation is: "traditional advertising techniques are not suitable for this new market.

Because the arrival rate of magazines in China is not as high as in foreign countries.

But like foreign countries, stars always attract a lot of eyeballs, so the number of stars invited in China to hold an event is more rewarding than magazine advertising.

Since the Japanese launched a luxury brand war in 1980s after the Japanese became obsessed with Logo, luxury goods groups have not been so united in a long time and have devoted all their minds to the same consumer market.

In China, the Bund, Shanghai, has become the forefront of this luxury brand war. Just like New York's Fifth Avenue, first-line brands have come in to compete for the rapidly growing Chinese middle class market. Giorgio Armani even opened a flagship store with an area of 1100 square meters in the Bund 3.

China has long been isolated from the western consumption culture and consumption concept. Once the consumption consciousness is awakened, luxury brands will usher in the best time to rewrite history in China.

In 2007, GUCCI's momentum in China was very strong, and its annual sales increased by 168%.

This year, Ferragamo also handed out a beautiful financial statement? Net profit increased by 34.2% to 47 million 100 thousand euros.

Based on this market performance, Ferragamo began planning to raise more capital for brand development in the next two years.

Ferragamo's dedication to the Chinese market has not only continued to open more new stores in more new cities, but has also made some corresponding product adjustments for the Chinese mainland market.

For example, compared with Russian consumers who prefer bright products, Chinese consumers prefer traditional aesthetics.

"In many Chinese cities outside Shanghai, people do not have many nightlife, so Chinese people need more brand consumption during the day," norsa said. "In Moscow, Ferragamo stores, you will see that we sell a lot of high heels, but we will sell more shoes with relatively low heels in China and crocodile shoes popular in China."

For Chinese consumers, there is also a crucial point, Madein Italy.

James Ferragamo, founder of Ferragamo's grandson, currently in charge of the Ferragamo women's leather Department, said: "we will always insist that all products are produced in Italy."

Ferragamo is famous for women's shoes and has a set of measuring system.

From big to small, from lean to fat, each shoe can have 82 sizes, men's shoes can also reach 52 sizes of each, such as men's shoes 12 yards and sub 12B, 12D, 122E, 123E four, women's shoes are more complex.

As a new CEO of Ferragamo, Michele Norsa is the first CEO family member outside the family in Italy for many years. His appointment is also seen as a prelude to the active expansion of the family business.

Before coming to the company, MI Kailai nolsa worked as a CEO for Valentino (Valentino FashionGroup) and Benetton sports products. After 18 months in Michele Norsa's office, he made a plan to help Ferragamo in the market within 2 years.

His other plan is to lead Ferragamo into the top three of the world's top luxury brands in 5 years.