Why Did Leonard Choose To Enter The Chinese Market So Late?

Daniel Tribouillard found that latest fashion When the fashion has completely changed, it brings him a shock.

Tribouillard is the founder of Leonard, the Paris fashion house. More than 60 years ago, he founded this fashion brand . and Karl, the artistic director of Chanel Lagergeld、 Like Giorgio Armani, founder of Armani, Tribouillard was born in 1930 Age. But the difference is that it was fabric that initially made him stand firm in the industry, not Design 。

After graduating from high school, at the age of 18, Tribouillard worked in Leonard, a fabric supplier The company is responsible for receiving big brand fashion houses such as Dior, Hermes, Givenchy and Balenciaga, and showing and introducing the latest fabrics from Alsace in northeastern France to designers. Unexpectedly, two years later, the Algerian War of Independence broke out. According to the French military service system at that time, Tribouillard Join the army.

When he returned to France, he found that ready-made clothes had suddenly become popular in the fashion world - clothes produced by machines in large quantities, rather than tailors tailored clothes. "Before that, there was nothing but advanced customization. Until one day Pierre Cardin) suddenly announced that he wanted to make fashion popular. " Tribouillard talked about the important change that affected the fashion industry more than 50 years ago in the Peninsula Hotel: "My employer, Leonard The boss assigned me a task to make ready to wear clothes, which must be successful. "

In 1960, he invented the fully fashionable printed pullover, which broke the relationship between British weaving technology and printing. Tribouillard Then he excitedly ran to the old customers he had contacted before joining the army to sell. Since then, Leonard has been promoted from a fabric supplier to a luxury partner, creating exclusive prints for them. According to Tribouillard recalled that at the beginning, the order quantity was only 100 or 150 pieces.

With the reputation of Dior, Hermes, Givenchy and other famous brands, the fully formed printed pullover has gradually become a household name. As soon as the exclusive agreement was over, huge orders from retailers poured in. In order to ensure the shipment volume, Leonard A factory was specially built in a city next to Paris for more than 300 employees to produce pullovers in three shifts.

However, popularity is always a flash in the pan, and full shape printed pullovers gradually fall out of favor after a few years. When Tribouillard saw that the sales figures were declining, he quickly turned around the gun head. In 1968 A new product - silk knitted printed dress was launched in. This time, he also added the slogan "at 150 Experience happiness under the weight of ", emphasizing the lightness and portability of the fabric, which catered to the freedom of singing the mainstream in the golden age of European fashion. In the same year, Leonard stores gathered in Paris District opening.

Leonard's printing factory in Yokohama, Japan

Leonard's printing factory in Yokohama, Japan

Leonard's printing factory in Yokohama, Japan

The world's first market in Leonard is not France, but 8 Japan with hour time difference - it is not surprising that Japan has always been a blessed land for luxury brands. But over the years, the Chinese market has not been explored until the first store in the mainland opened four months ago.

But Leonard's choice to enter China now may be an awkward time point - according to Bain Consulting, luxury consumption in China has entered a stagnancy period after a round of crazy growth, even in the There was a contraction in 2014 and 2015.

Not long ago, Daniel Tribouillard ended 2016 After the Paris release show of the autumn and winter series, he flew to Shanghai to chat with the interface about the history of entrepreneurship and his views on the current fashion industry. But the Chinese market is strange to him.

Because they don't understand the similarities and differences between Hong Kong customers and mainland customers, Daniel Tribouillard and his daughter Nathalie Tribouillard There are differences between them. Daniel Tribouillard believes that the consumption preferences of the two places are almost the same because they are separated by a river. But his daughter Leonard The current CEO believes that "Hong Kong women are mature and petty bourgeoisie, but mainland women customers are younger and very fashionable. They may also like our prints like Hong Kong customers, but their lifestyle and habits are somewhat different from Hong Kong."

Daniel Tribouillard and daughter Nathalie Tribouillard

Reporter: The time when Leonard chose to enter the Chinese market is quite puzzling. Why is it so late?

DT: Actually, we were back in 1993 We opened our shop in Paris, Shanghai in spring. But it turned out that it was useless to come too early. Nobody would buy luxury goods at that time, so the store had to close after less than a year. Now, even if the cost of opening a store is much higher than that of 20 years ago, we must also enter. According to the plan, Leonard Prepare to open stores in major cities in China, such as Shanghai and Beijing.

NT: Another thing to add is that the Chinese market is probably the most complex in the world. We've always wanted to come in, but it's still later than LVMH , Kaiyun and Lifeng. Their brands occupy all high-quality shops. We have to wait until some brands adjust their strategies to withdraw from their stores, which will give us a chance to win the current shop of Hang Lung.

DT: The current berth (on the third floor) is good, but it would be better if it was on the ground floor. Besides the shops, we also need time to figure out which products can attract Chinese women customers.

Reporter: In terms of specific operation, what will Leonard do?

DT: In Japan, Europe and the United States, our goal is to further develop. But the first step in the Chinese market is to open up popularity and explain to Chinese women and young girls what Leonard is Our marketing department colleague is also in charge of Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao. She will tell us which products sell well in China.

The reason why Leonard has 115 The main reason for Jiamen Store is that local women have already accepted printing at the level of cultural tradition. Their traditional clothes, kimonos, have many flower patterns. And I spent 3 years in Jingdong before I have been studying kimono for three months, and I have a good understanding of the preferences and consumption habits of Japanese women. For example, the swimwear series launched in the European market will not enter the Japanese market. I found that Chinese people also don't like going to the beach to bask in the sun. I have to learn about the preferences of female customers here as soon as possible.

I'm still thinking about holding a fashion show in Shanghai. What do you think? It would be great if we could recognize this brand. It would be expensive to pay 25 models, rent venues and invite the media. Paris catwalk 15 A show of 50 minutes is not cheap Million euros, which is very useful. We can invite thousands of viewers, media and retailers. However, some people told me that it would be risky to hold a show in Shanghai because the Chinese brands that went on the show together had nothing to do with French brands. We haven't made a final decision yet, but I personally support it.

Leonard Paris Fall/Winter 2016

Leonard Paris Fall/Winter 2016

Leonard Paris Fall/Winter 2016

Reporter: The latest season of Leonard Paris was completed without a creative director. From 2011 Vronique Leroy After resigning, Leonard changed several creative directors, from Maxime Simoens to Raffaele Borriello， To the last Yin Yiqing. Why is it more and more difficult to find people for this position?

DT: Last season was designed by me as a whole. Our former creative director is Yin Yiqing from China. The four series she designed before are very interesting, but they can't be sold. They are not enough Leonard。 Customers will ask: "Where did your stamp go?"

You know, every new series needs a lot of effort and money, so we can't afford to make mistakes. This is the fashion industry. Nathalie When I just talked about the difference between the mainland and Hong Kong customer groups, I mentioned catering to young people, but I think the most original thing of the brand cannot be abandoned. Like Yiqing's fashion, there is a lot of opposition around the world. Whether consumers like it or not, they at least know Leonard made prints, but now he's lost.

Of course, I am not a designer myself, so I need to find a creative director to work with me within 6 months as soon as possible. We design hundreds of prints every year, Leonard A special printing team will design patterns according to the requirements of the director. The problem now is that no one knows how to print. We have previously employed Ecole de la chambre, Saint Martin, London syndicale de la couture parisienne ）But I can't tell them about stamp. Now design colleges only teach design and tailoring. Of course, I may need such talents, but the key to brand is printing. You may also go to art schools to find such talents.

Yin Yiqing, former creative director of Leonard

Yin Yiqing, former creative director of Leonard

Reporter: Since the 1980s, previously independent luxury brands have been acquired by large groups. Why is Leonard still a family business?

DT: I still work all day now, and enjoy it. Nathalie is the general manager, who is responsible for doing things I don't like to do (bad laugh). For example, in meetings with the marketing department, I still like to study print patterns. She came from After graduation from HEC (Paris Higher Business School), she worked in Hermes and Podolph Goodman's Department Store. Unfortunately, she also did not understand printing. So as long as I am still there, I will be responsible for the printing part, but I still need to find someone to help me later.

If possible, I still hope that Leonard can operate independently in the form of a family business. My grandchildren have 6 People, they are very young, but they may have future successors. The advantage of not being under a big consortium is that we can manage the company according to our own wishes. Although there are risks, we also have freedom. There are fewer family businesses and more powerful luxury groups. I don't know what will happen in the future, but at least now Leonard doesn't need financial assistance yet.

Reporter: "Show and sell" is a hot topic in the fashion industry recently, which is intended to eliminate the gap between catwalk and sales of up to 6 Month waiting time. Not long ago, it was rejected by the French Fashion Association. What's your opinion on this?

DT: Fast fashion! I am a member of the French Association of Gao Ding, and I work with brand CEOs, including Bruno Pavlovsky of Chanel and Sidney of Dior Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye of Toledano and Chlo Our committee has a total of 17 and 18 People. The reason why they voted not to adopt the American style is that what they do is not fashion, but industrial production. French brands still do fashion design until now - let buyers choose the style they like after the show, and then enter production. We don't want this system to be broken, at least for the moment, we won't take the "sell it now" approach. You can say that this is an old-fashioned style, but I prefer to regard it as the essential difference between American industry and European fashion.