Star Touted Valextra, You See Giovanni Fontana

Italy luxury brand Valextra Beijing Sanlitun Taigu flagship store was officially opened in March 26th. This is the second flagship store that Valextra has opened in mainland China after its flagship store in Chengdu.

In addition, Valextra also launched the new SerieS handbag which was born in 1960s, and brought many antique patent leather works in the history of the brand to Beijing for the first time, and held a limited time brand history exhibition in the flagship store.

For those who usually don't care much about luxury brands, the name of Valextra may be a little strange, but many people have actually seen Valextra's package in the TV series "all good".

The hit and TV plays can always bring the same trend. Su Mingyu suit has become a popular search keyword for Taobao. The same bag is no exception.

Many viewers found that Su Mingyu had three handbags from Valextra, a small luxury brand that had been popular in a small circle, but has gained popularity in China in recent years.

Valextra was founded in Milan, Italy in 1937 by Giovanni Fontana. Its name comes from two Italy vocabulary, Valigeria (leather goods) and Extra (extraordinary), and it is specially designed for all walks of life to customize handbags, especially all kinds of travel goods and ladies' handbags.

Celebrities such as Monaco Princess Grace Kelly, Iran's last queen Farah Diba and Hollywood famous actress Ava Gardener are all Valextra customers. The brand has since become a symbol of small luxury.

Valextra is characterized by its dedication to patent design and functionality.

After the Second World War, Tito Fontana, the founder of creative innovation, began to take part in company management. After that, Valextra acquired more than 100 patents and gradually became the most popular brand in the luxury and fashion industry.

In addition to handbag products, Valextra's wallet, wallet and business card holder also have patent designs.

In addition, Valextra does not use logo and iconic printing patterns. It pays more attention to the unique handbag design and rich color matching, which makes the brand more low-key in the minority.

For a long time, the restrained Valextra even opened a store in Milan.

Compared with other luxury brands, the overly low-key Valextra does not have such a brilliant performance. In 2013, the annual sales volume of the company was only 13 million 500 thousand euros.

It was from 2013 that Valextra changed.

This year, the British private equity fund Neo Capital acquired the 60% stake in Valextra. Since then, the brand has started global expansion, and has opened a brand flagship store in the United States, Singapore, Korea and China, and has achieved double-digit growth in the following years, and has achieved three digit growth in 2019.

Since the brand has been inspired by architectural design since its inception, Valextra has been working with well-known designers every year since 2015 to create annual concepts and renovations for the flagship store in Milan.

More specifically, Valextra has different store designs in every store worldwide, which is very different from the traditional concept of luxury brands pursuing global store consistency.

The popularity of Valextra in China was first opened by fashion bloggers.

Before the brand officially entered the Chinese market, KOL, including Mr. Bao and Li Becca, wrote Valextra handbags such as Iside and Brera several times.

As China becomes the world's largest luxury market, well-informed Chinese consumers begin to look for small brands that have not yet been excavated by many people. Valextra, which has been low-key for decades, is starting to launch a global competition.

Valextra CEO Sara Ferrero

Interface fashion in Beijing and Valextra CEO Sara Ferrero chatted about the return of SerieS handbags, Valextra in recent years, the adjustment of business strategy, as well as Valextra's views on the Chinese market.

The following is an interview record.

About blockbuster products

Interface fashion: the recent TV series "pretty good" is very popular in China. Valextra's Iside and Passepartout magic cube bags have a very high attendance rate. Many viewers start talking about them. How do you see this popularity?

Sara Ferrero: we are very lucky.

There are many people in the world who like Valextra, and this popular TV play also shows our handbags. This is very helpful to Valextra, so we have to thank the stylist, director and actor of this TV play. They really like our bags.

To tell you a piece of news, recently, a high-profile American drama will be broadcast. The hero is played by a very influential actress in Hollywood. She herself asked to use only Valextra handbags in the play. I think this is the charm of the product.

Interface fashion: back to the SerieS handbag, why is Valextra revived a package that was born in 1960s?

Sara Ferrero: finding a balance for luxury brands is very important, which means that you have to keep pace with the times, but also remember your roots and try to create products that are classic and not outdated.

When SerieS came out in 1961, it was a men's travelling bag. In 1969, SerieS launched a smaller lady's style.

By choosing different sizes, you can switch between different styles.

So SerieS handbag is a combination of the past and the present, and combines the feminine and masculine characteristics of the package.

We do not want to be constrained by the stereotype of "Valextra is Iside handbag". We can flexibly switch between different identities, which is what people need now.

Valextra SerieS ladies handbag launched in 1969: Source: Valextra

Valextra new SerieS handbag launched in 2019: Source: Valextra

Interface fashion: you talked about the relationship between the past and the present. Now, besides Valextra, many luxury brands are beginning to find inspiration from the history and archives of the brand. Why?

Sara Ferrero: there is indeed a trend of retro fashion in fashion circles.

I think companies with rich brand histories and archives are lucky because we can look back at what we have done before.

On the one hand, these files are very inspiring, and on the other hand, they push you forward.

The world is changing so fast that many people will take a step back in a flash, not only thinking where I am going, but also where I am coming from.

Now many people have an idea that after people pursue Street products and highlight their individuality, they will want to "clean up" everything and find classic, time tested products.

I think that's why Fendi's baguette is back, and Dior's saddle bag is back, because these products will make the brand feel at ease.

I guess for young people, because they have not experienced the times when these products were once popular, these classic regression styles are just like brand new ones.

This is great for brands, because these handbags have been successful in the past, and we believe their aesthetics are also applicable at the moment.

At the same time, it is not only a nice bag, but also a history.

I hope this is a good gift for a new generation of consumers.

On performance and new stores

Interface fashion: when it comes to the newly opened flagship store in Beijing, this is actually the second flagship store of Valextra in mainland China. Why does Valextra open the first flagship store in Chengdu?

Sara Ferrero: life is made up of various kinds of coincidence.

Valextra's first boutique in mainland China in Shanghai's Hang Lung Plaza is lucky to be loved by many Chinese consumers, so we have second opportunities to open shop in Chengdu.

Valextra is a brand that is closely related to architecture and design. We need more space to express ourselves. Just as Chengdu Ocean Pacific has provided us with a free space to play.

That's why Valextra opened second flagship stores in Sanlitun, Beijing, because we were fortunate enough to create a 22 foot (6.7 meter) storey shop in a special building, which is very rare.

Interface fashion: why is Valextra holding a retrospective of brand history at the opening of the flagship store in Beijing?

Sara Ferrero: when I first entered Valextra (2015), the impression of Valextra was very classic and conservative. So in recent years, I have been committed to showing the front and modern aspects of Valextra to consumers.

Over the past few years, I believe that our goal has been achieved. Valextra has already been classic and modern.

I think it's time to remind people that we actually have 82 years of history, our rich history and huge brand heritage.

This is the same as making friends. After two people have known each other, I will tell you more about my story, how my childhood has passed, and our relationship will enter the next stage.

Now many people have known about Valextra, so we decided to let them know that we are not just a luxury brand that has just entered China and has many celebrity celebrities. We have actually gone a long way.

Interface fashion: when you first talked about entering Valextra, the annual sales of Valextra were only 13 million 500 thousand euros in 2013. After that, British private equity Neo Investment Partners bought Valextra 60% stake, and the company's sales kept double-digit growth. How did it do that?

Sara Ferrero: in fact, Valextra has achieved three digit growth.

I think we are lucky. First of all, we have great products.

Sometimes people talk about brands but forget about products, but products are the most important.

Overall, we have done well in the Asian market, and have achieved good sales results in Japan and South Korea. Now we have successfully entered China, and this is a very large market that has not yet been fully explored by Valextra, which enables us to achieve rapid growth.

In addition, today's consumers are accustomed to frequent travel, and our reputation in the European market is also increasing.

We may have neglected and sacrificed the US market, but after all, Valextra is still a small company. We want to become strong enough before overexposure.

Interface fashion: Valextra has only opened stores in Milan, Italy. Now you have opened dozens of stores in the world, from small to relative public. What changes have taken place in the company's management ideas?

Sara Ferrero: I think Valextra is still very small.

But in today's situation, luxury brands need to have a certain amount of weight, so that consumers can get a better experience.

If we have shops in all major cities around the world, consumers will understand that we really want to have a firm foothold and strive to "fight" those big companies.

Valextra now has 23 stores in the world. Compared with competitors with hundreds of stores, our business strategy is still relatively small.

We don't want to be overexposed, but we also think we need to let others know who we are.

This is why we are expanding and opening new stores all over the world, but we do not open shop according to a model. Every shop is different, so consumers do not think he is shopping, but come to a place that we meet with our products. This is what we want to build.

Interface fashion: when it comes to Valextra shops, why does Valextra Milan store cooperate with different designers every year to create different annual concepts, and the store design of each store is different?

Does this help brands attract consumers' attention when they enter new markets?

Sara Ferrero: I think so.

If you create a brand new experience through unique architecture and art design, people will want to explore what exactly this store has.

And the test proved successful. Since we started building the annual concept, the number of people in Milan stores has increased by more than ten times.

But this kind of attempt has its shortcoming, that is, the brand does not have a very high sense of store concept.

But if you have more than one house, will you decorate them all together?

I've never seen anyone oddly enough to decorate their two houses exactly the same way. So why does Valextra have two identical shops?

About China market

Interface fashion: compared with other luxury brands, Valextra entered China relatively late. What challenges did Valextra bring to it?

Sara Ferrero: I think you will always be later than some people.

The performance of a brand in a market has nothing to do with when it enters the market. The key is to see how it enters.

Ten years ago, no one would give Valextra such a small brand's excellent store location, but now many people will come to us, because we are a niche brand, and we can bring all those luxury brands that are already everywhere.

In fact, small luxury brands like Valextra can play a role in dispensing.

I think Chinese consumers like to accept and try many different brands, which is very lucky for us.

In short, you always start from a node, and I will not be bothered by our competitors' early entry into the Chinese market, because this is beyond our control. What we can do is to use the resources at hand to do what we feel is right.

Interface fashion: Valextra and Mr. Bao have close cooperation with China's local KOL. How much KOL have played a role in brand expansion in China market?

Sara Ferrero: we are very grateful to these KOL. Before we officially entered China, they began to pay attention to Valextra.

Nowadays, people get information through digital means. Brand cooperation with KOL can acquire a new language and speed that consumers like. This is a way of keeping pace with the times.

Interface fashion: China is now the world's largest luxury market. How important is the Chinese market to Valextra?

Sara Ferrero: very important, not only because it has a huge scale, but also because it is growing rapidly.

Chinese consumers now contribute nearly 40% of their sales.

Besides, they always have a quick response to the new trend of Valextra, and we have a strong two-way dialogue with Chinese consumers.

Interface fashion: so how does Valextra think of winning Chinese consumers?

Sara Ferrero: I think we should listen more to the voice and demand of Chinese consumers, but at the same time, we should not compromise too much.

Generally speaking, the Asian market, especially the Chinese market, likes smaller packages. But how can the European and American consumers prefer big bags?

So we have launched many sizes. The same style has both big bags and small packages.

Besides, some colors are more popular in Asia, such as Chinese consumers like red bags, but consumers in other regions may feel that red is too strong, and they prefer dark colors.

We will listen to these views, and the color is rich, originally Valextra brand DNA. Each of our handbags has more than 40 colors, which is very helpful to meet the needs of different consumers.

Valextra Iside handbags are available in many colors.

Interface fashion: what color do Chinese consumers like best?

Sara Ferrero: whether in China or around the world, our most popular feature is Valextra's trademark parchment white, which may represent a luxury purity.

Parchment white handbags account for more than 24% of total sales.

In this industry, people may not think that a white bag will be so popular. But in winter or summer, consumers like parchment white. It also represents Valextra to some extent.

Interface fashion: Valextra very special point is that there is no Logo, but in fact, many Chinese luxury consumers like Logo very much. Are these consumers the target consumers of Valextra?

Sara Ferrero: at present, this is not the problem we are considering.

You can't make everyone like you, so someone likes you, and some may not like you so much.

In fact, many consumers who like logo will also buy our products.

Besides, our product is very recognizable. You don't need logo to recognize it as Valextra.

Many people are still buying our handbags because Valextra has no logo.

I respect those consumers who like logo. I also like those brands that use logo on products, but we don't use logo. This is our philosophy. I think people will respect this too.

And for those who like logo, we offer another option.

Interface fashion: do you think good design and exquisite technology are more important than logo?

Sara Ferrero: that's for sure. I'm sure of that.

In the long run, good design and quality are the most important.

If the brand forgets this, it will pay for it sooner or later.