Sergio Rossi, an international company with a perfect fit
CEO Isabelle Guichot decided to accelerate development, enhance the brand image and increase brand initiatives. As a result, this family business is now an international brand.
It’s no easy task to turn a family business into an international brand. “In cases like this, you can evaluate your ability to push the envelope and reveal your true identity,” comments Isabelle Guichot, CEO of Sergio Rossi. She realised that it was vital to make Sergio Rossi stand out as a brand with a vision and a style, breaking away from its manufacturing resources. The first step involved a complete change of the collection development procedures, rapidly moving from a personal process to one that interlinked creation, marketing, advertising and sales. “This allows the teams to become completely familiar with the collection and to make it their own. They are perfectly prepared to sell the products as soon as they arrive in the shop,” explains Isabelle Guichot.
Sergio Rossi extends its network worldwide
The second step consisted of opening more sales outlets. Sergio Rossi is present in about thirty countries, with 43 brand-owned shops, including twenty in Japan, and 15 franchised shops. This year, new shops will open their doors in Vietnam and China. Moreover, a new flagship store has graced Sloane Street since 15th March in London. The brand has a firm foothold in Japan and is also present in Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea. The focus now is on China, where the luxury market – once limited to men’s goods – is now embracing luxury products for women and developing at an amazing speed. “It was vital to be present in the minds of Chinese customers right from the start,” Isabelle Guichot remarks. 6 to 7 Sergio Rossi shops should open in China by the end of the year. The brand is delighted with the maturity of the market.
Stars fall under the charm of Sergio Rossi
The third step was to boost the brand’s image and desirability. To make this possible, Sergio Rossi opened a showroom at the last Cannes Film Festival and provided the stars with fabulous shoes. “We noticed that the fashion brands that go to Cannes to dress the stars seem to forget about shoes,” explains Isabelle Guichot. “The outcome surpassed our hopes, making this an initiative worth repeating.” Sharon Stone, Faye Dunaway, Cameron Diaz, Michelle Yeoh and Beyonce showed off their new Sergio Rossi shoes, generating a great deal of press coverage. The brand is now creating a “red carpet” Sergio Rossi line and working non-stop in Los Angeles for all stars who plan to step onto the red carpet with elegant and sexy style at the Golden Globes, Oscars or film premieres.
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