MCM’s international
CEO Paolo Fontanelli speaks to MJ Rabbit about the brand’s ambitious expansion
plans in the US, China and the travel-retail channel.
MCM is spearheading ambitious plans to crack the US market,
fresh from its first ever catwalk show in Beijing, China, where the German
luxury brand has focused much of its attention over the past few years. The brand operates some 50 stores in China,
including recently opened boutique in Macau, where sales are performing very
strongly, according to MCM’s international CEO Paolo Fontanelli.
This year, MCM entered the Japanese market with two stores
in the upscale Ginza district of Tokyo, as well as an art-gallery-cum-store (developed
in collaboration with Germany’s cultural organisation, the Goethe-Institut) in
Seoul, Korea, the brand’s number one market.
Next up is the US, where Fontanelli is now turning
his attention, as he told MJ Rabbit.
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| Models on the catwalk at the MCM SS15 fashion show in Beijing |
MJ Rabbit: How has MCM’s overall
business performed in the past year?
Paolo Fontanelli: The past year has gone very well for MCM. I’ve just come
back from two weeks in Asia, where we held a fashion show in Beijing, which was
a fantastic success. Sales-wise, we’re up +30% this year compared to last year.
Have the recent Hong
Kong protests affected business?
We’ve been a little bit affected with our store in Hong
Kong’s Central district, because that was near the protests, but we haven’t
been affected in our other stores, such as in Harbour City, so we’ve achieved a
balance in Hong Kong. We are, however, concerned about the overall business
sentiment in Hong Kong and hope the government can solve the question soon, so
Hong Kong can return as a shop window for Chinese consumers. We have seen that
the number of Chinese travelling to Hong Kong has been decreasing since the
protests.
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| An SS15 catwalk look |
How has the travel-retail
sector performed in the past year?
Our business in travel retail is currently very small –
we’re starting [a new strategy] in the channel now. We’ve seen +100% growth
over the past year, but from a relatively small base. We want to upgrade our
image and make sure that the travel-retail stores maintain that image, so we
have closed down some locations that didn’t meet our expectations. We have
opened a good relationship with DFS [the world’s leading travel retailer - Ed] and
we have two points of sale in Hong Kong International Airport. Now we’re
developing our DFS business in major airports round the world. So our travel-retail
business is solidly growing and represents a big growth opportunity for MCM, as
it is underdeveloped.
In which
countries/territories are you targeting retail expansion (both travel retail
and domestic markets)?
Next year is the year of America. We’re opening a store in New
York’s SoHo in December 2015 and we have plans for three or four major flagship
stores in America. The US retail market has come back strongly so having more
distribution in the country represents a huge opportunity for us. We aim to
double our business in America next year. We want a luxury presence in the
market, so we are closing a few locations and focusing on upscale stores such
as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. There is
much more room for growth.
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| A model procession at the Beijing SS15 fashion show |
What are the most
important and dynamic international markets for MCM?
After Korea, China is our second most important market. We
have 50 stores in the country and it’s a very dynamic market which is growing
very well. We opened a flagship store in Macau last month and we’re doing
double the projected sales there. Macau is a sparkling, dynamic market which
hasn’t been affected by the Hong Kong protests, so there are huge Chinese
tourist numbers. It’s a very good opportunity for us.
Meanwhile, in mainland
China, we’ll be opening travel-retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai soon. So, with the American and European markets growing, it’s a
very magic moment for MCM in different parts of the world.
Can you tell us about
any new initiatives coming up for 2015?
We’re announcing a licence for sunglasses/optical eyewear
soon, which will be a complementary offer in our stores. It’s an important
agreement; it’s the first licence for MCM and very important for the boutiques.
For the future, we have plans for other licences in product
categories such as watches and perfumes/cosmetics.
What has been the
highlight of your business year so far in 2014?
It’s been a very positive year. Our Beijing Spring/Summer 2015 fashion show was
a very important step to show the international press the direction of MCM,
which represents new-school luxury. We want to be different, we want to be fun,
with contemporary products, young and modern. If you Google our Beijing fashion
show, you’ll see many positive reviews and pictures all over social media.
