Their request is to be entertained. At the same time, he claimed this diversification would help wholesale accounts to sell and display the collections. Retailers agree. The lines were blurred before. This is hard to do when you have multiple brands. He referenced Burberry and Marc Jacobs as successful examples of this strategy, which also conveys a lifestyle message.
By consolidating the brands under one Armani brand message and assuming a clearly defined tiering, distribution and marketing strategy, we are confident that this should cut through to the consumer. It has potential to be a good move with each remaining brand having a broader scope and breadth of price point.
In the end it will come down to the product and the perceived value of the collection. If the product is good and the prices are competitive and it is marketed in a compelling way that the customer understands and can relate to, then it will have been a good decision.
From a retail perspective, it makes sense that they are looking for a way to jump-start and reignite the customer interest in and relevance of the Collezioni brand. Armando Branchini, deputy chairman of Milan-based consultancy InterCorporate, also weighed in. This will reduce third-party doors while helping them to increase their sales performance. Branchini felt that Collezioni performed better in the past, because the rigidity of the subbrand made it harder in time to replicate what was already in the Emporio or Giorgio Armani lines.
Pricing will now be more efficacious and less conditioned. The designer opened his first Emporio store in Milan in — before his Giorgio Armani venue in the city in The designer launched his diffusion lines early. In , just four years after founding his company and his signature Borgonuovo label, he started his first diffusion lines, then called Giorgio Armani Le Collezioni and Mani. Over the years, the Emporio Armani image was tweaked from that of a younger diffusion line to that of a trendier, more fashion-oriented complement to the top-tier Giorgio Armani line.
Through his hands-on approach and scrupulous control, Armani was a pioneer in anticipating the trend of luxury to the masses, seeing it as an opportunity, rather than a risk. His designer denim and T-shirts — as well as his sweeping eagle logo — helped build his name globally and cement his stature. Armani Collezioni and Armani Jeans were more geared toward wholesale, such as department stores and multibrand specialty boutiques, which may also have influenced the designer in his decision, given the challenging times this channel is facing.
But some argue that new manufacturing sites can actually boost quality and creativity. The second T-shirt was, of course, a fake. Instead, the bag could have been stitched together by illegal workers in clandestine Italian factories, and the shoes assembled from plastic soles and leather shipped in from China.
And yet, Asian manufacturing remains a taboo in the luxury sector where image is everything. But some are going on the offensive, arguing that new manufacturing sites can actually boost quality and creativity. Hooks is passionate about the opportunities that a global manufacturing base offers. Lower labor costs in Asia allow designers to spend more on expensive fabrics and elaborate techniques than in Europe, he says, and therefore the final product could actually be more sophisticated than one that was manufactured in a high-wage country.
He also points out that in the right context, African or Asian manufacturing can be seen as a bonus: Armani, for example, is studying the production of Emporio Armani RED goods in some African countries as part of a campaign across a range of consumer goods to fund treatment for AIDS patients. With their rich cultural heritage and a history of producing silks and embroidered textiles, China, India and other Asian countries should in theory be well placed as manufacturers of luxurious clothes and accessories.
Japan, for one, already outshines Europe as a specialist for certain accessories and fabrics, especially expensive denim. Eyewear maker Luxottica, which makes Prada and Chanel sunglasses, has a factory in Japan that produces exclusive gold-rimmed glasses for the highly selective Japanese market.
Asian shoppers are particularly origin-conscious as French and Italian luxury goods are important status symbols in the newly affluent region. And the opinions of Asian shoppers are beginning to matter more and more as growth in more mature markets slows down.
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