MILAN — “Welcome on board,” said an energetic Philipp Plein meeting members of the press on Thursday in the private jet-themed bar installed in his namesake brand’s flagship here.
Plein also addressed Condé Nast at large. “It’s a very good example of a powerhouse and they had a monopoly…but they didn’t use it. They could have done everything, they could easily move into the online and so on, but they did not do it and today they are not relevant anymore.
Yet he admitted that in 2018 and 2019 his group was a target and was approached by funds, which valued the business at 750 million euros. “But this company is my life. At the beginning my dream was to make money, but then you understand that money doesn’t make you happy… What I found in this company is much more than that, it’s a reason to exist,” said Plein.
During 2020, the group streamlined its structure, as a string of top executives exited the company, including Ennio Fontana — who was later named general manager of Roberto Cavalli; the worldwide retail manager Andrea Lanza Cariccio, and the global communications director Maddalena Bertoli Tedeschi. In direct retail, the company also closed five stores between Amsterdam and the U.S., whose operations were already meant to be ceased because they were not profitable. As for the wholesale channel, it was already suffering but the group supported its partners by offering to cancel orders during the pandemic. “We basically skipped a collection and a half, the one showed in February and the pre-collection in June,” said Plein.
In general, the company is shifting its focus from the wholesale channel to an omnichannel approach through monobrand stores — both directly operated and franchisers — and online platforms. “Even before the pandemic, I said we need to become an online company, which implies a complete change of mentality,” said Plein. To this end, the group turned all its brick-and-mortar stores to distribution points to better support online demand.
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