Ferragamo luxury with a Millennial flavour

James Ferragamo’s list of the “brand’s recognised values” includes colour, warmth, Mediterranean style, innovation, good taste and family: «We have worked on this framework – he continues –, coordinating all activities right across the board, from the development of the collections to marketing, and from distribution to communications with the emphasis on multi-platform digital technology». And to clearly represent the identity of the brand and give it a consistent style, in March the company “promoted” British designer Paul Andrew, previously dedicated exclusively to the women’s collections, to creative director of all Salvatore Ferragamo products. Paul Andrew made his menswear debut in Florence in June during Ferragamo’s Pitti Uomo runway show in Piazza della Signoria - the first time this location had ever been used for a fashion show - in what was the umpteenth homage to the city so adored by Salvatore.

«It was an important moment of great visibility that underlined the brand’s exceptional vibrancy and intrinsic bond with Florence», says James Ferragamo.

On the subject of this vibrancy, the group is also working to strengthen its e-commerce and social network platforms, “channels of information and word-of-mouth that have also become the media of choice for evaluating acquisitions” Ferragamo stresses, thinking above all of the ultra-connected Millennials. Nevertheless, faithful to the history and values of the maison, the manager recognises the importance of direct relations with the customer: “But our network of stores (661, 397 of which are directly managed, Ed.), where we offer a gratifying and high-quality shopping experience, is always paramount in our thoughts. Internet is a great help but for luxury brands the physical store still has a very strong impact.”

An impact that is visible in the company’s accounts. Ferragamo, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, began its revival at the start of the year with the positive results in the first quarter, a trend that was consolidated in the second quarter. It closed the first six months of 2019 with a 4.6% increase in turnover (€705 million), a 2.1% increase in EBITDA, and a net profit of €60 million (+2.4%). Sales were driven by Asia Pacific, which remains the group’s biggest market (+8.1% in the first half-year), while North America and Japan remained stable. The best-performing products were leather bags and accessories (+6.8%), but there was also an upturn in sales of shoes (+4%), the brand’s most symbolic product given that everything began with Salvatore Ferragamo’s studies of the foot and the sole with the aim of making women feel more comfortable. The end-of-year results are expected to be in line with the trend of the first half with revenues of around € 1.4 billion.