Imperial debuts with mini-sizes. Recovery expected halfway through 2021
At a little less than a year from the demise of founder Adriano Aere, the Imperial fast fashion group continues under the presidency of his wife Emilia Giberti, moving forward with new projects. Among the most recent, standing out is the launching of Imperial Kids, on stage these past few days at Pitti Bimbo, in a digital version on Pitti Connect. A mini-me, as revealed by the president of the company in an interview with fashionmagazine.it, in the spirit of glamour, while always attentive also to comfort and performance (here pictured are two outfits for the coming winter).
What led you to the decision to develop an Imperial kidswear line, after your experiences with Dixie and Please?
The decision to introduce the Imperial Kids line in this difficult moment bears testimony to our commitment in looking to the future with trust and transforming problems into opportunities for growth. The concept of kidswear has changed a lot in recent years: today, teens follow social networks, are the children of parents who are attentive to trends, and even as children they are independent in choosing their own look. Our kidswear lines express the souls of each one of our brands. Kidswear represents a significant percent of our turnover, and for this reason, we decided to flank Dixie Girl and Please Kids with Imperial Kids, inspired by the brand that first determined the success of our group.
What are the leading traits of the kidswear lines of these three brands?
In general, we are very attentive to comfort and performance, to the extent that over time we acquired a company specialized in kidswear, Magico Kids, which guarantees us with quality productive pathways, also in terms of wearability: our young customers have dynamic lives, so wearability and materials must reply to their needs and performance in this sense. The kids’ collections are created by taking inspiration from the volumes and stylistic features of the main line, maintaining a coherent image that we reinforce through communication. In particular, Dixie Girl re-proposes the stylistic features of the women’s collection: independent and creative, cheerful and carefree, the Dixie girl loves to follow the latest trends and play around with fashion. The proposals are extremely feminine, with a touch of boho chic. Please Kids, instead, is divided between girl, boy, and baby, covering an age range that spans from 3 months to 14 years, and just like with the Please women’s collection, it has a cool spirit with streetwear influences, and a focus on denim. Imperial Kids carefully follows fashion trends and is strongly influenced by the glamour of the brand in its men’s and women’s lines. The must-haves of the main collection are re-proposed in a mini-me key: for girls, the look is ultra-feminine and always cutting-edge; for boys, there is sophisticated daywear. Both lines are designed for all occasions, from urban to leisure wear all the way up to parties.
What feedback are you receiving from the market on the new line?
The ad campaign is generating good results despite the current scenario. This is thanks above all to our sales network, already qualified through their experiences with Please Kids and Dixie Girl.
What distribution programs do you have for Imperial Kids?
For the distribution of the brand, we are relying on a network of established rep firms, which were already tested with the other kids’ lines of the group.
What are your feelings regarding the childrenswear market in 2021?
We expect a general recovery halfway through 2021 and we hope there will be a return to normality by the end of the year. We have followed our hearts beyond the current obstacle and have continued to invest, despite the scenario, in our main pillars: speed, creativity, and customer service.
What was the 2020 revenue of your childrenswear lines?
We ended 2020 with a turnover of 9 million euros for the kidswear segment, which is worth around 8% of our total revenue.
What are the main markets of reference for the childrenswear lines?
Currently our revenue is distributed between 80% in Italy and 20% abroad, with France, Spain, and Germany leading the way.
How is mini-me e-commerce doing and what weight does it have on total sales?
The kidswear lines are present on the e-commerce platforms of the main lines but, having introduced this segment fairly recently, we are focused above all on the wholesale channel, which for us is a priority in terms of commercial development: a strategic decision that today protects traditional distribution. Over the course of 2021/2022, there will be further developments.
What are your expectations for the Pitti Bimbo edition currently taking place on the Connect platform?
We activated the digital profiles or our brands with the aim of coming into contact with international buyers. Pitti is an extremely important showcase for the panorama of fashion and the kidswear segment, so we will continue our collaboration with a view to commercial development. We adhered to this initiative even at the last editions, using the platform to set up for foreign markets and this allowed us to make contact with new customers. So, I would say the experience met our expectations.
Halfway through 2020 you took over the Swiss retailer Anouk: how is this business doing?
The operation begun in 2019 was finalized during the first phase of the pandemic when we in fact took over a historic partner, with whom we had developed distribution in Switzerland starting in 2009, positioning our brands Dixie and Please in 49 stores distributed in three Swiss cantons. The acquisition saw us also insert the Imperial brand among the proposals of Anouk and launch an e-commerce channel, positioning ourselves on the territory.
Do you have new projects for Dixie and Please?
With the debut of Imperial Kids, we have completed the development of the group’s kidswear lines. Future projects will focus on the reinforcement and further commercial development of our lines.
What’s your assessment of the 2020 pandemic year?
The many variables of 2020 made it impossible to predict the scenarios with certainty, and so we created some priorities for ourselves: ensuring safe working conditions in all job positions and guaranteeing the economic stability of the company. This without stopping the activities of progress like the acquisition of Anouk, the focus of the French market – with the opening of an Imperial showroom in the center of Paris and the doubling of French logistics in Aix En Provence – as well as the development of the e-commerce channels of our brand. These actions generated an extremely positive reaction from the market, which makes us optimistic for the future.
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What led you to the decision to develop an Imperial kidswear line, after your experiences with Dixie and Please?
The decision to introduce the Imperial Kids line in this difficult moment bears testimony to our commitment in looking to the future with trust and transforming problems into opportunities for growth. The concept of kidswear has changed a lot in recent years: today, teens follow social networks, are the children of parents who are attentive to trends, and even as children they are independent in choosing their own look. Our kidswear lines express the souls of each one of our brands. Kidswear represents a significant percent of our turnover, and for this reason, we decided to flank Dixie Girl and Please Kids with Imperial Kids, inspired by the brand that first determined the success of our group.
What are the leading traits of the kidswear lines of these three brands?
In general, we are very attentive to comfort and performance, to the extent that over time we acquired a company specialized in kidswear, Magico Kids, which guarantees us with quality productive pathways, also in terms of wearability: our young customers have dynamic lives, so wearability and materials must reply to their needs and performance in this sense. The kids’ collections are created by taking inspiration from the volumes and stylistic features of the main line, maintaining a coherent image that we reinforce through communication. In particular, Dixie Girl re-proposes the stylistic features of the women’s collection: independent and creative, cheerful and carefree, the Dixie girl loves to follow the latest trends and play around with fashion. The proposals are extremely feminine, with a touch of boho chic. Please Kids, instead, is divided between girl, boy, and baby, covering an age range that spans from 3 months to 14 years, and just like with the Please women’s collection, it has a cool spirit with streetwear influences, and a focus on denim. Imperial Kids carefully follows fashion trends and is strongly influenced by the glamour of the brand in its men’s and women’s lines. The must-haves of the main collection are re-proposed in a mini-me key: for girls, the look is ultra-feminine and always cutting-edge; for boys, there is sophisticated daywear. Both lines are designed for all occasions, from urban to leisure wear all the way up to parties.
What feedback are you receiving from the market on the new line?
The ad campaign is generating good results despite the current scenario. This is thanks above all to our sales network, already qualified through their experiences with Please Kids and Dixie Girl.
What distribution programs do you have for Imperial Kids?
For the distribution of the brand, we are relying on a network of established rep firms, which were already tested with the other kids’ lines of the group.
What are your feelings regarding the childrenswear market in 2021?
We expect a general recovery halfway through 2021 and we hope there will be a return to normality by the end of the year. We have followed our hearts beyond the current obstacle and have continued to invest, despite the scenario, in our main pillars: speed, creativity, and customer service.
What was the 2020 revenue of your childrenswear lines?
We ended 2020 with a turnover of 9 million euros for the kidswear segment, which is worth around 8% of our total revenue.
What are the main markets of reference for the childrenswear lines?
Currently our revenue is distributed between 80% in Italy and 20% abroad, with France, Spain, and Germany leading the way.
How is mini-me e-commerce doing and what weight does it have on total sales?
The kidswear lines are present on the e-commerce platforms of the main lines but, having introduced this segment fairly recently, we are focused above all on the wholesale channel, which for us is a priority in terms of commercial development: a strategic decision that today protects traditional distribution. Over the course of 2021/2022, there will be further developments.
What are your expectations for the Pitti Bimbo edition currently taking place on the Connect platform?
We activated the digital profiles or our brands with the aim of coming into contact with international buyers. Pitti is an extremely important showcase for the panorama of fashion and the kidswear segment, so we will continue our collaboration with a view to commercial development. We adhered to this initiative even at the last editions, using the platform to set up for foreign markets and this allowed us to make contact with new customers. So, I would say the experience met our expectations.
Halfway through 2020 you took over the Swiss retailer Anouk: how is this business doing?
The operation begun in 2019 was finalized during the first phase of the pandemic when we in fact took over a historic partner, with whom we had developed distribution in Switzerland starting in 2009, positioning our brands Dixie and Please in 49 stores distributed in three Swiss cantons. The acquisition saw us also insert the Imperial brand among the proposals of Anouk and launch an e-commerce channel, positioning ourselves on the territory.
Do you have new projects for Dixie and Please?
With the debut of Imperial Kids, we have completed the development of the group’s kidswear lines. Future projects will focus on the reinforcement and further commercial development of our lines.
What’s your assessment of the 2020 pandemic year?
The many variables of 2020 made it impossible to predict the scenarios with certainty, and so we created some priorities for ourselves: ensuring safe working conditions in all job positions and guaranteeing the economic stability of the company. This without stopping the activities of progress like the acquisition of Anouk, the focus of the French market – with the opening of an Imperial showroom in the center of Paris and the doubling of French logistics in Aix En Provence – as well as the development of the e-commerce channels of our brand. These actions generated an extremely positive reaction from the market, which makes us optimistic for the future.
e.f
