«The omnichannel offers a new game to play»
2020 was a year of forced slowdown, with many companies finding themselves having to quickly prepare new plans for action and venture into territories that had been previously unexplored up until that moment. Flexibility was the modus operandi of Monnalisa (with a revenue of 47.9 million euros in 2019), which during this time of difficulty prepared the groundwork for a new evolutionary leap forward. We spoke of this with Christian Simoni, CEO of this childrenswear company listed on the FTSE AIM Italia Index that is distributed in 60 countries worldwide via direct flagship stores and via over 500 multibrand retailers, and which is active on several fronts in this moment. The brand, present on Pitti Connect with its new Fall-Winter 2021 collections, recently signed a licensing agreement with Chiara Ferragni, which, also as a direct effect of the pandemic, recorded significant uptrends on its e-shop, with a 72% increase in transactions and a conversion rate that more than doubled (+105%) during the fourth quarter of the year.
2020 was a difficult year for everyone, but Monnalisa proved itself to be extremely dynamic. How did you face these difficulties?
I believe that when facing adversity and the unknown, it’s important to be very flexible not only in life, but also in work. I am very proud of our reaction: reinforcing different markets in accordance with the map that tracked the spread of the virus; focusing on new channels or sales methods when our stores were closed to maintain close and continuous contact with customers; implementing the strictest prevention protocols for those working on-site and organizing smart working for those with roles compatible with off-site work; converting part of our production when there was a shortage of protective surgical masks to help out our own city of Arezzo, or those considered at higher risk.
We also donated a welcome kit to the maternity wards of many hospitals, since many mothers close to giving birth had not yet prepared their layette and were taken by surprise when the lockdown occurred. New spaces were opened at the La Rinascente in Milan, along with two stores in an outlet mall, and a store in prestigious Marina Bay Sands. Last, but not least, we had the chance to sign a licensing agreement with Chiara Ferragni.
What does this license call for?
The aim of the agreement is to further the growth of the brand founded by Chiara Ferragni on a worldwide level, in the segment of girls aged 0-10 years, through the structure and experience of Monnalisa, which with its 53 years of history is distributed in more than 60 countries via over 500 multibrand sales points – including some of the world’s best-known department stores – and through 48 mono-brand stores in premium luxury shopping destinations. For Monnalisa, it is a unique opportunity to express all of its creative, distributive, and commercial expertise, while benefitting from economies of scale. The phase of collecting “pre-orders” ended with results even above our expectations and the average order placed was interesting, especially when considering the number of models selected. It’s a “smiling and fun” wardrobe. Italian quality, an extremely high level of comfort, and surprising and recognizable details, thanks to the iconic symbols of the brand: Eyelike embroidered in crystals or printed, with the CFlogomania proposed on rubberized bands or in intarsia in knitwear, and the CFMascotte, the bona fide avatar of Chiara in her most iconic look. Three age ranges are proposed: Layette, a complete layette from newborns to nine months; Bébé for up to three years; and Kids, from ages two to ten.
As far as the Monnalisa product is concerned, what is changing in light of what happened and what is happening?
Certainly, the period of lockdown heavily influenced fashion and style. We kept this in mind, integrating our collection with different comfy-chic capsule collections. Next to our traditional proposals – which, even if they are stylish and characterized by many details, are in any case designed for kids – we created, with the same prints, sweatsuits and comfortable and soft jumpsuits. Always, however, in a perfect Monnalisa style.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, also as a direct effect of the pandemic, the Monnalisa e-shop recorded significant growth trends. Will the balance between online and offline channels change?
Without a doubt the online channel has great potential for growth. We are focusing on it and reinforcing it with significant investments and an integrated communication. In January 2020, we launched the entirely new e-commerce “eco-system”: with a new platform, new company organization, digitalization of in-house products, an inventory visibility system, and CRM system. When combined, all this creates the ideal customer experience. All of this has also contributed to accelerating digitalization in the company, a process that has culminated in the visual showroom. In the future, the importance of online sales will increase, while reducing the dichotomy between online-offline in particular. From the other end, already today, integration is a done deal also for many of our multibrand customers.
What are you working on now?
We are continuing to work quite a bit on the digital channel, which has finally started to reap the benefits of the significant investments made over the last two years, and on the integration between channels. This field is still, in our opinion, rich in opportunity. We have all experienced the phenomenon of “click & mortar”, or rather the ways it is possible to integrate and reinforce digital and physical channels, but always starting from an in-house perspective, or rather the company’s website with direct stores. Much still must be done, but by now the model has been established, and it’s “only” a matter of implementing it in all of its many facets. Then there was, and there continues to be, the theme of the marketplace, in which the warehouses of wholesalers and/or of the company are placed on a platform that brings together the goods of all sellers and promotes their sale. You could say this is an integration of e-tailer with wholesaler, or e-tailer with supplier. We have also seen the arrival of e-tailers specialized in these marketplaces, so an integration of e-tailer with e-tailer. In our opinion, in these concepts at play, the one still missing is that of wholesaler-wholesaler (it exists in the brick & mortar world based on relationships of trust on a small scale and collaborations between retailers) and that of supplier-wholesaler or, in a genuinely integrated scope, that of wholesaler-supplier-wholesaler. So, we are trying to set up a project that goes in this direction, and which is extremely innovative and multichannel. It is a complex project, and its development and implementation will require a lot of time, along with farsightedness, openness, and expertise. However, we believe it can become a new model of success if it is set up in a genuine win-win scope.
a.t.
2020 was a difficult year for everyone, but Monnalisa proved itself to be extremely dynamic. How did you face these difficulties?
I believe that when facing adversity and the unknown, it’s important to be very flexible not only in life, but also in work. I am very proud of our reaction: reinforcing different markets in accordance with the map that tracked the spread of the virus; focusing on new channels or sales methods when our stores were closed to maintain close and continuous contact with customers; implementing the strictest prevention protocols for those working on-site and organizing smart working for those with roles compatible with off-site work; converting part of our production when there was a shortage of protective surgical masks to help out our own city of Arezzo, or those considered at higher risk.
We also donated a welcome kit to the maternity wards of many hospitals, since many mothers close to giving birth had not yet prepared their layette and were taken by surprise when the lockdown occurred. New spaces were opened at the La Rinascente in Milan, along with two stores in an outlet mall, and a store in prestigious Marina Bay Sands. Last, but not least, we had the chance to sign a licensing agreement with Chiara Ferragni.
What does this license call for?
The aim of the agreement is to further the growth of the brand founded by Chiara Ferragni on a worldwide level, in the segment of girls aged 0-10 years, through the structure and experience of Monnalisa, which with its 53 years of history is distributed in more than 60 countries via over 500 multibrand sales points – including some of the world’s best-known department stores – and through 48 mono-brand stores in premium luxury shopping destinations. For Monnalisa, it is a unique opportunity to express all of its creative, distributive, and commercial expertise, while benefitting from economies of scale. The phase of collecting “pre-orders” ended with results even above our expectations and the average order placed was interesting, especially when considering the number of models selected. It’s a “smiling and fun” wardrobe. Italian quality, an extremely high level of comfort, and surprising and recognizable details, thanks to the iconic symbols of the brand: Eyelike embroidered in crystals or printed, with the CFlogomania proposed on rubberized bands or in intarsia in knitwear, and the CFMascotte, the bona fide avatar of Chiara in her most iconic look. Three age ranges are proposed: Layette, a complete layette from newborns to nine months; Bébé for up to three years; and Kids, from ages two to ten.
As far as the Monnalisa product is concerned, what is changing in light of what happened and what is happening?
Certainly, the period of lockdown heavily influenced fashion and style. We kept this in mind, integrating our collection with different comfy-chic capsule collections. Next to our traditional proposals – which, even if they are stylish and characterized by many details, are in any case designed for kids – we created, with the same prints, sweatsuits and comfortable and soft jumpsuits. Always, however, in a perfect Monnalisa style.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, also as a direct effect of the pandemic, the Monnalisa e-shop recorded significant growth trends. Will the balance between online and offline channels change?
Without a doubt the online channel has great potential for growth. We are focusing on it and reinforcing it with significant investments and an integrated communication. In January 2020, we launched the entirely new e-commerce “eco-system”: with a new platform, new company organization, digitalization of in-house products, an inventory visibility system, and CRM system. When combined, all this creates the ideal customer experience. All of this has also contributed to accelerating digitalization in the company, a process that has culminated in the visual showroom. In the future, the importance of online sales will increase, while reducing the dichotomy between online-offline in particular. From the other end, already today, integration is a done deal also for many of our multibrand customers.
What are you working on now?
We are continuing to work quite a bit on the digital channel, which has finally started to reap the benefits of the significant investments made over the last two years, and on the integration between channels. This field is still, in our opinion, rich in opportunity. We have all experienced the phenomenon of “click & mortar”, or rather the ways it is possible to integrate and reinforce digital and physical channels, but always starting from an in-house perspective, or rather the company’s website with direct stores. Much still must be done, but by now the model has been established, and it’s “only” a matter of implementing it in all of its many facets. Then there was, and there continues to be, the theme of the marketplace, in which the warehouses of wholesalers and/or of the company are placed on a platform that brings together the goods of all sellers and promotes their sale. You could say this is an integration of e-tailer with wholesaler, or e-tailer with supplier. We have also seen the arrival of e-tailers specialized in these marketplaces, so an integration of e-tailer with e-tailer. In our opinion, in these concepts at play, the one still missing is that of wholesaler-wholesaler (it exists in the brick & mortar world based on relationships of trust on a small scale and collaborations between retailers) and that of supplier-wholesaler or, in a genuinely integrated scope, that of wholesaler-supplier-wholesaler. So, we are trying to set up a project that goes in this direction, and which is extremely innovative and multichannel. It is a complex project, and its development and implementation will require a lot of time, along with farsightedness, openness, and expertise. However, we believe it can become a new model of success if it is set up in a genuine win-win scope.
a.t.
