RETAIL IDENTITY

& DISTRIBUTION
STRATEGIES:
Case Studies and
Interviews
Module 5
M5 - Content Retail Identity &
Distribution
Strategies

1.  Case Study: Dsquared2

2.  Interview with Vente-Privée
3.  New trends: Business Model
4.  New trends: Branding & Communication
5.  Country Branding for Italian Companies

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 Dsquared2

Dsquared2

Case study for the retail identity of a fashion

designer brand

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 Interview with
Vente-Priveé

Vente-Priveé
Global Leader in Online Sales Event

Interview with Andreas Schmeidler,

Country Manager Italy
&
Federica Beneventi,
PR Manager Italy

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 New Trends

The Evolution of Business Models

In the past
Roles were more focused

> Brand in charge of image and communication

> Manufacturing companies were focused on technical skills in

production

> Retailers had to master the retail operation and sales channels

Trends

> Retailers will become brands mastering communication and

manufacturing operations such as the Inditex group

> Manufacturers will enter into branding and retailing as

Luxottica

> Brands will become retailers as many luxury brands that in the
past were used to manage mainly branding products and
communication

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 New Trends

The Evolution of Business Models

Business models will become more hybrid as

companies adopt a hand-to-hand approach
looking for control on all key aspects of the business
process

The evolution of business models, technology and

market will have an impact on the organization

> Teams will become crucial, cross functional teams

will take care of complex processes in product,
retail and communication
> Technology will play an important role with new
tools:
Ø  product lifecycle management
Ø  advance merchandising tools
Ø  in-store retail operations

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 New Trends

The Evolution of Branding and Communication

How fashion and luxury brands can create aspirational

value in such a complex world?

Trends
Companies need to create engagement combining
emotional, people search for a personal relationship
with brands, and rational aspects, having key business
goals and measurable outcomes

In creating engagement integration is key.

To make some examples, companies can use traditional
media to promote their presence on social media,
incorporate user-generated content in their traditional
communication campaign, promote off-line events on
the internet, etc.

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 New Trends

The Evolution of Branding and Communication

The message that the company wants to convey is

fundamental
For communication to be effective the message
needs to be authentic

Authenticity in different market ranges means:

> For luxury and designer brands being able to
communicate why the product is unique and
excellent
> For premium brands conveying strong emotional
content in their advertising and exploiting digital
media
> For fast fashion retailers the message has to focus
both on the product convenience and create an
intangible dimension by working on capsule
collections and co-branding

In any business model Corporate Social Responsibility

is important

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 New Trends

The Evolution of Branding and Communication

In any business model Corporate Social Responsibility

is important and need to be on top of managers’
agenda

Fashion and luxury are about beauty but today we

cannot have beauty without well being

Companies need to commit themselves and to

communicate to every stakeholders their efforts
towards a better planet and towards an
improvement in people’s life

The world aesthetics should contain the ethic one

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 Country Branding for
Italian Companies

The role of country branding

Italy is a European country with a long successful

story in fashion and luxury industries

Country branding is very important for Italian brands

thanks to the positive associations to creativity and
art made under the “Made in Italy” label

Made-in-Italy stands as a guarantee for “beautiful

and well done.” The Italian lifestyle symbolizes as
ways of socializing with friends, relaxing, staying
within the family, an inner sense of beauty, a natural
attention to details, etc.

The actual challenges for Italian fashion and luxury

companies:
> Entrepreneurial succession
> Competences in manufacturing

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