The executive director of the fashion brand Furla, Alberto Camerlengo, gave an exclusive interview for the Fashion magazin platform, in which he spoke about the financial results and results of last year, about plans for the future, about opening his own showroom Furla in Russia and much more.

– How do you assess the results of the Furla brand in 2018 in Russia? And at the international level?

Furla Group continues to show stable growth: over the past four financial years, the company has doubled its turnover, reaching 513 million euros in 2018, which is 5.2% more than in 2017. We have invested significant financial resources in managing our growth, which the company has been observing for several years. Including due to the full control of sales channels in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. Russia is also very important to us, and, fortunately, Russians respond to us with mutual love: our sales are increasing from year to year, and we are, of course, happy with this result.

We are developing direct control over the sale of our goods by strengthening single-brand boutiques, which provided 70% of turnover in 2018. Control over sales, including in multi-brand stores and department stores and franchising, allows Furla to occupy a strong position in the luxury segment. Today, the brand is present in 98 countries of the world: 490 single-brand boutiques (285 are directly owned by the company, 163 franchise stores and 42 tourist outlets), which are located in the most prestigious international shopping centers. More than 1,200 multi-brand boutiques and department stores are expanding the Furla distribution network.

I would like to pay special attention to the travel retail sector, which is inexorably developing and in 2018 recorded an increase of 16.2% compared to 2017, which amounted to 7.3% of sales. Sales were carried out in 293 locations in 64 countries, including airplanes and cruise liners.

Our company also pays special attention to online sales, where, thanks to constant investments, a significant increase in turnover was observed in 2018: by 45.7% compared to the previous year.

Furla paid even more attention to investments in marketing, paying special attention to digital channels, including social networks, thanks to which the number of subscribers of the brand increased by 64% compared to 2017. At the same time, we managed to maintain one of the highest engagement rates (1.59%) in the luxury fashion category.

Will there be changes in the positioning and sales policy in Russia? Are there plans to open new stores in Russia or the former CIS countries?

Russia is a strategically important market for us, and we continue to believe in its growth. We will continue to preach our philosophy: every woman deserves beautiful accessories at a fair price. We will be able to tell you in more detail about the openings of new Furla boutiques or about Furla's plans in Russia and the CIS countries as soon as all our plans are agreed.

–Please tell us about the launch of the Click& Collect service – why is it needed and how will it work?

Furla became the first international luxury brand to offer such a service to its customers in Russia. Thanks to the new service, customers can choose any product from the assortment of the online boutique furla.com , reserve it and get it at any offline Furla boutique, paying upon receipt. The Click & Collect service is available completely free of charge in all Furla boutiques in Russia. To use it, you do not need to pay for the order online. The rules for using Click & Collect are simple: add your favorite products to the cart, then when placing an order, click "pick up in the store", then choose a boutique that is convenient for you. For example, the limited-edition FURLA FORTEZZA model in onyx+ silver color is presented exclusively in the Furla online boutique. The key design element of this bag is the Furla Grid element, that is, a drawing with a three-dimensional effect, which is made of raffia and lurex. The new Furla Shield monogram is the main dominant located on the front of the bag: two stylized letters F, resembling a heraldic shield. On the website of the online boutique, the bag looks fantastic, but the buyer may not be sure that this bag will suit him in real life. Therefore, we provide the opportunity to view and pay for the order within 48 hours from the moment it arrives at the boutique. Thanks to Click & Collect, shopping in the official Furla online boutique will become even more convenient and simple. In addition, in May 2019, a new service will appear in Moscow - express delivery within an hour. I am sure that it will become very popular in such a busy metropolis.

– What else is new for Furla buyers in 2019?

– In the near future we will launch a lot of interesting projects, which we will tell you about later. Let there be a little intrigue, as it turned out with our collection of sneakers #FURLASNEAKERS. Working on the project for several months, we carefully guarded our secret. In February, during Milan Fashion Week, we presented our first collection of sneakers, which became a key element in our marketing activities. Sneakers are a very popular product on the market today. We wanted to satisfy the needs of our customers by creating a series of sneakers. In ten days we were able to sell 200 pairs in Milan alone! Moreover, many models have already been completely sold out. Sales of sneakers accounted for about 10% of the total sales for the week during Milan Fashion Week, and this is a fantastic result. Following this avant-garde Milan premiere, the sale of sneakers began all over the world.

On April 11, the start of sales of sneakers will take place at the Furla boutique in the European shopping mall in Moscow. From April 11 to 13, it will be possible to try on new sneakers and make customization here among the first in Moscow. On April 13 and 18, the sneakers will appear in Furla boutiques in the shopping centers "Metropolis" and "Atrium". Schedule artists in special corners #furlasneakers ask and check in boutiques Furla.

A very important part of marketing is our new monogram. It is elegant and simple, thanks to which it fully corresponds to Furla. The source of inspiration for her was the key letter of our brand - a double stylized letter F, reminiscent of the heraldic coat of arms of an ancient Italian family. The F monogram is very recognizable and adds additional stylistic codes to our products. This makes Furla bags and accessories even more recognizable, helping our customers identify themselves as members of the #TheFurlaSociety club.

The concept of #TheFurlaSociety includes freedom of expression, individuality, playfulness and freedom of choice. We see with our own eyes how a bright collection comes to life thanks to memorable visual messages. To emphasize the brand's Italian DNA, Furla used the streets of Milan as the filming location for the new campaign, where playful sketches unfolded. Each hero of the shooting stands out from the crowd with his uncompromising courage, self-confidence and eclectic image. Furla tells everything that #TheFurlaSociety embodies. The main characters of the spring-summer 2019 campaign, filmed in Italy, were Su Joo, Chiara Schelsi, Joan Smalls, Lucky Blue Smith and Piper America.

Craftsmanship, creativity and design combined with innovative technologies are a key element of the Furla style.Anyone who chooses bags and accessories of this brand knows that there are products for everyone, even for the most unique personalities. Furla translates immortal elegance with its models. Bold shapes, original colors, high-quality natural materials and the latest technologies create a genuine modern elegance. The Furla brand has an extensive distribution network around the world, which is constantly expanding.

Photo: Furla