Alisa The triumphant Roman Braun and Suzanne McKenna hope to change the image of the underwear brand by the movement led by actress Julianne Moore.
Drapers must compete in Berlin to meet Rome Braun, managing partner of underwear giant Triumph International and Suzanne McKenna, head of global brands who visit the German capital.
The two companies are located in Switzerland’s Bad Zurzach brand headquarters, but in Berlin, by the Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore (Julianne Moore) to attend, Triumph’s new brand Florale’s face.
Braun said softly, Glasgow, Norway, McKenna more straightforward. Both are warm and friendly, joking, anticipating the night event.
The triumph began in 1886 as the German corset company, founded by the corset Johann Gottfried Spiesshofer and the merchant Michael Braun (Roman Braun’s great grandfather).
Spiesshofer and Braun have only six sewing machines and six employees to start making corsets wholesale in a barn. In 1902, before the Arc de Triomphe was inspired, they expanded rapidly before innovation.
130 years later, the business is still wholly owned by the Spiesshofer and Braun families. UK wholesale partners include John Lewis, Fraser House, Debenhams and Selfridges, which are sold in 120 markets. It also has a slim brand of men’s and ladies underwear, focusing on technical fabrics and comfort.
As of December 31, 2016, triumphant British means of pre-tax profits rose 33% to 2.4 million pounds, turnover of 32 million pounds, down 2.1%.
Braun entered the family business in 2010 as a senior position and became a managing partner in 2013. McKenna has been in the retail industry for 25 years, and joined the triumph in 2009, in the denim giant Levi served as the British marketing manager and commodity director,
After the decision was time to face new challenges, she leaped from denim to underwear, and observed a lot of changes in a more competitive market.
“[Underwear market] is experiencing peaks and troughs,” she explains. “When I first joined the triumph, this conversation was about the secrets of Larsonsa and Victoria, then transferred to Victoria’s Secrets and Hawk Mailer. You now have small independent tags that are expanding and they are trying to offer the option.
“The market moves in two directions. There are some smaller brands that are usually concentrated in a particular style or appearance, as well as a real monster with the same tough times as the wider clothing and footwear market.
Many fashion bosses are considering how to deal with physical stores – narrow the size, changing positions or focus on experiential retail.
In July of this year, the triumph announced that it would close all UK stores by the end of the year – Cambridge, Exeter, Countyward in Wiltshire, Walton-on-Thames in Surrey and Bluewater Mall in Kent.
While Braun stressed that triumphs in the UK are relatively few stores, but closing them is still a big decision for the brand.
“This is part of the retail merger,” he explained. “We are expanding our retail stores in Europe, and if we can find quality sites that match our model, then in the UK (future) will be selective to make such a choice.
The wholesale is now a more important part of the UK business – it has more than 700 UK doors, 11 e-commerce and mail order orders – the brand is keen to redefine itself with its partners.
McKenna said: “Traditionally, we have been a high-functional brand that buyers have seen as a bigger women’s volleyball brand, or let’s say frankly about your grandmother’s brand.” We took a long time to change this Kind of view, while the UK has been one of the tougher markets.
“Last year, we decided to check out, clean up our current distribution channel – why we wholesale business can not help – and try to make sure that consumers have a choice in the categories seen by wholesale partners.”
Triumph has two bestsellers: The Amourette series is known for its comfort, with no padded and no-padded style, and offers brooches, miniature and high-end bra. At the same time, the support of all series of Duolun bra are wireless.
Braun and McKenna joked that if the triumphs were found to be a combination of both, most of their customers would be happy, both of which were popular among British retailers. It also offers Triaction sports bra, large cup series Beauty-Full and Shapewear control clothing.
“We have performed very well in terms of victory, especially with well-equipped, very suitable wireless styles such as Doreen, as well as the well-known Amourette bra, sold in a variety of styles,” Leicester’s independent Johnsons owner Gain Johnson and underwear etailer underwear company. “Both are good, which is the most important for me and my clients.”
Cornish Wadebridge’s underwear independent Mish founder Michele Poynter said: “According to customer needs, I started selling triumphant. Shoppers are asking for specific products within their range, such as Doreen. This is not my personal favorite, but sure there are A place where customers know that if they had bought these styles before, there would be no change.
While the triumph recognizes the importance of such a successful bread and butter product – McKenna says Amourette alone is bigger than some of the whole underwear brand – it can be a double-edged sword. The brand must persuade retailers to see these two styles as fashionable.
“One of the difficulties we face is that in the past, triumph has been hailed as a” functional “brand,” McKenna said. “We strive to work with customers to extend the business to Amourette or Doreen only. Consumers often do not see other products and styles, especially in the UK. If you go to other markets like Germany, this is a completely different Situation, because we are considered underwear brand, whether it is basic, sports, or sexy things weekend.
New products are helping to change the industry’s view of victory. Fall 17, the brand launched a comfortable lace Amourette charm, Braun described as “next generation” Amourette, while Triaction was re-launched in the spring 17 to cater to the growing consumer interest in all health related.
“The triumph has a real heart and a loyal customer, and they will buy them from time to time again.” “The brand also offers innovative bra and new concepts,” said Philippa Lawley-Barrett, an assistant underwear buyer at Debenhams. Adapt to the changing needs of markets and new technologies. ”
Then it is Florale. Autumn 17 launched a new high-quality series, including bra, shorts and tights, floral patterns and embroidery tones. It is designed to attract more mature customers, who are prepared to spend more elegant underwear. The retail price of the Florale bra ranges from £ 52 to £ 70, ranging from £ 28 to £ 40 in the presentation.
McKenna explains: “We have a lot of business in women over 45 years of age and they want a high-functional product.” We did some research that showed a more luxurious product open. Only because you are over 45 years old, does not mean that you have passed, and Julianne campaign at the time in the industry there are a lot of time on the mature model of the conversation together. Even if we were surprised by the successor to the story. ”
Braun named Boogie Nights and The Big Lebowski his favorite Julianne Moore film, also satisfied with the movement of Florale: “she has real. Julian played a lot of interesting roles in her film. She is famous in the world, we Known around the world. It is a good match, the brand also has a lot of real and rich heritage.
Mail order women’s business David Nieper’s designer Sarah Allen explained that the series has been found in the brand’s wholesale inventory of fans: “Florale particularly suitable for our customers.” The price point is slightly higher, but they will like the luxury fabric And beautiful embroidery. ”
Beyond the product, McKenna another focus is to create a full range of brand quotes.
“[Omnichannel] is a very tricky thing, because our products need to fit, and the question is how to bring a suitable concept to life, beyond the practical experience.We have put all the efforts into the whole channel, She pointed out that re-attention to service and choice.
“There’s a lot of talk about visual marketing that makes your store look attractive, but it’s also going to happen online. It’s not just about big screen photos: it’s about simple navigation, keywords on the page Read, and how to click on different pages. ”
She emphasizes that the partnership with etailers is particularly useful for the brand: “We are doing very well with our partners (such as Zalando and Figleaves) because we have realized that a good all-round business is not just your own dot. com, but also to determine the customer in Zalando or Amazon or [China e – commerce site to see the content], lynx more in line with our site to see the content.
McKenna’s focus on the whole channel is to recognize the underwear market is changing, because the new brand into the wear and tear, consumer interest in sports and leisure to promote a more soft, more relaxed shape change.
Closing the UK store is a bold decision, despite the widespread spread of triumphant wholesale partners to keep it stable in the UK market. The brand has a long history and rich heritage, Brown and McKenna are determined to stay ahead.
