NEW YORK — Two years into the marriage of Valentino and Marzotto SpA, the designer has finally stopped having cold feet about selling his bridal designs to the general public.
Valentino might be known as the designer of wedding gowns for several famous or privileged clients —?Jennifer Lopez (for her brief marriage to Chris Judd), French actress Clotilde Courau to Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Jackie Kennedy to Aristotle Onassis — but he has resisted selling bridal at retail throughout his career, until now. The designer created three styles, which debuted in his New York flagship this month, as his introduction into the wedding market.
“We want to manage, monitor and execute this in the proper way, but going into weddings is a natural for Valentino,” said Graziano de Boni, president and chief executive officer of Valentino Inc. and Marzotto USA, the American arm of the Marzotto operations. “It’s a given.”
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Expanding Valentino’s offerings, from bringing the high-end couture collection to the U.S. to the introduction of a new diffusion collection last year, has been as much of a priority of Marzotto management since acquiring the company in May 2002 as improving the quality of the designer’s retail distribution and mending relationships with its biggest specialty store customers. In an interview at his office here last week, de Boni outlined several initiatives planned for Valentino that underscore its recent turnaround in the U.S., including the bridal line and creating exclusive product for retailers.
For example, Bergdorf Goodman, which opened a renovated 700-square-foot Valentino in-store shop last month, and Neiman Marcus will exclusively carry a zebra-print pony skin handbag with black crocodile handles and lining from the fall ready-to-wear collection that was based on a bag from Valentino’s January couture show. Another all-croc version of the bag, in Valentino’s signature red, is being designed for Bergdorf’s Christmas catalogue.
Also, after several successful private couture events in New York and Palm Beach, Fla., in recent seasons, the accessories used in the designer’s recent couture shows, including bags priced from $1,500 to $20,000, will be featured at Valentino’s New York and Los Angeles stores in the coming weeks.
“The U.S. is definitely the market where we’ve seen the best reaction to what we’ve been doing with Valentino,” said Michele Norsa, ceo of Valentino and general manager of Marzotto Apparel, in a phone interview from the company’s headquarters in Italy. “One reason is that in the U.S., there are very strong retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. Once we presented our plan to rejuvenate Valentino and they agreed with it, they have reacted very fast.”
In its most recent financial report last November, Marzotto outlined several points that indicate Valentino has regained some momentum in its retail and wholesale operations. Sales for the first nine months of 2003 rose 7.6 percent to $137.8 million, while this spring’s wholesale orders were up by 20 percent.
In the first two years of its ownership of Valentino, Marzotto has focused on rebuilding the U.S. market, which represents about a quarter of the brand’s worldwide sales, but had been ailing prior to the acquisition. Valentino’s American business was weighted heavily toward its own stores, with only 30 percent of sales from other retailers, but that ratio is now approaching a 50-50 split, de Boni said. With the introduction of the younger-skewing Valentino R.E.D., and reopening wholesale accounts for men’s wear like Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue, the company has been able to also reduce its dependence on collection sales, which can be more cyclical.
Looking forward, Norsa and de Boni said Valentino’s ambitions will be to improve its infrastructure in Asia and Europe, and to continue to explore categories that are appropriate for the brand. The bridal launch is a first step, with three styles priced from $3,850 to $8,200 in flower-inspired silhouettes. Another area to develop is its fragrance business, which is being overhauled in a new deal with Procter & Gamble’s Prestige Beauté division that will see its first big launch in early 2005, while there are also talks to develop jewelry and tabletop collections under the Valentino brand.
“For me, 2003 was the year we dedicated to the U.S. and to licenses, but 2004 is for Japan,” said Norsa. “Japan was penetrated by Valentino a long time ago, but it has remained, in terms of location and image, far behind the rest of the luxury brands. My aim is to get control of that market, probably with a partner, and start to plan for the relocation and redecoration of our shops and boutiques. That is probably our number-one commitment for this year, while I think of China as a big opportunity for 2005.”
Meanwhile, in the U.S., de Boni sees potential in continuing to offer higher-priced accessories and designs from Valentino’s couture collection, betting that a recent rebound in general luxury business will last. He compared the fashion industry’s current direction with that of the automotive industry, which after recent additions of more affordably priced luxury sedans, like the Mercedes C-Class, has since turned to ultraexpensive editions of Maybachs and McLarens.
“If a guy can put $100,000 down for a car he has to wait for three years to get, why can’t his wife put down $50,000 on a suit?” de Boni asked. “In the 21st century, luxury has become mass. What differentiates the average consumer from the luxury consumer, in this case, is the couture.”