FRANCE. French luxury men’s fashion house Zilli was featured on the front cover of the daily newspaper Nice-Matin during the TFWA World Exhibition. How this came about was essentially a tale of two women achievers in two different but equally competitive spheres – politics and business.
It all started in the summer when Zilli received an award from the French government for achieving the best export sales to the fast-growing Russian market in 2005. Zilli’s Moscow boutique was proving highly popular with status-seeking Russian businessmen who wanted the world’s leading fashion goods.
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Zilli’s stand at TFWA World Exhibition evoked the ambience of the company’s luxury stores worldwide | |
In June French Junior Minister for Foreign Trade Christine Lagarde presented the export award to Zilli’s Chairman Alain Schimel, the father of Travel Retail Director Alexandra Schimel.
In September Lagarde paid a visit to the Zilli boutique in Moscow to celebrate this coveted award. And then last week, in Cannes, this charismatic politician gave a much-admired speech at the TFWA conference and proceeded to inaugurate the exhibition.
During her walk around the show Lagarde made sure she visited the Zilli stand, where the photograph was taken that ended up on the front page of Nice-Matin, one of France’s best-selling daily newspapers.
Talking to The Moodie Report about the first day’s exciting events, Alexandra Schimel spoke of her admiration for Christine Lagarde, who remembered her earlier visit to the Moscow boutique very clearly.
“Mme Lagarde told me that the Zilli exhibition stand looked just like our Moscow store,” she said. “She took time out to visit us here at the show, so I am really delighted. She is an amazing woman, very smart. Her conference speech was excellent, full of humour and very relevant to our business [Lagarde spoke on the subject of airport security – Ed].”
Zilli in travel retail
Updating The Moodie Report on Zilli’s travel retail activities, Schimel said that the Vienna Airport store opened earlier this year was trading above expectations and the new Paris Charles de Gaulle airport outlet was also performing well.
Now, the company is seriously targeting the Middle East. Zilli has two stores in Dubai and is now focused on an airport presence in the Emirate. Similarly, outlets in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar are on the cards. “Things are moving very fast in the Middle East,” said Schimel.
In Europe the brand’s Italian presence will be considerably expanded in January 2007 when Schimel herself moves to Milan to further strengthen the Italian operation. Zilli already has a large showroom in the fashion capital.
In Lebanon Zilli’s airport store in Beirut is back to normal trading conditions, following the disruption earlier this year.
Zilli in Russia
Zilli’s export award marks a milestone for the company, which has been present in Russia since 1991. Today the market contributes some 42% of the company’s export sales.
In 2004 Zilli opened two airport stores in Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport – one in the VIP area in Terminal One and the other in the duty free area of T2.
About Zilli
Zilli, the leading French brand of luxury menswear chaired by its founder Alain Schimel, celebrated 35 years in the fashion business on 5 April 2006 at the prestigious Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. To mark the occasion the house presented 35 silhouettes, including the Benson jacket that John Lennon wore in 1980.
The firm’s workshops are located in France and Italy. Over 200 employees put together the two annual collections of garments and accessories which major on luxury materials (sable, ostrich, silk, peccary, guanaco, etc). No less than 6,000 made-to-measure items are produced by the Lyons workshops and 40,000 ties are sold worldwide, making Zilli the leading manufacturer of hand-stitched ties, including its signature seven-crease tie.
With consolidated turnover of €27 million (US$34.3 million) and +30% growth in 2005, the firm exports 90% of its production, most of it going to Eastern European countries, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
For details on Zilli, contact Alexandra Schimel on tel: +33 1 53 23 90 90 or e-mail alexandra.schimel@zilli.fr Visit www.zilli.fr
MORE STORIES ON ZILLI
Zilli strides onto Austrian airport scene – 17/07/06
Zilli makes exclusive debut in Paris Roissy – 13/07/06
Zilli celebrates first South American retail presence – 15/09/05
Zilli fashions a path through central Europe and Asia – 24/05/05
