ARMANI’s diffusion line, Armani Exchange, is trading in its old store look for a new one.
During a short introduction to the brand’s Fall-Winter collection on Nov. 11, the retouched Glorietta store boasted of brighter interiors and a more minimalist design.
According to Christiane Chan, Merchandise Group Manager for Armani Exchange in the Philippines (distributed by the SSI Group), the redesigned store is one of the first to look that way in Southeast Asia, following a global rollout. “That would be the direction of Mr. Armani,” said Ms. Chan, adding that they plan to redesign the stores in the Philippines (there are branches in Glorietta, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Rockwell, and Alabang Town Center).
The brand also showed new collections with their collaborations with SmileyWorld (as in the people behind the smiley face logo), incorporating that with the brand’s AX logo.
Another collection is called You.Me.Us, which celebrates inclusivity. The collection is also made with organic Pima cotton and recycled nylon, as part of the company’s sustainability goals. “The brand is going into sustainability because Mr. Giorgio Armani is one of the designers who is campaigning for sustainability,” said Ms. Chan. Other projects by the Armani group in sustainability include supporting the Climate Crisis Fund of World Wildlife Fund in Italy, and efforts in improving water accessibility, with €12 million invested in water projects, according to its website.
Armani Exchange is part of the larger Armani group from Italy (Giorgio Armani S.p.A), which includes brands like Emporio Armani, Armani/Casa, and even a line of sweets, Armani/Dolci. The Armani Exchange brand had been reacquired by the group in 2017, after a 2005 joint venture with its former licensee, Como Holdings. It is helmed by its founder, Italian designer Giorgio Armani.
In 2021, The Armani Group achieved a positive operating profit amounting to €171.2 million, compared to negative profits of €29.5 million in 2020. This was disclosed in their 2021 financial report.
“One full year earlier than planned, the Armani Group achieved more than €4 billion in turnover of Armani brands including licenses and more than €2 billion in direct consolidate revenues. These results are even more encouraging given that they were achieved without undue pressure on sales opportunities, but rather by streamlining the size of the collections, implementing an attentive selection of the distribution network, in line with the brand’s founding principle: ‘less is more,’ and improving the quality of the Armani experience offered to the end consumer. A relentless work and focus on brand equity which, combined with the Group’s financial performance, confirms the effectiveness of the medium-long term strategic framework to which we are committed,” said Giuseppe Marsocci, Deputy General Manager and Chief Commercial Officer of the Armani Group, and Daniele Ballestrazzi, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating & Financial Officer of the Armani Group, in the report.
“The remarkable growth achieved in 2021, consolidated by the positive performance in the first half of this year, makes me cautiously optimistic. I am also increasingly determined to continue my medium- to long-term strategic path, staying true to the principles that have always underpinned my creative and business philosophy, and applying them to all aspects of our strategy. This solid and consistent approach has proven to be efficient, even, and especially during these last few years, which have been so complicated for our personal and professional lives. Our Group proved to be healthy, from a capital and financial perspective, and this provided some relative respite, even in the face of a potential aggravation of the international scenario,” declared Mr. Armani in the report. — JL Garcia
