Façonnable: premium repositioning pays off

By

Jean-Paul Leroy

Published
Jan 29, 2015

Ludovic Le Gourrierec came to Façonnable at the beginning of 2013 as its new deputy managing director with a plan: to reposition the brand founded by Albert Goldberg as a premium label. The gamble has paid off.

The former director of Saint Laurent’s men’s division has already reached his goal. Le Gourrierec notes that substantial work has been done in terms of both the brand’s image and visual identity, overseen by Norman Lemay, as well as in terms of wholesale marketing, which is supervised by sales director Virgil Raynaud. 

Now, in accordance with the plan, Façonnable’s premium line is present in many major stores around the world. For example, at Harrods in London, where it replaced Vivienne Westwood, Corso Como in Milan, Lane Crawford in Shanghai and Chengdu, Colette in Paris, Barneys New York, etc. 

At Selfridges in London, Façonnable can be found next to Brioni, Loro Piana, and not far from Valentino. At Harrods, it is close to Fendi and Lanvin! Le Gourrierec has pulled off a fine performance also in terms of the products themselves, overseen by artistic director Daniel Kearns. 

Within two season, the new line has become available in some fifty stores. In comparison, its diffusion sportswear line "F." is now sold in over 150 stores. That’s compared with 200 previously. "We’re cleaning things up," said Façonnable’s CEO. 

And 83 monobrand stores, including 43 that are directly owned, can be added to its wholesale distribution.

For the upcoming spring-summer season, Façonnable’s capsule line based on the work of Jean Cocteau is also being showcased in flagship stores. The collection was produced with the support and approval of Pierre Bergé, the president of the Jean Cocteau committee (and the head of the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent), who owns the moral rights to the entirety of the artist’s work.

The capsule has been the focus of events in major stores such as Corso Como in Milan, The Webster in Miami, Colette in Paris, etc. "In addition to selling products," said Ludovic Le Gourrierec, "the capsule has also boosted the brand’s image in very quality locations." He noted that other similar plans may also be in the works. 

The Façonnable team has also worked on a new store concept that has a Mediterranean look, including as regards to the materials used. Stores in Saint-Tropez and Deauville have been renovated, and one month ago so was its store in Megève! 

Façonnable’s CEO admits not having the same financial means as other brands in terms of investment, especially for media campaigns and store renovations. Everything obviously depends on its parent company, Lebanese group M1. 

As published in a report by FashionMag Premium several days ago, the latter is in competition with PAI Partners to buy the Pepe Jeans group, which includes British brand Hackett in  its brand portfolio. 

The potential acquisition could limit the financial resources available to Façonnable, but at least it also demonstrates M1's fashion world ambitions!