La Perla relaunches its Studio line

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Mar 18, 2013

After celebrating the opening of the first Studio La Perla store in Rome in December, the brand has just opened its second store in Milan. The Milan boutique, which measures 50m², has a contemporary design and was conceived by architects at Burrati+Battiston. Studio is La Perla’s more affordable line.

La Perla - based in Bologna but owned by American JH Partners since 2008 - has been working on this ambitious project of relaunching the brand for over a year and a half. “We have identified a market segment of female consumers aged 30 to 40 who are very fashion- and trend-orientated when it comes to underwear, but who do not invest in luxury pieces. This segment is not very well catered for so we are looking to win them over with Studio La Perla and broaden our clientele,” says Francesco Russo, strategic director of the group.

To capture the feeling of ‘natural elegance’ whilst offering high quality ‘everyday chic’ products at an accessible price point (bras sell for anything between 40 and 90 euros), the group has completely repositioned its little-heard-of Studio line. Four people were recruited to work on the design and merchandising of the on-trend colourful collection under the supervision of Giovanni Bianchi, artistic director at La Perla. Between corsetry, lingerie, sleepwear and beachwear, the line has a series of 8 collections, each featuring 15 to 20 pieces.

The relaunch of Studio, which will kick off of Autumn-Winter 2013-14, will be accompanied by a strong marketing campaign as well as focused development of Studio La Perla stores. A further five store openings are the horizon for 2013 in major cities such as Florence, Turin and Naples. The group’s long term plan is to be present in 20 to 30 of the principal locations in the country, to be achieved in partnership with local operators.

Outside of Italy, Studio La Perla will be sold in major department stores across Europe and North America. From 2014, the company is hoping to open further stores in France, the United Kingdom and Germany. Two test-concessions have been opened in Hong-Kong and Singapore but the group would rather penetrate the Asia market with its main luxury line, La Perla.