Digital and Handcrafted, This Is My Valentino

For ten years now, Stefano Sassi, Bocconi Alumnus of the Year 2016, has been chief executive of Valentino, the fashion house founded in 1960 by Valentino Garavani. Since 2012, the company, after being controlled by the Marzotto Group and the Permira private equity fund, has been owned by Mayhoola, the investment vehicle of Qatar's royal family. The strategic decisions implemented by Stefano Sassi have breathed new life into Valentino, which has attained a turnover of €1.1 billion in 2016, thus restoring its reputation for excellence in the fashion industry.

➜ From the Marzotto family to the Mayhoola acquisition, you have accompanied the Valentino brand through a delicate transition.
It was a moment of substantial change which was compounded by two other major events: the retirement of Valentino Garavani in 2007, and simultaneously one of the worst economic and financial crises in recent decades that has significantly reduced the consumption of luxury goods.

➜ You had to face many challenges.
With respect to the wide brand recognition we enjoyed at the international level, the size of the business was very limited compared to competitors. In those years, we were able to lay the foundations of what turned out to be a success.

➜ How did you do it?
Ready-made recipes do not exist, what's necessary is a careful analysis of the competitive and organizational aspects of the brand. The values on which Valentino was built and the dream quality that it conveys were extraordinary starting points but you had to make the brand look more contemporary, to make it progress to a new and wider range of consumers.

➜ How do you renew an iconic brand without betraying it?
It was a complex job because it was important to remain faithful to the perceived Valentino brand. So, we have preserved the aesthetic values ​​of femininity and timeless beauty, by creating a different style: faithful to the DNA of the house but very contemporary, destined to a totally new target. Our haute couture, which is the synthesis of a unique process of style and craftsmanship, has remained the reference point throughout transition and renewal.

➜ Were creative talent and strategic intelligence complementary?
Both were crucial to reinterpret the brand. We worked by focusing on certain aspects: style, product, product and visual merchandising, store concept and retail network, communication and commercial structure; this way it was possible to send a loud and clear message and reach out to customers.

➜ In practice, what changes were made?
From the organizational point of view we have revolutionized Valentino, introducing new technical profiles in product divisions, by defining merchandising and retail skills. We reviewed the processes and developed tool of business administration, control and management in all key market areas. The company has changed dramatically: in the past, for example, we did not know who our customers were, but today through CRM (Customer Relationship Management), we can trace 95% of our retail purchases. This way we know much more about our customers: age, nationality, personal characteristics, and flows of purchase. This system enables us to open a direct dialogue with each individual customer by creating a one-to-one relationship.

➜ From ready-to-wear to accessories: today Valentino is a company offering a complete range of fashion products.
We started joint ventures to enable major presence in all product categories: today the accessories make up more than 50% of sales since they are more accessible in terms of price. This allowed us to significantly expand the market and achieve an exponential increase in sales over an eight-year period: our turnover soared from €200 million to €1.1 billion; in 2016 alone, we grew by more than 10%.

➜ Your development in retail was more subdued with respect to other luxury brands. Why?
Currently we have 170 stores worldwide. Since 2012, there have been numerous openings of new stores in the most important markets. Compared to other competitors there was a gap to be filled, but first of all we had to work on new brand identity and product organization and then give Valentino the right visibility. Our intention remains for it to be an exclusive brand, with a precise positioning and a balanced retail network, without risks of overdistribution.

➜ How do you handle the specific needs of the markets where you are present?
Valentino has an international flavor and the same collection is offered across the various geographical regions. Those who buy Valentino want to live a brand experience where the value added is a sophisticated language of style. Customizations are only made at the buying level.

➜ The development of the retail channel has also involved the supply chain?
It was a necessary process. The supply chain was enhanced by logistics platforms located in different continents that allow us to integrate online distribution and the network of physical stores. Thanks to digital media you can view the products, shop online and also do in-store pickup, check for the availability of an item and have it arrive in a particular city. In this way the border between online and offline is erased: it's all perfectly integrated.

➜ What does digital mean for Valentino?
The digital world has become so diversified to offer endless possibilities of service, communication and entertainment: it has become a tool so pervasive that the real question is how to integrate all these aspects. The digital age has brought great changes, including the opportunity to offer an all-encompassing brand experience. It's a new way of working that involves the company's e-commerce site and those of Internet wholesalers such as Yoox, Net-à-Porter, My Theresa and Luisa Via Roma (to name but a few), social media, retail stores, and omnichannel marketing.

➜ What kind of investments did you make in this field?
In order to understand and manage such a complex channel, we invested heavily both in terms of technology and human resources.

➜ Isn't the speed of our digital times in contradiction with handmade fashion that requires longer time processes?
To provide quality, creativity, luxury, it is essential to respect the time necessary to the conceive, develop, and tailor the collections. Then what becomes essential is the timeliness of service when the product is in the store.

➜ Your success at such a complex task has also been credited by your receiving the award of Bocconi Alumnus of the Year..
It was the first time that the award was given to a member of the fashion industry, a typically Italian craftsmanship that goes valued because it plays a vital role in the economy of our country. I am deeply honored to be the recipient of this award. I hope that it will encourage a greater presence of the Italian fashion system within specific academic curricula.