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Retail
PERRY ELLIS INTERNATIONAL
WHAT’S NEW FOR EMEA AND ASIA Perry Ellis International has initiated various new projects and deals in the last year with more to be seen this year. The below is an update on licensing new business for EMEA and Asia. For the occasion LM interviewed Vincent Panzanella, VP of Global Marketing & Communication Perry Ellis International and Mark Bezodis, Managing Director - Licensing & International Development, Perry Ellis International Europe Ltd. According to you, how this pandemic has changed traditional business models in the future? From what we’ve seen, the pandemic hasn’t necessarily changed business models but instead has accelerated the importance of our e-commerce channels in the overall consumer distribution mix. Most fashion and apparel brands were moving in this direction regardless, but the pandemic really pushed the accelerator on our focus in this area. Wholesale brick and mortar department stores are still very important to us, but the retailer’s e-commerce arms have a much more prominent seat at the table. Which are PEI’s next plans? And which will be the territories you will focus on? With such a diverse offering of brands in our portfolio, we examined which Original Penguin Fall Winter 2020
brands would be most appealing to each of the global markets. With that in mind, in the coming year we will be expanding into Australia, India, the Middle East and Eastern Europe with a number of our owned properties. Many of our brands have such a rich history behind their creation and how they impacted the apparel and lifestyle market; our international partners see the overwhelming benefit of this story telling and how it relates to their specific audiences. How have you changed your sales strategies and your customer care during the COVID period? Over the last eight months, Covid-19 has indisputably reshaped retail and the overall customer experience. As such, like many other brands in our industry, we adapted our way of thinking to work
Vincent Panzanella within the new reality of our everyday lives. For the protection of both our associates and customers, we have implemented daily deep clean procedures in all of our retail locations, as well as providing full PPE to both our teams and customers. Through honest, open dialogue between our teams and management, we have instilled confidence in all employees by thoroughly reviewing the protections that have been implemented for their safety. This trust is the key component that will allow both associates and customers to feel safe within our stores. In addition to the health and safety guidelines that we have activated, we have taken a deeper look at our visual merchandising and promotions - in the short term; we will simplify our visual merchandising, push overall conversion, and keep transaction values elevated, whilst experiencing the inevitable reduced footfall.
Mark Bezodis
