PERRY ELLIS INTERNATIONAL What’s new for EMEA and Asia

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.

HIGHLIGHTS

Farah Fall Winter 2020

In partnership with Suzhou Yicai Brands Management, Farah launched in China in 2019. Farah, the premium British heritage brand that dates back to 1920 is one of the company’s core brands. This coming Fall Farah will also launch in Japan. In line with the launch, there will be collaborations with Japanese streetwear brands, as well as the core collection. This will also be found exclusively in select retailers outside Japan. As part of the global brand strategy for Farah, Perry International has been involved in further discussions with various agents and potential partners to expand the brand more so in other Asian territories.

Perry Ellis Fall Winter 2020

Vintage Gotcha campaign, 1987 In partnership with Kosovo based licensee Emporium LLC, Perry has expanded into Eastern Europe last year with three American Heritage brands: Perry Ellis, Perry Ellis America and Original Penguin by Munsingwear. Brand dedicated stores opened in September 2019, serving the needs of a diverse audience, ranging from casual to more dressy products. This launch and subsequent rollouts was supported by an extensive marketing program to introduce the Eastern European market to Perry Ellis’s heritage brands. Coming down the pipe, as part of Perry Ellis’s global brand strategy will be a national launch of the brand in Israel later this year.

Gotcha, an authentic surf brand, founded in the late 1970s in California will be launching in different categories and territories. Significantly this year, Gotcha will be launching in the United Kingdom in partnership with No Chaos Ltd. The collection will stay true to the founder’s

original concepts from the 80s; designs will be vibrant and bold. The core product offering will be available online initially and found in bricks and mortar stores soon after for Spring/ Summer 2021. This launch will be supported by existing Gotcha licensees; the brand has long standing routes in LATAM and North Africa. Further plans to expand the brand in new territories will be seen in the coming year.

As part of the Perry Ellis International global licensing strategy the company has recently established an agency deal in India, where their partner there is heavily involved in conversations on a range of our core brands to establish deeper roots in Asia.