11 minute read
The Future of Footwear – Interview with Level Shoes’ General Manager, Elisa Bruno
WORDS: AMY SESSIONS
The Future of Footwear
Elisa Bruno, General Manager of Level Shoes, expands on what it takes to drive the future of luxury and how embracing new tech platforms supports the business
What do the first 30 mins of your day look like, your morning routine? Marwa – something healthy and inspiring. I feel like my morning routine sets the tone for the whole day – working with Level Shoes, which is always fast paced due to the many brands we work with on a daily basis, I know I need to be on top of my game! I like to start my mornings by giving myself a few moments of peace and reflection, which I don’t get to do much often during the day; a 15-minute meditation session, especially now with the Dubai winter weather, is just the peace I need before the craziness of the day begins and when I find myself having the most creative reflection. Once I’ve awoken myself mentally, I always try to squeeze in a little exercise, even if it is as simple as a jog around the block to get my body moving for the day. What is at the core of Level Shoes, the DNA of the brand? Product curation, innovation, authenticity and the people. Level Shoes strives to constantly innovate and stimu-
IMAGES: SUPPLIED late the customer experience through services and an unprecedent- tail is a growing business that has lots of challenges and I am always ed product offering. The store display is constantly changing and up for a challenge. There are many opportunities that demand differadapting and aims to inspire the customer to dream. Social media ent approaches, what works today may not work tomorrow – havplatforms allow the brand to express authenticity in a luxurious way, ing an effective leadership to drive a business and maintain agility authenticity connects with the soul of consumers and luxury con- is key. Some of the challenges would be keeping up with the marnects with the emotions. That being said our values are heavily em- ket. Your market research never stops as business conditions change bedded in all aspects of the business such as respect, excellence and constantly, and this acquires continues research and growth. Level leading with an entrepreneurial spirit – these are three core areas we Shoes has grown a lot since its launch and has built a global footwear aspire to inspire people with. Our people, destination that curates brands from all the employees of Level Shoes are intrinsic around the world which resulted in getto the success of the brand. I am extreme- ting the global recognition it deserves. ly proud to be part of such a diverse and The most important thing that will drive talented team. We have formed a com- our brand even further is our unique mix munity within the brand with shared val- of global talent with local knowledge. The ues, vision and a true passion for what we success of Level Shoes comes from acting do. The team are creating and imagining local but thinking global. the future. This futuristic nature and in- How important to commerce is content? clusivity is one of the keys to our success. Content is everything, it is crucial that You’re direct to consumer. How do you the content reflects the brand personaliapproach new client acquisition and re- ty, values and spirit. Level Shoes has very tention alike? We are constantly intro- curated and specific content that is deducing new brands with an abundance of signed to deliberately engage consumers. diverse and contemporary styles and we Our tone of voice allows us to commuare constantly thinking ahead, predicting nicate brands in fresh ways that entice trends, markets etc. We always keep up and intrigue consumers to want to know to date with current trends and most im- more. This results in influencing fashion portantly we listen to our consumers! The decisions and purchasing culture. consumers drive the business, and we will It builds connection, and emotional always listen. We recently heard the de- connection makes people feel that the mand of the KSA market and we opened brand listens to their needs and in turn our first KSA space in Riyadh Park Mall. engages them further. It additionally
Understanding the customer behav- increases revenue through trust and loyiour is also crucial, we do this through CRM management and monitoring data “Our values are alty, driving retention of customers. All creative content is driven by the and trends. This gives us the ability to observe the culture of the consumer and heavily embedded buy. We shoot content that supports our depth areas, our hero investment pieces, what intrigues and engages them in particular content or products. Social me- in all aspects of the and top spend brands. The buy informs both the subject matter of the content dia, social commerce and marketing are also imperative to new client acquisition business such as and inspires the creative brief itself. The creative team are also data driven. We and retention. Social media platforms, our App and Ecommerce site allow us to respect, excellence can only create relevant creative content for our audience with a data driven apreach global consumers, creating brand awareness at worldwide scale. We offer a and leading with an proach. Data about who our customer is, how they respond to content, shopping unique and intrinsic customer experience. Level Shoes is becoming more than just a entrepreneurial spirit habits, brand and product preferences. How do the commercial and creative store, it is a lifestyle destination offering a concierge team and several in store servic- – these are three core sides of the business work together and do you feel particularly drawn to one side es such as the personalization hub, shoe care, shoe repairs, pampering, grooming areas we aspire to of the business? Collaboration between the commercial and creative teams is key and F&B. The result is encouraging longer visits and a diverse shopping experi- inspire people with.” to the success of our business. We need information from trade to know what to ence that has something for everyone. We push via content, trade needs content to are well known for hosting pop ups, store give visibility and support to the product. activations and creating Insta moments for occasions across the We could not exist successfully without one another. The business globe, such as – for example – our Lunar Wall that celebrate Chinese goals and ambitions are at the heart of our creative content. If the New Year which is situated in the Women’s area of the store. These business wishes to become more diverse, we present this creatively. activations and pop ups always create that extra buzz in the store and If the business wishes to expand internationally, we give our creative encourages new consumers and new ways of engagement. content an international appeal. The business goals and ambitions
We have also launched on several Chinese social media platforms, give strategy to our creative content. The content is the face and voice creating content in a whole new language and as a result reaching a of the company, the commercial is the brain and heart. Each side whole new audience and source of interaction and engagement. needs the other in order to communicate with our customer. Why did you decide to retail in such a way from the outset and what Can you tell us more about the key changes you’ve implemented have been the challenges and successes in scaling this globally? Re- since you arrived at the helm of the brand? It’s been only a year and if
I look back I can see so many achievements. I have focused on the team first, growing our national talents, appointing more female leaders (currently 67% of our leadership team with an even gender split across the workforce), increased our team diversity and inclusion (we have now 48 distinct nationalities and growing).
I have also promoted new social media in Arabic and Chinese to engage with global luxury shoppers. Authenticity in everything we do, whether it’s about my leadership or the way we communicate across different channels. In 2021 we conquered Tik Tok, with totally spontaneous videos filmed by our junior teams achieving more than 5 million views for some and this is thanks to our communication style of authenticity. How have you approached new platforms such as TikTok which are in nature less polished? TikTok has allowed us to embrace authenticity and give the brand a true personality and distinctiveness that other social platforms don’t offer. It truly allows us to build a community via shared creative content. We incorporate fun and a lighthearted content which mirrors the TikTok nature of being entertaining yet interesting. This has benefited us greatly and has allowed us to fully emerge ourselves in the current trends and as a result reaching an entire new audience globally.
TikTok in nature is for a younger generation – one of the most diverse generations yet, with high levels of education, digital nativism, social and cultural awareness and high propensity to be expressive. TikTok is the channel to engage with Gen Z, who have a lot of influence over what people buy at the moment. It is our space to get our brand voice and values out to younger customers (and their families), to give them the Level Shoes experience. What has been the largest challenge to date since you joined and how did you overcome it? I think the biggest challenge to date is something we can all resonate with, which was trying to bring the brand back to its potential after the effect many retail stores have faced post COVID-19 lockdown. Our commerce was doing exceptionally well, as there was a spike in online shopping while everyone was based at home; but damage control had to be done for our retail store which had obviously suffered from a massive lack of footfall during the same time. Have you had any mentors along the way and if so, what has been the best advice they have imparted to you? I would have to say Angela Ahrendts, the ex CEO of Burberry. She is an extremely inspiring woman and leader. I would like to believe I can inspire people in the same way she did for me. She taught me a lot, personally and professionally, especially about the power of authenticity and listening to your instinct. Which brands consistently drive sales season after season? For women: Amina Muaddi, Aquazzura and Chloé! “Aminas” are truly becoming the new staple stiletto to have in your closet and the signature heel is a true statement of the brand! Aquazzura is the shoe that everyone needs and wants – we recently hosted a pop-up for their 10year milestone, and it enchanted the customers into the ethos of the brand. Chloé is a timeless brand that offers such a diverse array of footwear and accessories and does well season after season – we are currently hosting a Chloé pop up in store.
For men: Magnanni is seasonless and consistently performs season after season despite the trend. And so, Burberry. Amiri, off white, Adidas and Nike are also always popular – men look for hyped sneakers and know where to find them! The last year was a time that saw brands change strategy. Have you had to pivot as a business? We have definitely had to pivot! The world is constantly changing (especially these days with Covid). We have focused more on driving the Ecommerce and encouraging online purchases, we have our app which makes purchasing fast and easy for the consumer. We have kept up to date with contemporary payment solutions, offering payment installment and payment through social channels, we are the first luxury retailer offering 90 minutes delivery within Dubai to online shoppers. We have a very naturally high footfall in The Dubai Mall store – being at the heart of the store it is no surprise, and this is excellent. However, we wanted to encourage and offer alternative shopping solutions, allowing our shoe lovers to buy where they like and the way they like. What effect do you see social media having on the growth of the brand? Social media elevates the brand and allows us to express ourselves in a whole new way. It allows creativity and possibilities to soar and reach a whole new height. It is not only crucial to keep up to date with fashion trends, it’s critical to keep up to date with social trends – these go hand in hand when growing our followers and engagement. Gen Z and millennials are the dominant driving force of TikTok and Instagram,
Social media content acts as an extension of the website in terms of giving an additional space to both display and sell items online. It also gives the opportunity to gain feedback from potential and loyal customers to enhance a brand. It gives us more space to present our tone of voice to potential and loyal customers and in cementing the brand! Opportunity for an easier journey into international growth as you have already been communicating with an international audience due to the nature of social media It allows us to collaborate with content creators to grow audience and emphasize brand values. It is important to pick the correct people to collaborate with to ensure that they share the same values as your brand. This is The Future Issue – what do you think is the future of the luxury industry and how do you see the brand being part of that? The future of luxury will probably look like a social arena of immersive experiences. We will see emerging trends come to life, this includes in-store robotic fulfillment, contactless checkout, live selling and much more! We will see increased investment into the three fundamental retail pillars which are convenience, personalization and digital connection. It will impact store operations, supply chains, shopper marketing and merchandising moving forward.
