Yuzen

FORMA ITALIANA

The global distribution of the prestigious skincare brand Yuzen opens up new horizons for the important Italian group headed by Claudio Gabbai

EXPORT MAGAZINE: Forma italiana has recently founded a Luxury Division, how is it structured? CLAudiO GABBAi: This new division was founded three years ago, with the initial intention of distributing in Italy brands of selective perfumery. We started with Lolita Lempicka, an international brand which needs no introduction, to then continue with La Perla, which we have been presenting on the market in the past few months. La Perla, now owned by a British group, has dedicated an important focus on the beauty sector and the result is really surprising, I would say with a “wow” effect. There are two lines on the market, one hyper selective, made up of fragrances, make-up and skincare, and one in the affordable luxury category, consisting of the classic La Perla fragrance, which has been completely reinterpreted from the olfactory point of view. No men’s fragrances are due to be produced, in consideration hat La Perla has an exclusively female connotation. We believe greatly in this brand, on which the ownership is investing a lot; in Italy, data at hand, brand awareness is of 98%. The division is headed by Roberto Marabese, who has a great knowledge of the perfumery market, assisted by the young Edoardo Gabbai: two generations that are taking on this new adventure together, made up of great respect for the brand and the correct ways for positioning the ‘gems’ which we now distribute. The marketing divisions is made up of Lara Lorenzini, who looks after Yuzen, and EriKa Segalin, in charge of Lolita Lempicka, La Perla and Gamarde, an organic and natural French brand, which is France is present in pharmacies and health and beauty stores and in Italy distributed through another division. Piero Pelle, a real expert with over 20 years of experience on the Italian market coordinates everything. With him also came the distribution of Ulric de Varens, assigned to our mass market division, which is totally separate from the luxury division, both as sales organization and as logistics.

EM: Another brand has recently been added… CG: Which deserves a separate discussion. It is a skincare brand, Yuzen, which belongs to an important multinational group. We have acquired the licence for worldwide distribution of Yuzen. This step represents an important turning-point for us. A challenge which we intend to face with great commitment and responsibility. It is a topical, Japanese brand, with attention paid down to even the tiniest detail, from the raw materials used in the packaging, from the marketing to the communication. It is made in Italy, because we are firmly convinced that Italian cosmetics is absolutely up to those of other equally renowned countries; I feel I can say that Italian-produced skincare is in the top five in the world.

FORMA ITALIANA

A NEW STEP FORWARD

EM: How will you position Yuzen? CG: It is a new brand with all the credentials to triumph in the best perfumeries. For this to happen, we must not be in a hurry, and operate carefully to make it known and appreciated. The results are truly surprising and this is the aspect that counts most, i.e. the famous customer satisfaction. In Italy we expect to enter 90 points of sale by the end of the year, to then reach 200. Our team is made up of a Training Manager, Marisa Stefani who is a biologist and some beauty trainers, who will visit the points of sale regularly, both to train the personnel and to support the sales. We have prepared a sampling activity, real masterpieces in miniature which reflect the prestigious original product.

EM: What is your strategy of distribution abroad? CG: First of all I have to say that the pandemic was certainly of no help, and it is a problem that unfortunately each one of us experienced personally and in their business, but I am confident that this autumn, and more precisely with the Tax Free show in Cannes, it will be possible to present Yuzen to the nest international operators, whether they are important chains of selective distribution, or distributors , based on the situation in the individual countries. I am certain that we will be able to do good work; it has taken two and a half years to finalize Yuzen, but now we can’t wait to make it known and appreciated by real connoisseurs.

EM: The market is evolving all the time, e-commerce is winning over increasingly large slices of the market. What is your opinion on that? CG: We have believed in it from the very beginning; eight years ago we had the feeling that e-commerce would have become a channel in constant growth. This is why we made important investments, starting from logistics which in my opinion accounts for 50% of the good functioning of this channel. We have dedicated a warehouse f 5000 sq.m. to e-commerce in order to be able to provide a complete service to our clientele, both for b-to-c and for b-to-b. We buy the goods, we tore it, we do home delivery. We also offer a service of logistics, in an area dedicated to them, to some smaller brands, in particular of cosmetics. We offer a full service, which allows them to greatly reduce costs thanks to the use of our more than tried and tested structure We interface with the most important Italian and European platforms, with which there are transparent relationships, for example concerning the price positioning of the individual products.

EM: Clear ideas and suitable development programmes to carry on the various activities of your group. Can we say that the term ‘specialization’ defines in a word your modus operandi? CG: Each one of us, both at personal and corporate level, has to be specialized in what we know how to do. It is often the case that certain entrepreneurs, with good expertise in one specific field, fail in wanting to carry on along a sector that is not theirs, convinced that they can be successful. It is not like that. Each person has their own trade. At Forma Italiana we are structured with a certain inflexibility, which is really essential: each one of us works according to their skills, whether fragrances, make-up or skincare. Claudia Stagno