Everything Perfect

Brama. EVERYTHING PERFECT

Take successful US brands such as J Brand, Current/ Elliott, James Perse, or The Elder Statesman and handle their European business. With Brama, Renzo Braglia has not only built a distribution network. It’s so much more. Text: Martina Müllner. Photo: Yorick Carroux

“We hand-pick the retailers with whom we want to co-operate. We could select a lot more in every European country, but that’s not how our system works”, Renzo Braglia says. He knows that much of what he says seems puzzling at first glance. On second glance, however, what he says is as logical and obvious as Brama itself. Brama was founded as a knitwear company in the 1950s. At one point the company, headquartered in the tranquil city of Modena, stopped knitting and turned its attention to successfully building the Mason’s brand and distributing it throughout Europe. The company name was created in that long-gone era: Bra(glia) and Ma(son’s). All this is history, because Renzo Braglia soon launched a much more comprehensive business. The story begins with Jeff Rudes, the co-founder of J Brand and now a close friend. In 2005, he placed the fortunes of his brand in Renzo Braglia’s capable hands. At first Jeff Rudes only asked him to cover the Italian market, but Renzo Braglia wanted more. After all, every Tom, Dick, and Harry can distribute a US brand in Italy. Where’s the challenge in that? “What we do is basically a translation of the US business into a European business language”, the Italian explains. “We strive to make Europe more understandable for US brands. Nobody really understands why we, as a seemingly unified market, speak so many different languages, have so many different fashion hotspots, so many Fashion Weeks, and so many showrooms. We leave a lasting impression when our entire team travels to New York or LA, as we do twice a year. We are often asked why we need ten people and why we don’t merely send the boss and the sales director over. A US brand simply cannot understand that we need the ten people to represent all European demands. It doesn’t have to understand that, in all honesty.” That’s right, because that US brand has Brama to take care of all its affairs.

The Problem Solvers In terms of EU/US communication, Renzo Braglia has amassed expertise like no other. But why did he decide to specialise in the US market? “Because I can’t find that kind of fashion - actually style is a much more appropriate term than fashion - in Europe. US brands have a much more pragmatic understanding of fashion. It is, above all, a system. It’s a business.” Much of the business practice that has been always conducted in the US seems like a promise of salvation for the troubled European fashion retail industry. Pre-orders half a year before delivery? Nope. Staggered delivery dates? Surely. Stock service? Same as always. There is one thing that is vital in order to run a business as complex as Brama’s with the nonchalance of Renzo Braglia: a system. With a team of 80 people, 45 based in Modena and the rest spread out over all major European metropolises, Braglia has created a machine that hums like clockwork. The headquarters in Modena is home “to today’s possibly most important people: planners. We have a planner for the stock. It’s his job to plan the optimal inventory levels in advance. In order to do his job he needs a lot of experience, but - most importantly - the feedback from the sales staff in the various countries. This is an incredibly complex task”, Renzo Braglia explains. “Of course we also have a financial planner. We buy Dollars a year in advance to ensure that the prices are not influenced by currency fluctuations.” The more details Renzo Braglia reveals about the Brama system, the more one begins to understand that nothing - absolutely nothing - is left to chance. On the contrary, the pragmatism of the US fashion industry that impresses Renzo Braglia so much has rubbed off to a certain extent. “I really don’t understand why the European collections have to change completely every season. That’s certifiably crazy. J Brand has one style and that style has remained the same since we started co-operating. In Europe, that would be impossible. One button would have been shifted two centimetres down, while another would have been moved two centimetres up - in a different way every season. I like this American system. 50% of the collection pieces remain the same from one delivery date to the next, while the other 50% displays topicality. That’s more than enough, I’d say. Who is truly capable of reinventing the world every six months?” Renzo Braglia has immunised Brama against madness of this kind. His next step is to focus on eliminating other follies. One example is the fact that European fabrics - subject to duty payments - are sent to the US, where they are processed and then - subject to more duty payments - sent back to be sold here. “We are pursuing the development of a European production with all due deliberateness and care, because the high-end positioning of our brands leaves no margin for error. Denim is a particularly sensitive field. Only a few companies worldwide can handle the manufacturing of premium denim. Everything must be considered carefully. A different level of water hardness in the washing process results in a different finish. Hard to believe, right?” Braglia refuses to specify a timeframe for when some of the brands he represents will be able to produce in Europe. His answer: “When everything is in place.” The same applies to the project closest to Renzo Braglia’s heart: his own high-quality knitted sweater brand. “Back to the roots”, he laughs. His motto in this respect: Con calma. “I am, at the least, in the US every six weeks. I just bought an apartment in Paris, because I’m there so often. I very rarely fly less than five times a week. That’s one side of my business. The other side is that I’m married and have two children. There must be room for that part of my life too.”

Brama, headquartered in Modena, is responsible for the European business of the brands Current/ Elliott, Doma, Enzo Costa, Equipment, Isapera, James Perse, J Brand, Mother, Norma Kamali, and The Elder Statesman. Brama has its own showrooms in Paris, London, Milan, Madrid, Copenhagen, Antwerp, and Düsseldorf. In spring 2016, Brama will open a showroom in Munich. In addition to all matters relating to distribution, Brama also handles PR and marketing for the labels in Europe.

Renzo Braglia admires the correctness of Germans and the pragmatism of US-Americans. Nevertheless, the mastermind behind Brama cannot deny his Italian roots.