PARIS — Seven For All Mankind is moving to Paris, hoping to capitalize on the city’s retail renaissance to reposition its beloved jeans brand as more at the forefront of fashion and reignite its growth. We are investing.
This is the first part of a plan under Sacha Gomez de Zamora Ford, who took over as global president last November after 14 years in sales and product-side roles at the brand. He culminated as Vice President of Wholesale and Business Development. After a brief retirement, Ford rejoined the company on a mission to transform it from a premium denim brand to a fashion and lifestyle label.
Mr. Ford points to the transformation of Acne from a small Swedish jeans label into a luxury fashion house on the Paris calendar, as well as the transformation of Loewe into a new company while maintaining the house’s core artisanal norms. The focus is on the combination of storytelling.
“Our modest strategy is to really use what luxury brands are using, but to focus on denim as bags and shoes, because if you look at the luxury world, luxury Because if you look at the world, they’re over-investing in storytelling and fashion to bring new consumers into the world’s table,” Ford said.
“What we have to do is elevate our core,” he said, focusing on first improving the product and adding a fashion twist to increase excitement and interest in the brand. Said to put it.
The second store in Paris is a homecoming of sorts. It’s near the site of the brand’s first European store before being sold by VF Corp. in 2016.
“Coming back to Paris is a sign of where we are going, both inside and out,” Ford said, adding that Paris, unlike London, Milan and New York, is currently the busiest and most important fashion week. He said it was busy.
The opening will feature a red-lit neon tube installation, paying homage to the company’s Los Angeles red carpet roots and announcing a new statement. “Red is very bold,” Ford said. “It’s confidence.”
Presented by Sacha Gomez de Zamora Ford, Global President, Seven For All Mankind Seven For All Mankind
The 750-square-foot location occupies a prime location at 215 Rue Saint-Honoré, between Balenciaga and Dior, but only two people have signed up for the space as the companies overhaul their long-term global retail concept. It’s been a year. It features warm wood and a lapis lazuli chair by artist Pablo Octavio.
“It’s all part of the journey to establish yourself in the fashion industry,” he said. “You’re in the fashion world, and it’s important to share, both internally and externally with the team, that we’re on the path to getting there.”
The hiring of model Devon Lee Carlson for its fall 2024 campaign was Ford’s first move to establish a new visual code. He also hired a new creative director, whose name was not disclosed. Ford would only reveal that the designer comes from “a field outside of denim,” has no experience in the category, and is looking to reimagine what Seven is all about.
“If you want to transform your brand from a denim brand to denim-centric fashion, you need a different perspective,” he says. It’s not just a matter of changing the product. It’s about building a creative ecosystem around a brand that doesn’t alienate the brand’s core demographic, deep-pocketed Millennials, while also appealing to the next generation.
“We have work to do in terms of brand association, product and further exciting and delighting our customers,” he said.
Ford argued that the average consumer doesn’t differentiate between high street denim and luxury denim, making it difficult to stand out in a crowded market and build brand loyalty.
Still, while some of its major competitors have less brand recognition outside the U.S., Seven for All Mankind has more than 100 stores worldwide in both company-owned and franchised models. This includes previous locations in markets as diverse as Hong Kong, Mexico and Brazil. . Currently, there are 12 full-price stores in Europe and 25 in the United States.
“We basically cover the world from a brand standpoint. We are the most well-known brand in the world,” he said. Ford said the brand’s net sales will exceed $210 million in 2023.
His first move as an executive was to combine the separate European and U.S. divisions to create a global organization with aligned goals and a more coordinated seasonal calendar.
Although the brand was born in LA, it is now headquartered in Switzerland, with sales, marketing and retail operations in New York, and e-commerce and other retail operations in LA. – Under Galil. VF Corp.’s Ella Moss and Splendid brands were sold for a combined $120 million in 2016.
The company is currently in the process of contracting with a new architectural firm whose job it is to unify and upscale the brand’s interior concept. Ford wants the space to have a core code while adapting to different locations, much like Jonathan Anderson has done with Loewe retail stores around the world.
“We’ve always been a very transactional organization. We have to add an experiential element,” he said.
Looks from the upcoming Spring 2025 collection.
As the brand fuses its new image, the brand is doubling its floor space rather than opening more stores, expanding existing locations in key marketing areas such as Milan, London, New York and Los Angeles, before exploring new regions. are thinking of upgrading their stores. He has since set his sights on strengthening its presence in mainland China and eventually expanding into Japan and South Korea.
Seven for All Mankind is keeping the price range of its core products between $200 and $250 and developing more premium product lines with deeper storytelling. “It’s about reaching out to tastemakers. And tastemakers tend to like great products. Good products tend to be expensive,” he said of upcoming products. This represents their investment in the growth of ready-to-wear. The company has doubled its product lineup in this category for fall 2024.
Spring 2025-ready looks include studded jeans, crisp white button-down dresses, and trench coats with an emphasis on modern classics.
Furthermore, we will further develop our products into leather such as jackets and accessories such as shoes and handbags. They will become more affordable, he said, because in a world where handbags cost $5,000, “we’re going to leave a lot of average consumers behind.”
Ford is keen to reinvent the brand, rather than revisiting the old styles of its early 2000s heyday.
“We’re not playing nostalgia in any way, shape or form,” he said. “It’s great to be able to leverage your history. You have to make your consumers love you. [the brand] It’s not by duplication. ”
Ford said early feedback from buyers about the new direction has been positive. “From a holistic perspective, you have to build trust over time and season. That’s why we use our stores to accelerate the dialogue directly with consumers, and then wholesale is.”
