European fashion retail giant MANGO three strokes to seek the U.S. market

　 It is reported that the famous European fashion retail brand Mango recently announced that after the initial knock on the American market, the company will formally enter the US market, hoping to get the advantage of Mango in Europe. Currently Mango is cautiously choosing the address of the US franchise store, which signifies that the Spanish Barcelona fashion chain with a market value of US$1.4 billion will meet the expectations of the past few fashion seasons and follow the footsteps of retail giants such as H&M and Zara.

Selecting a shop site is a key step

The United States is our last business battlefront. “It is very difficult to find the most suitable shop in the best commercial center.” Jose Gomez, Vice President of Business Development of Mango said: “In Europe, we have a very strong high street store. Although we are also trying to find a suitable street store address in the United States, due to the strong cultural atmosphere in the US shopping malls, the competitiveness of street stores is obviously inferior to that of shopping malls. By the end of this year, we plan to open 15 stores in the United States. The choices are based in several major metropolises. In Europe, we are a very strong brand. In the United States, we are also moving in this direction."

By the time of the press release, Mango had opened two franchise stores in the United States, the first one in SouthCoast Shopping Plaza in Kosra Mesa, California, and the second in Bellevue Square in Seattle. In fact, Mango's initial plan was to open the first American Mango store in Santa Monica, Calif., in November last year, but eventually the plan was delayed due to architectural problems.

Gomez stated that by the end of this year, Mango will open stores in major high-quality commercial centers in major cities in the United States, including the ThirdStreetPromenade in Los Angeles, Water TowerPlace in Chicago, the Northpark Business Center in Dallas, and the San Francisco Business Center. The storefronts include various forms of cooperation with local operators and franchising. Stores are adjacent to high-end brands such as Croyère, or they may be located next to low-end retailer Club Monaco. The location of the store can be adjusted. However, contracted businesses must be a local business.

In order to successfully occupy the US market, the company named the Mango brand MNGByMango. This is entirely due to the consideration of trademark law. The MNG trademark has also been widely used in markets around the world. “U.S. is our last business battle frontier, and it is also an extremely important market. But finding a good shop address is not a breeze. We must be full of morale and we must also wait patiently. To be honest, a good store is long ago. It was seized by others."

According to a long-planned development plan, Mango's US stores range from 400 to 800 square meters, while in other countries, Mango's business area exceeds 2,000 square meters, such as the Mango flagship store on Oxford Street in London. But Gomez said that the small size does not mean that this time is only trying out the U.S. market.

"The 15 stores opened at the end of the year are by no means a test of temptation. The market will tell us how many stores we need to open," Gomez said. He said that the total number of stores has not yet been set. However, it has been learned that some media previously quoted Mango's high-level forecast that the company will set up 250 stores throughout the United States in the next 10 years.

Gomez said: “We have successfully landed in New York. We have just signed an area of ​​800 square meters at 561 Broadway in New York. We will turn it into a Mango flagship store in the United States and we expect to open it in the fall of 2007. In addition, Mango will also pay close attention to the state of New York's Fifth Avenue and other Manhattan stores."

Founded in 1984, Mango has over 1,000 stores worldwide, and in the past few years, Mango has opened an additional 100 stores each year. Mango’s largest market is Spain, which has 240 stores in total. In the local area, it shares the market with Zara, the largest and most important competitor. Zara has always been known for its rapid response to the fashion retail industry, but after years of entering the US market, he has only opened a few stores, until it has only begun to increase the offensive in recent years to find a suitable shop.

Visibility should be further improved

We will deliver a brand new concept in New York Mango has been waiting for years to enter the US market.

Gomez said: "We know this is a highly competitive market and we are fully prepared."

For American consumers, Mango's popularity is not very high. In order to promote itself, Mango's image catalog brochure is 25 pages thick. Supermodels or celebrity consumers also appear in catalogues and advertisements, such as MillaJovovich and Claudia Schiffer, Elizabeth Jagger, and Nomi Campbell. In order to promote it globally, Mango will bring the brochure to the market with a massive publicity campaign of 20 million copies in 25 languages. Mango revealed that the company had been very keen to enter the US market since the beginning of the year and opened a logistics center with an area of ​​about 2,000 square meters in the city of Edison, New Jersey. As Mango increases the number of stores in the United States, the scale of logistics distribution centers will further expand.

Last year, Mango entered Canada and opened a few franchise stores. Recently, the company announced that it will set up 25 stores in Canada in the next six years. Other countries that Mango is targeting this year include Syria, Mauritius, Monaco, and Uzbekistan, and plans to further expand markets in China, Japan, the United States, and Europe.

“Our stores are suitable for opening in any city, although they all change with the trend of the brand.” Mani creative director Damián Sánchez said: “In New York, we will deliver a brand new brand concept. We will treat them Create a completely different retail space."

The company’s investment in aesthetics of the store is very large. “Every 4 or 5 years, we will refurbish and redesign our stores. This cost is very expensive, but we don’t invest in each store. We want to give each store a different personality, which shapes us. The brand image has an extremely important role. We strive to gain respect and support from consumers through the novelty of architectural design."

Because of this, Mango thinks that he is more like a franchise group than a chain store. Each store has its own personality appeal, and there is no unified template model. “With the individual characteristics of each shop is Mango's penetration of the overall style, you can find the same characteristics in all Mango stores.”

Seek different positioning in similar brands

A modern, cosmopolitan lifestyle it admires According to JuditVentura Lizandra, creative director of Mango's four sportswear collections, Mango launches a new evening dress collection every year, and stores are also available on a weekly basis for shipments. One update.

This fall, Mango's main seasonal styles include dresses, animal prints, leggings, leggings, and 1980s style blouses. Denim and cardigan sweaters are the company’s most basic products. In addition, Mango's sportswear fully emphasizes functionality and comfort and has enjoyed high popularity in the market.

Mango also sells accessories, shoes, outdoor wear, perfumes, underwear, and bathing suits, offering women consumers a unique Mango exclusive fashion line from head to toe. "At present, we have not introduced the men's and children's wear series," Gomez said.

Soon, Mango will launch a limited edition design product specially designed for Mango by “very well-known” designers. Mango will not disclose too much about this. It is reported that it will be a well-positioned, special-position wear-oriented product. The fashion collection, which is dominated by silk and wool, will be sold in 120 stores worldwide.

Mango has a total of 6,000 employees, of which about 1,200 are working for companies in headquarters in Barcelona, ​​including a team of 100 designers who will design and launch 4,000 pieces of fashion each year.

The company also has specialized fabric experts and graphic makers. In addition, there are two fashion culture experts who usually travel and observe around the world, and then bring back changes in global art, film and other new trends to provide new product designs. Inspiration, including product types, profiles, colors, and patterns. For example, last spring's film "MarieAntoinette" added a waistband series and a large number of decorations and embroidery for Mango's new products. In the fall of this year, AliMacGraw's appearance in the movie "Love Story" also provided inspiration for the "College Casual Wear" series.

Mango executives said that they are definitely not a brand that wins the market by copying other people's products, even though Mango's new products this year are full of Barenshaga's shadow.

Unlike competitor Zara, Mango does not have its own production equipment and processing plant. Its products are mainly processed in China, India, and countries in Africa and Eastern Europe.

Mango’s main consumer group is between 18 and 35 years old, and the price of clothing items ranges from 20 to 250 US dollars. In the United States, its main competitors are Gap, BananaRepublic, and Abercrombie & Fitch. These brands are fast-selling in response to trafficking. It is famous for fashion goods.

However, Mango's positioning and the other major US retail brands seem to have little difference, but the fact is not the case. Lizandra's remark clearly points out Mango's competitive advantage in the US market. She said: “The woman wearing Mango has no clear age limit, but she must be advocating a modern, cosmopolitan lifestyle. She is very feminine, understands fashion, and knows how to infiltrate personal taste into the trend. This will transform the trend into something unique to her. Fashion is part of her life, but she will never be a fashion jealous. Professional women need quality and enjoyment."