Stone Island Bets on Chinese Consumers With Retail Rollout
MILAN — Stone Island’s rush to beef up its direct-to-consumer network is betting on the Chinese consumers with three store openings furthering the Italian company’s footprint in the country.
The brand, owned by Moncler Group, opened new outposts in Shanghai and Ningbo this month and is gearing up for its retail debut in Macau next month.
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“Following the internalization of our distribution and the establishment of our new regional office in Shanghai last November, these new openings underline the progress we are now making in structuring our DTC network in China, a market which offers significant potential for the Stone Island brand in the years to come,” Robert Triefus, chief executive officer of Stone Island, told WWD.
The new stores add to the existing retail network in China and the Asia Pacific region, which already includes units in Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Nanjing and Hong Kong.
In sync with the blueprint of other Stone Island stores developed by Rem Koolhaas’ OMA/AMO studio, originally debuted in Rotterdam and later rolled out to the outerwear specialist’s other retail destinations, including Chicago and Stockholm, the new flagships incorporate blasted sand and rammed earth, with vibrant colors spicing up the industrial-tinged aesthetics.
The Shanghai unit inside the TaiKoo Li QianTan retail development covers 1,872 square feet, while the boutique in Ningbo’s Hankyu mall is the largest with its 2,000 square feet of retail space. The flagship at Macau Galaxy is to open on Sept. 7 over 1,506 square feet.
In addition to rolling out its physical presence in China, Store Island has debuted this month on Tencent’s WeChat Mini Program to bolster its online presence in the country. The digital destination’s design reflects the brand’s global e-commerce site, the company said.
Stone Island, which is marking 42 years in business in 2024, directly operated 85 stores as of June 30. It also runs 13 monobrand wholesale stores.
As reported, earlier this month the brand has opened its first store inside London department store Harrods, also a move to ramp up DTC operations.
In the first half of 2024, Stone Island revenues totaled 188.9 million euros, a decrease of 6 percent as the company DTC strategy rolls out. In the second quarter of the year, revenues for the brand amounted to 75.9 million euros, down 4 percent at constant exchange rates, with strong double-digit growth in the DTC channel almost entirely offsetting the decline in the wholesale channel.
In 2020, Moncler acquired 70 percent of Sportswear Company SpA, owner of the Stone Island brand, before taking full control of the firm the following year. Triefus joined Stone Island as CEO last year after 15 years at Gucci, where he had risen to the role of CEO of the brand’s Vault and Metaverse Ventures in addition to his position as senior executive vice president, corporate and brand strategy.
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