Pal Zileri aims for the best and says the UK is the key | kbnmart

Pal Zileri has seen a strong recovery post-pandemic and has plans for an even stronger rebound as the Mayhoola-owned company aims to double its business size in just a few years.

This will be achieved in part through further expansion in the UK, a country that is very important to the brand, as it serves as the “launch” market for its ambitious growth plan.

Fashionnetwork.com spoke to the company’s CEO Leo Scordo and CMO Mariarosaria Lombardi – who were in London with the wider team – about what’s on the agenda and why the UK market is key.

But first, let’s get some background. Pal Zileri is named after Palladio’s Palazzo Valeri in his hometown of Vicenza, just 40 miles from Venice (also an important “inspiration” city for the brand).

Starting out as a manufacturer, it later moved into high-end ready-to-wear, riding the wave of 1980s and 1990s suits to become one of what Scordo refers to as the “big four” of Italian menswear specialists (along with Ermenegildo Zegna, Corneliani and Canali).

The company realized before many that men’s clothing was becoming more flexible and that the golden age of the suit was at an end.

She has worked extensively on her collections, without losing focus on her brand DNA, to create a more relaxed edge, and now feels she has a strongly designed offering for the “contemporary” customer.

Its three-year plan (covering the period from 2025 to 2027) aims to use this work to radically increase its sales. In addition to the UK, the company is targeting countries such as France and the Benelux countries, as well as Eastern Europe and South Korea.

Scordo spoke of opening stores in major cities such as London, Paris and Rome, as well as continuing its strong presence in department stores such as Harrods, El Corte Ingles, Harvey Nichols and Saks. In addition, franchises in Printemps, Paris, and two corners in Sogo, Hong Kong, are on the list.

The CEO, who previously worked at Zegna and has seen the challenges the Big Four face as men’s tastes evolve, clearly has huge ambitions for the brand.

Fashionnetwork.com: How radical was the rebranding process and where does this put you in today’s market?

Leo Scordo: We started with the Pal Zileri brand that brought us a strong tailoring heritage, but now we make 30% knitwear, jersey, sweatpants and outerwear for men. What we want is to be an accessible lifestyle brand. And by that I mean “accessible” and “lifestyle”. In the premium market there are many successful Italian brands, but it is difficult to find a lifestyle brand in the Italian sector, which makes us unique. We have a privileged position in the market, so we are available to the average customer, the international customer who is not a victim of fashion but is interested in fashion. Someone who is modern, contemporary, active and travels a lot.

We are an “effortless” brand. What I mean by that is that “elegance” is not limited to suits, because a shirt, jeans or t-shirts can be elegance. So we want to bring elegance to all categories.

F N: Is sewing the starting point for your product development?

LS: “Pal Zileri” is a story of colors and shapes because our heritage is Palladio, the architect, so shapes and colors are important to us, which is different from our competitors. Our company color is Laguna Green, the color of the water in Venice.

F N: Aside from the big future growth plan, you have already made several changes to the brand in terms of product. How has this been received so far?

LS: The reaction from our markets has been very positive. Last year the company did very well, so the whole team was challenged to come up with a three-year growth plan to double the size of the company. It’s not a huge company, so there is a market opportunity. In the retail sector today we are doing around €50m to €55m.

F N: Why is the UK your starting point for this major growth trend?

LS: I’m here with the whole team because we had to decide, apart from Italy, where to start with this plan and we absolutely believe that the UK is the market to start with. In e-commerce, it’s been number one for four years. We’re also doing very well with Harrods, they’re very happy and they said the more we ship, the more they sell! We’re also doing very well with Harvey Nichols.

So we decided to start here and look for a store in London. We used to have a store here in New Bond Street, and this store would sell his products. probably Whether it’s the area we’re looking at, or maybe a new area – we’re on the road a lot! We want to start building this market on a larger scale.

F N: Is the UK only important for sales?

LS: No. The UK is big for us in terms of numbers, but if you look at it from a non-British perspective like me, when I’m not looking at Italian brands, I usually look at British brands because they bring a more modern appeal. We’re Italian, we know all about that, so what’s the next step? To be more contemporary and modern, and for me that means looking at British brands. I’ve been influenced by Savile Row tailors and Paul Smith in the past, and there’s something experimental about it that can be very interesting.

F N: Before Brexit, the UK was always seen as the gateway to the US for European brands (and vice versa). Has that changed?

Maria Rosaria Lombardi: People haven’t changed, even with the extra tariffs imposed by the EU. People want the same things they wanted before. This is the only country that buys Italian clothes, they have a special taste. It’s not just the English, it’s people from all over the world who come here. Compare that to Italy, which is more local.

F N: Is the UK still a global hub?

LS: Yes. Look at e-commerce. The UK is about 35-40% of e-commerce, and if you add the Americans, who are very interested in the UK, it’s about 70%. If you want a place to go to the US, it’s not Italy, it’s the UK. It has a strong heritage in menswear.

F N: I assume London is the key to this?

LS: Yes, in Europe, this is the only city that I can compare to New York, and there is no other city in the whole of Europe. Paris is a romantic and beautiful city. But Paris is the “capital of France”, and London is more than that. London is London and it changes very quickly.

F N: I suppose that also makes it culturally influential?

LS: If you want to work with a celebrity such as a footballer or singer who is known throughout Europe, you should choose a British celebrity, while a French or Italian celebrity tends to be more well known in France or Italy.

F N: But there’s one key question – doubling your business in just a few years is a huge undertaking. What are the biggest opportunities?

LS: E-commerce today is about 5% or 6%, which is a small percentage. We only sell menswear, so we don’t sell handbags – that’s an opportunity for us. We don’t sell eyewear at the moment, which is an option, we don’t sell underwear. We don’t generally sell categories that are under license, we don’t sell jewelry.

There is a huge potential in terms of the number of doors. Today, we are distributed in about 350 wholesale outlets. It would be very easy to double the number of these doors because that is what the company had before Covid.

F N: Of course, marketing will be key?

LS: Some customers still only buy historical categories from us like jackets. We have to educate them about buying the whole collection. We have to be ambassadors for our brand, we have to explain it to them, otherwise people will come to the showroom once a season and say, “Oh, what a great collection,” but they’ll just look at the suit book. (That means) nothing will change. Marketing, PR and communications will be key, and that’s a big part of the plan because the big mission of the collection — the product, the positioning — we’ve already done.