MILAN — German accessories brand MCM is ready to unveil a new chapter of its history.
Ahead of its debut as part of the Milan Fashion Week calendar, MCM Global AG’s president Sabine Brunner discussed the new strategic direction the brand has undertaken and been building up recently.
The main focus is repositioning MCM as a digitally driven luxury brand through a new image and products that revitalize its heritage codes — tracing back to 1976 — as well as expand into a full-fledged offering of accessories, ready-to-wear and lifestyle. The goal is to further serve and engage both the brand’s existing customer base and what Brunner described as the “Digital Nomads,” the Gen-Z and Millennial consumers MCM has been increasingly attracting.
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“I don’t think it’s a change, rather a revisitation,” said Brunner about the strategy. “Ms. [Sungjoo] Kim, who is the owner and the chief visionary officer of the brand, always has the right vision: She envisioned and could feel that there’s going to be a shift in the market. MCM was very much kind of streetwear- and subculture-focused, which brought an amazing success to the brand constantly and for many years. But we felt it was time for the brand to go back to its roots and more to its heritage, to avoid being now completely out of tone, because the market is not about streetwear. So she had an anticipation and we started working together on this seven months ago.”
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The executive observed that the shift in behavior across generations might also play a key role in enabling the brand to gain further space. “This young generation’s parents and grandparents maybe had been buying the true luxury, like Hermès or Chanel, but we know that this generation today don’t necessarily want that. They want something different, with value but maybe with a different story and price point, so this is where we try to break some newness,” said Brunner. “I think the top luxury brands have increased all their prices so much and that has really freed a lot of space in a sweet spot of medium-high range, where MCM already is and wants to reaffirm itself.”
To this end, Tina Lutz and Katie Chung have been appointed to lead and develop the new global design and creative direction, enhancing the brand’s signature codes and making them resonate with today’s market demands. They succeed Dirk Schönberger, who quietly exited the brand earlier this year, after a four-year stint as its creative leader.
In particular, Lutz has taken the role of global creative lead and is based at the brand’s global design studio in Milan, while Chung has the post of creative director and is based in Seoul.
“We liked to keep the right balance between our Korean ownership — we have a lot of people working in Korea and Seoul is the center of the world right now — and the German and European [side]. It’s a very interesting view,” said Brunner about the double appointment.
“We love working as a team, and we talk all the time over the phone. As our geographic location is divided between Seoul and Milan, main challenges we face are mostly the time difference and the physical distance between us. However, we find it incredibly beneficial to collaborate online,” said Chung, a Central Saint Martins graduate who was creative director at Wooyoungmi and Solid Homme.
Born in Germany and trained in fashion design and patternmaking at Paris’s ESMOD, Lutz worked for Issey Miyake in Paris and Tokyo, before moving to New York to work for Calvin Klein in 1992. In 2000, she cofounded Lutz & Patmos in New York, a women’s ready-to-wear line that focused on luxury knitwear. After 24 years Stateside, Lutz returned to Europe and launched Lutz Morris, a line of German-made luxury handbags based on her passion for artisanship, responsible production and sustainability. Now based in Milan, Lutz will retain the helm of her own brand.
Lutz confirmed the duo looked to modernize MCM by “reconnecting with its origins in the Greenbook,” the 1991 MCM catalogue celebrating the 15th anniversary of the company.
Chung additionally pointed to four main pillars representing the essence of this approach. “Schnapsidee [‘crazy idea’], zeitgeist, sustainability and heritage: By combining audacious creativity, a deep understanding of the current landscape, a commitment to ecological sustainability and a respect for our brand’s heritage, we aim to create a forward-thinking and timeless brand identity,” she said.
The talents will unveil their first joint collection with the spring 2024 season here on Sunday. The apparel and accessory range was designed with a comfortable and ready-to-travel attitude and multifunctionality in mind and will introduce elements like the “New Laurel Monogram,” a minimal and modern version of the brand’s iconic Visetos monogram.
In general, Brunner highlighted the effort on segmenting the MCM offering to best reach different targets. While the Visetos pattern remains the core of the business, new logo-ed cotton canvas styles represent the entry price. “We had to increase our prices like everybody, so we’ve lost some customers on the Visetos that we want to gain back through this new offer,” said Brunner. At the same time, the brand has been building a higher-end catalogue, expanding the range of its leather bags. The executive eyes the possibility to further add to the latter in the coming seasons to address even more demanding clients.
“Not that I want to do expensive things but we can gather so many different customers,” she noted, pointing to other product categories as well. In particular, the company will enhance its footwear business and is committing to growing its ready-to-wear line, so far relegated to essential, sportswear-driven pieces. Similarly to accessories, apparel will reconnect with the heritage of the brand and its travel-based DNA, showcasing clothes “that will make you look elegant but not wrinkle in your suitcase,” said Brunner.
Next up, lifestyle products will add to the MCM portfolio, as well as to its presence in Milan, since Brunner teased the company is working on a project for next year’s edition of Salone del Mobile.
In the meantime, the company will be busy revamping its existing stores and opening new ones with an evolved interior concept that respects the new brand image. Once again, Brunner is not looking for a revolution but just a little refresh of the retail spaces, tweaking color schemes and furniture.
While by September all existing MCM stores will be revamped with these elements, recent openings included a store at the Singapore airport and the Harbour City all-in-one mall in Hong Kong. “We’re having some shops-in-shops in the U.S. too. For one, Saks Fifth Avenue is reopening next week with the new concept,” said Brunner. Overall, MCM is available in 650 stores across 40 countries.
Even addressing a currently balanced distribution, Brunner said that the strategy is to adjust the network according to the new brand image by “doing some wholesale cleanup,” especially in terms of stores that are more sportswear-driven. This optimization will add to some relocations, especially in China, to ensure that the brand has a presence in the ever-changing shopping hot spots of the market.
Starting from next year, Brunner will focus on opening in other key European destinations, like Milan and Paris as well as locations in Spain, “where we should really start investing to develop a strong business and not just one fueled by tourism.”
Without disclosing specific figures, the executive said that MCM’s top three markets are Asia, Europe (especially German-speaking countries) and the U.S., equally accounting for one-third of the sales.
Flanking the revamp of physical distribution, the company is aiming to accelerate its growth by also enhancing its online presence. To this end, MCM has tapped Marie-Laure Lequain as its chief digital and merchandising officer.
With more than 20 years of experience in luxury and fashion, Lequain was in successive leadership positions at Gucci, shaping the jewelry business from scratch, rebranding the line of watches and leading the digital business to success.
“One of her main tasks is to analyze and review our e-commerce strategy, as we’re reviewing our complete digital approach. And [Lequain] has built in the past, especially with Gucci, a very groundbreaking way of doing e-commerce,” said Brunner.
As for Brunner herself, before joining MCM she held several high-profile positions including brand manager of Roger Vivier, where she led the development of the brand through direct retail stores. In her position as chief executive officer at Bonpoint she spearheaded a turnaround in visibility and profitability, while previously she cultivated the Asian market for the Tod’s Group, managing the Hong Kong subsidiary.
Asked about a lesson learned at her previous posts that she’s applying to her new job, Brunner pointed to the way of working. “In luxury, every aspect is very well taken care-of. So achieving what we’re achieving now requires to remain very concentrated and consistent… It’s not about doing too much but to remain focused and really take the project from A to Z. Never move away from the objective,” she concluded.