MILAN — During a slowdown in luxury and fashion consumption, with sales projected to inch down 2 percent at current exchange rates in 2024 according to a recent consensus by Bain & Co., the wholesale model is particularly under pressure.
Key distributors and showrooms are navigating the complex landscape by trying to ramp up their services, both to brands and retailers, seen as crucial for long-term survival.
Among them, the Italian Brama Group has championed a “very pragmatic approach,” said chief executive officer Renzo Braglia. “We operate in the luxury space but provide different services,” he said.
Over the past 11 months the company struck a three-year distribution deal with American brand LoveShackFancy and took over distribution for five years for Los Angeles-based label AG, both for the Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, region. This comes on top of a five-year deal with Staud inked in 2022.
The company has also expanded its international footprint by upgrading and relocating its showrooms in Düsseldorf, Germany; and Antwerp, Belgium.
Brama Group’s showroom in Antwerp, Belgium.
Courtesy of Brama Group
Although Braglia projected sales to be flat in 2024, he is confident in the Brama Group’s strategy that resulted in 10 percent growth in 2023 to 50 million euros versus a year earlier.
The service-driven and curatorial approaches have been instrumental for growth, Braglia observed. Established in 2001, Brama Group has evolved into the go-to for niche premium and upper contemporary fashion brands looking for a broader European footprint.
Through the showroom’s assortments, which includes brands ranging from Missoni, Norma Kamali, LoveShackFancy and Forte Forte to Re/Done, Mother, AG and Staud, among others, the executive believes he’s providing an added value to multibrand boutiques at a time when luxury powerhouses are scaling back on their wholesale footprint.
“We face off with big brands on selling a lifestyle and this competition is a hard one to win, but when niche brands are very clear about their messaging, they are easier to sell,” Braglia said.
“I’m going against the grain, retailers will get back to their core job of scouting brands and brick-and-mortar will blossom again,” he predicted.
Brama Group has forged stable and long-standing relationships with the brands it distributes, which has helped fuel their growth within its territories of distribution.
“We’re reluctant to frequent turnovers in our portfolio of brands; building a relationship with them is not easy,” Braglia said.
As for retailers, the company has developed trustful relationships hinged on the number of services it provides under the moniker “seamless commerce.” The latter includes management of logistics, unsold inventory and support with credit.
Brama Group’s showroom in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Courtesy of Brama Group
In a sign of confidence, Brama Group has recently upgraded its showroom on Düsseldorf’s Kaiserstrasse, banking on the German market where it has been operating since 2014. “It’s a follower market for fashion buying rather than a leader, but it generates interesting volumes,” Braglia said.
Covering 10,763 square feet, the new space is double the size of the previous one and works in tandem with the other unit in the country, located in Munich.
The company also relocated its showroom in Antwerp this year, moving to a 10,763-square-foot space inside the former coffee factory of Roode Pelikaan Café.
The units are among the network of six showrooms that Brama Group operates across key European cities, which also include Madrid, Milan and Paris. They serve Continental Europe, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Russia and the Middle East with about 1,850 retailer clients.
Renzo Braglia
Courtesy of Brama Group
