From intricately woven Banarasi sarees and succulent tandoori chicken to their famed hospitality, luxury comes naturally to Indians, says Stefano Canali, CEO and president of Italy’s fine-suiting brand Canali. The owner, who was in India recently for launch of Canali’s seventh store in the country, touches upon changing aspirations of new-age luxury consumers and need for legacy luxury brands to keep reinventing themselves. Interview with Ajita Shashidhar.
This edited Q&A has been condensed for space and clarity.
POST-PANDEMIC GROWTH
How has the luxury industry evolved in post-pandemic era?
Luxury consumers have got rid of track suits and jumpers and rediscovered luxury garments(1). They have become more discerning and demanding and want to dress up. This gave us a chance to implement a strategy we had worked out before the pandemic — evolution towards a lifestyle approach. Our latest Spring/Summer24 collection is an epitome of craftsmanship that Canali is known for, with a twist of fashion. We have managed to infuse our DNA, which is about luxury Italian craftsmanship, into the collection in a consistent way. Canali has always been known for excellent garments for a man. We ensured that the founding values of Canali — high-quality materials and craftsmanship and ‘whispering luxury’(2), which is about inner quality of craftsmanship as well as materials — were consistently executed throughout our collection. Fashion content is the topping on the cake. It’s not bold or flashy. We have been consistent with our DNA.
The pandemic saw luxury brands embracing e-commerce. However, luxury is all about touch and feel. Do e-commerce and luxury go hand in hand?
Online operations are an important complement to physical stores. However, they will never take over the role of physical stores. We are human beings and love to meet each other in person. A luxury brand has many details and things to tell, so physical experience is a must. You can explain all the details of a piece of garment only in person. The consumer, too, might want to try it on.
INDIAN LUXURY
Several Indian brands have forayed into luxury. They aspire to be on global platforms. What is your advice to them?
Listen to Indian consumers and understand what they need(3). Brands must stick to their identity and understand the needs of markets they enter. One of the first things we did when we entered India was to pay attention to local traditions. So, we focused on bandhgala jackets, which were worn on ceremonial occasions. We interpreted this traditional piece of garment our way. We turned a ceremonial suit into a leisure suit and executed it in blends of linen and woollen silk. Those interpretations were an instant success. We also proposed unique versions of the bandhgala jacket. It was a marriage of Italian craftsmanship, Canali’s values and Indian traditions. It got us to fall in love with Indian consumers. And Indian consumers fell in love with Canali.
If you are a luxury brand, you are supposed to propose something which is the backbone of your collection and consistent with yourself and the message you want to spread worldwide. It should also have a local flavour. The trick here is to find the right balance between local interpretation and global proposal. We gave our interpretation of the bandhgala jacket but after that decided to stick to our DNA. Otherwise, we would have become a different brand in the local market.
A number of legacy luxury brands are contemporising. What do they need to keep in mind to ensure they don’t dilute what they stand for?
It is important for brands to address consumer needs consistently. I stress consistency because many brands test uncharted territories. They reinvent themselves and risk losing current customers; most of the time this is due to lack of consistency. If we become a fashion-driven company, we will lack credibility, as it would have nothing to with our DNA. Credible brands must be consistent in pursuing evolution of purpose according to evolution of consumer needs in a credible manner.
How has Indian luxury consumer evolved?
The Indian consumer is discerning and knowledgeable about quality as a consequence of his rich luxury heritage. We believe there is huge potential for us in India. As of today, among luxury brands, we manage the largest network in India with seven stores. We plan to open the eighth store next year. We are definitely here to stay and committed to do more and better.
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE
What is the big challenge for luxury brands in terms of sustainability?
Luxury brands first need to measure how their business is impacting the planet, because you can’t manage what you can’t measure. They need to come up with an action plan according to the outcome of their measurements.
Many times, brands lean towards compelling narratives, but sometimes those lack rationale. For example, if you talk about using recycled fibres or fabrics, it shows you are working on circular economy. But the way you recycle makes a big difference as the recycling process you are using may be more polluting. Everybody needs to understand that we have to delve into details and be strict in assessing our environmental footprint on a quantitative basis to be effective and quick in addressing the issues. There is no fixed solution. Everyone has to address specific issues.
How expensive is sustainability?
It depends on the action plan. You have to keep in mind that sustainability is the sum of three ‘Ps’ — people, planet and profitability. A company is supposed to pursue an effective strategy as long as it manages to stay profitable. You have to make sure everything is fully aligned so that the three ‘Ps’ are consistently pursued. Otherwise, the company itself will not be sustainable.
MANAGING HERITAGE
You are the third generation running the family-run business. How difficult is it to contemporise a legacy business?
The needs of a company change almost every day. When you are running a company with a heritage, you need to change your mindset. However, that doesn’t mean you have to cancel whatever has been done until now. It takes a lot of patience and commitment to make sure people owning the company or working for it fully understand the need for change(4). It’s an intense process and requires time and patience. It is about finding the balance between need for change and opportunity to compromise on some details and aspects.
When you change the mindset, you have to convince the people of the fraternity to get out of the comfort zone and take the risk of getting into uncharted territories. You have to sell the opportunity. You have to lay down the opportunities and the risks. You have to convince them. You always deal with minds and hearts. Convincing hearts takes a while.
DISTRIBUTION FOCUS
Do luxury and multi-brand stores go together?
It depends on the market. U.S. and China have always had a tradition of multi-brand stores and wholesalers. It is important for us to deal with wholesale distribution channel as well as open stores. A multi-brand store usually sends its own message to a specific class of customers. But the store is the house of a brand where it is allowed to exploit its values and potential. In India, some multi-brand formats are blossoming. We are open to evaluating opportunities. We directly operate 40 stores worldwide. We also have 30 stores through franchise agreement. We deal with franchise partners as if the stores are ours. We organise training programmes on a regular basis.
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