In 1984, when George Orwell's anti-Utopia was in full swing, Thomas Meyer, a Swiss man in his early 20s, imagined a future in which dressing differently would not be so expensive. He had ordered several pairs of second-hand jeans and was not sure what he would do with them. He simply cut them up and made a jacket out of them. And so began the journey of a company which offered “bold and original clothing of quality at accessible prices”. The company, headquartered in Barcelona, came to be known as Desigual, the meaning of which word is variously mentioned as unequal, uneven, erratic.

As its designs became popular, the company, with a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) — Manel Adell — at its helm took the first steps towards retailing. Over time, the €8-million Spanish apparel company turned into a €300-million global brand. In 2010 it clocked revenues of €435 million — 44 per cent higher than its 2009 revenues.

Speaking to BrandLine on the sidelines of a retail summit in Singapore, Adell shares the story of Desigual, its future plans and the possibility of entering the Indian market. Excerpts:

You grew from being a local brand based in Barcelona to one of the leading global apparel brands worth over €300 million. What is the story behind your success?

For any brand to be successful, its identity and positioning in the target market are key. People must connect to the brand.

In Desigual we have a distinct identity and positioning that has also been well accepted by the market. We realised our positioning was right was when the brand did well in a saturated market like Italy. Our clothes have been well accepted and even our brand story — which relates to the origin of the brand — has gone down well with the people.

I think the right mix of experience, identity and pricing and connect with the people is what has made us click.

As you talk about positioning and pricing of your brand, how differently is Desigual positioned as compared to others in the market?

In terms of positioning we are very much mainstream. But when it comes to pricing we are at the middle of the market. However, our pricing does not prevent us from being very aggressive or design-oriented. Nor does it protect us from being innovative.

Desigual's USP has been design at affordable prices. But designer labels are generally high priced. So how do you manage to keep a balance between design and pricing?

Usually design orientation and innovations go with high price. But if you ask me how we manage, we do so by keeping our margins tight, our costs very tight and making sure we are competitive.

Where are your garments designed?

Designing is done at our headquarters in Barcelona and sometimes together with our suppliers, with all 130 of our designers operating from the company headquarters. It is centralised.

Any plans to move this designing segment to Asia?

No. Designing is very core and rooted in the culture. It cannot be shifted elsewhere.

You mentioned that 90 per cent of your revenues still come from Europe. So in terms of expansion which are the places you are looking at?

Geographically there are two strategies that we intend to follow. (Pauses) In fact, there are two areas that we are looking at for growth.

One of the strategies is for the markets in the US and it started a couple of years before our Asia expansion plans. (The apparel major plans a major foray in the Asian markets this year, starting with Singapore.) We have over 1,000 points of sales and seven own stores in different regions in the US. We are planning a few more. In terms of mapping new markets for retail, we are looking at the East Coast, West Coast, Canada and Florida. Currently, five to six per cent of our turnover is from the US and we would like to see it to go to 10-15 per cent soon.

As regards Asia, we are expecting similar high growth rates from different markets. Indications tell us that we have an opportunity here (in Asia).

Please elaborate on the Asia strategy.

Our strategy in Asia would be similar to what we have tried in Europe or the US. We will test all markets and try to find out where we can put in more capex (capital expenditure) or investment. We will try to support those markets which grow faster and will be more prudent and cautious with those that develop slowly. It's a very simple strategy.

Any plans to enter India?

Entry into India will happen once we have more resources and a larger presence in the region. But there are no immediate plans. It is one of those markets which we might consider entering along with a partner.

We have gone through the partnership that Zara had with the Tata Group and how they have utilised each other's expertise in the market. We have successfully done some similar partnerships in West Asia and in the European markets either through our master franchisees or partners.

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