Energetic markets

A brown leather wallet with a crocodile skin print may be a simple design, but Furla chief executive Eraldo Poletto has been using it ever since he bought it in a Tokyo department store a few years ago.


"I bought it because I liked it. I was not looking for a brand but a product," said the native of Asti, a small west Italian city famous for its wine.

A similar focus on value for money distinguishes the premium market, which the brand is firmly grounded in, from the luxury sector.

"The customer is very well informed and savvy. She knows what she wants and has a strong personality, so she's willing to spend only what she thinks is appropriate," said Poletto, who is based in Bologna.

"If you try to sell something that is overpriced, the consumer is too smart and she will not accept it."
Poletto believes the premium market is just beginning to take off in the mainland.

He said: "The key focus for everybody in China is luxury goods but I think the real volume of sales will soon come from the middle class, which could reach 500 million people in the future that's twice the size of Europe."

Out of the brand's 344 stores worldwide, 22 are in China, with the most lucrative mainland markets being Shanghai and Beijing. Consumers in the Asia- Pacific region in general are also an important source of income, with 14 percent of global sales coming from the region.

More than 60 percent of sales in Milan come from tourists, many of whom are Chinese, Indonesian and Russian.

Southeast Asia is growing very fast, he said. "I don't like to use the term emerging markets I call them energetic markets. They have already emerged a long time ago. Emerging is a Western way of looking at things."


With outlets in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, Furla will be opening eight new stores in these countries as well as in China, India and the Philippines by September. There are plans to open a store in Rangoon, Burma, in the future.

Currently, the majority of Furla's customers are women. When Poletto joined the company in 2010, he phased out the men's line a year later.

"There was a men's collection but we didn't have a very strong point of view. I preferred to stop it and focus our energy on the core business," he said.

He plans to reintroduce bags for men in this year's fall/winter collection, which will feature burgundy and green in its palette. Apart from leather, another material to be expected is printed horsehair.

Disagreeing with the stereotype that men often use more feminine-looking bags in Asia compared with the West, Poletto said male customers in Asia care about the appearance of their bags.

In the West, particularly for men, the bag is just an object. In Asia, there is a higher sensibility about details and size.

The bag has to be something that you carry with pride, Poletto said.

Simple and functional designs may take a premium brand further than you think.

Eraldo Polettos bags of choice for women:
Polaris tote
A classy beige calf leather bag is spiced up with a leopard print on horse hair, and comes with a shoulder strap.
Candy satchel
In a lollipop light blue, this bag fuses rubber with calf leather to give the classic box bag design a playful twist.