Translated by
Nicola Mira
Revealed
December 20, 2024
Italian omnichannel multibrand vogue and luxurious retailer Modes is in search of a strategic associate to bolster the following section of its progress, after finishing up an in-depth inner reorganisation, and implementing measures to enhance its operational, logistics and structural effectivity. Modes is “focused on sustainability, innovation and avant-garde collaborations, and is interested in finding investors willing to acquire a stake in the company,” stated Modes CEO Simon Whitehouse, previously the CEO of, amongst others, JW Anderson and Reference Studios, talking to FashionNetwork.com. Whitehouse took cost of Modes in March this 12 months. “We’re open to various forms of collaboration, even with an industrial partner,” stated Whitehouse.
Modes_Garments – Modes
“All the multibrand [retailers], whether direct e-tailers or marketplaces, that cornered a high percentage of the e-tail market in the 15-16 years before 2020, gradually went on to became unicorns dominating their specific segment, and I’m talking about names like LuisaViaRoma, Farfetch, Matches.com, and Net-a-Porter. Then came the pandemic,” stated Whitehouse. He went on to clarify that “it’s a well-known fact that physical retail came to a total stop during the lockdowns. While e-tail boomed, growing at rates of 40 to 50%. In 2023, everyone wanted to maintain the same market share they previously had, and went on sourcing the same volume of goods. But in 2022-2023, human beings started to crave the physical shopping experience again, and to prioritise in-store shopping once more. It was a crash, a dramatic collapse for the sector. I believe that the chronology of these events, and their profound social impact, has never been analysed and defined in detail. I’m reading plenty of articles about changes in shopping behaviour, or about China’s problems. It’s all true and relevant, but what really affected the industry was the paradigmatic shift caused by the pandemic, with the rift between physical and online retail, between brick-and-mortar stores and e-tailers.” Whitehouse noticed that “the pure-players that were already doing sizeable business in 2019 leapt further forward in 2021, creating a new model. Then, in 2023-24, they imploded, like Farfetch, now on the brink of default, or Matches.com, which closed down. In all of this Modes, which has developed a thriving online business, has also been in some ways affected by the changes occurring in the last 18 months. Now we need a macro vision, with an outlook for at least the next five years. And while the luxury sector is facing a global slowdown, we want to focus on the growth of our omni-channel business, and possibly open the door to external investors.”
Simon Whitehouse, CEO of Modes
Modes has a extremely curated e-tail website, which was just lately made simpler to navigate, that includes unique collaborations with labels resembling Jacquemus and The Attico. The firm operates seven bodily shops between Milan, St. Moritz, Cagliari, Porto Cervo, Portofino and Forte dei Marmi, plus the Mini_Modes boutique devoted to youngsters’s vogue, opened within the coronary heart of Milan’s Brera district, “which is doing phenomenal business,” in keeping with Whitehouse. “Our corners in seasonal stores enable us to engage in extremely interesting strategic partnerships, which can introduce brands to a new clientèle or, via our collaborations, reach prestigious locations where certain brands might not otherwise be able to set foot,” he added. The Modes group now consists of greater than 80,000 loyal clients, inside a CRM database that connects the corporate to a high-profile viewers. Modes’s core enterprise is girls’s and males’s ready-to-wear, via long-standing partnerships with labels resembling Chloé, Alaïa, The Row and Dries Van Noten. Just lately, Modes has broadened its assortment to incorporate manufacturers “that I would define as athletics or sportswear, such as Hoka, On, and Salomon. These brands are an expression of how society at large has chosen to dress in recent years, how people are dressing today,” stated Whitehouse. “Our selection is focused on the current lifestyle and cultural attitude of modern, progressive people, rather than on a specific demographic,” he added. Modes additionally completely commercialises quite a few rising labels, resembling Christopher Raxxy and EBIT (take pleasure in being in transition), the model based by Whitehouse himself. “My label’s name is intended to subvert the EBIT financial acronym, earnings before interest and taxes. At its deepest level, EBIT is a reflection on how capitalism is affecting mental health in society, and how fashion, music, and art too have been instrumental in this,” stated Whitehouse.
Modes_Garments – Modes
Modes is now a financially sustainable firm. Its evolution certainly hinges on sustainability, embodied in its personal label Modes_Garments, a set of timeless classics made with eco-responsible materials and companions. “Our private label [Modes_Garments] was born a year and a half ago and is gradually becoming a significant element of Modes’s portfolio. In one year, its revenue has doubled,” stated Whitehouse. “In addition, one of its sustainability partners is Woolmark.” One other essential growth for Modes was in reality its latest choice as official retail associate of the Worldwide Woolmark Prize (IWP), one of many inexperienced vogue calendar’s most prestigious occasions. “For the first time ever, in spring 2025 the IWP ceremony will be held in Milan and not in London. We are extremely proud to be this initiative’s new retail partner, further strengthening Modes’s role as an advocate of sustainable luxury,” concluded Whitehouse.
