The Tamesis
Ruffini said Moncler plans to open 30 to 35 stores in the United States, which is the brand’s preferred expansion method in today’s retail environment. “As you know, wholesale is quite difficult right now,” he said. “Our retail chain is very important – we can align with our customers and improve the way we serve customers. And then, I always say, we never discount products. As far as fashion is concerned, we are not trendy [driven]which means our products can be used for 10 years. So you don’t want to discount. ” He mentioned Austin as one of the U.S. cities that Moncler could expand into.
As for whether the unpredictability of the U.S. market (in terms of tariff policies and political instability) is a concern, Ruffini isn’t concerned. “It’s not a big problem,” he said. Aligning price with product quality helps the brand’s position, he added. “It’s very important to me not to raise prices like crazy.”
Grenoble’s ambitions, meanwhile, are global. The ski business of fashion brands is booming and Moncler is a leading fashion brand investing in ski gear that is both technical and stylish. Last season, it perfected a performance denim material that actually works like a disguised ski suit. The new collection features more technical denim, as well as tweeds, jacquards and floral embroideries. Norwegian-Brazilian skier Lucas Bratton, who will travel to Milan next week for the Winter Olympics, tested the range to help refine his performance. The store brings all of these functional pieces together in one place, including accessories, boots, cable-knit sweaters and anything else shoppers might need for hiking and post-climbing days. This massive space is a redesigned bank complete with a trunk centerpiece made from a real cedar tree. One Aspen local and Moncler customer said he had never seen anything like this in town before.
Ruffini attributes the popularity of skiwear to changing consumer priorities, as luxury customers shift spending away from clothing and luggage toward travel and wellness. “That’s the experience,” Ruffini said. “Everyone says experience is more important than property. I’m confident because rigor is very important to me. Quality is everything.”
Where does Moncler’s annual ski show go from here? Ruffini’s first mention may be the Japanese ski town of Naseko, but he’s also looking at China (a market growing second only to the United States), Canada and Finland.
This was Ruffini’s last skiing event as group CEO: on January 20, the company announced that Bartolomeo Rangone would take over the position, effective from April 1. Ruffini will transition to executive chairman. He must live up to the high standards set by his experience in Grenoble over the past three years. Ruffini took it all in during the weekend but was unable to race on the slopes due to a recent injury. As the festivities wrapped up late Saturday night and wrapped up Sunday morning, editors and clients considered this one of the most high-end branded trips they’d been invited to, even though many attendees planned to take the first flight out of Aspen the next morning.
