Arena at Pitti Uomo: from swimming pools to beaches
Like other sport equipment brands, Arena is keen to tap the connection with fashion, notably focusing on beachwear. To make the most of this project, Arena, a competition swimwear specialist whose main market is France, has funnelled more resources into beachwear, until now kept on the back burner, deciding to exhibit for the first time at a fashion show like Pitti Uomo (held in Florence on June 13-16) to broaden its audience. For the occasion, Arena launched a collaboration with The Woolmark Company.
“We have decided to relaunch our beachwear range. We reshuffled our staff, setting up a new team dedicated to the lifestyle segment. Arena doesn’t need to boost its reputation, but we’re exhibiting at Pitti Uomo to demonstrate the importance we now want to attribute to this segment, and to gain visibility with the type of retailers we don't usually collaborate with,” said Giuseppe Musciacchio, deputy managing director of Arena - which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year- speaking to FashionNetwork.com.
We met a beaming Musciacchio at the Arena stand, alongside two of the brand's ambassadors, Nicolò Martinenghi and Bruno Fratus, both Olympic swimmers, and both involved in showcasing the new collection. “On the first day, we made contact with 300 international retailers who wanted to see the collection,” said Musciacchio with evident satisfaction.
Arena, since 2013 owned by Swiss investment fund Capvis, hired Quintin Michael Donders as head of beachwear six months ago. An experienced, well-known executive with a track record in international sales and brand development, Donders has worked with several sportswear brands, notably G-Star Raw, Replay, Timberland, Lotto and Scotch & Soda.
Arena’s plan is to broaden its assortment. The Spring/Summer 2024 collection consists of some 150 items, comprising swimwear for women and men as well as accessories and apparel. Bags, sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, trousers and dresses are featured in Arena’s minimalist urban wardrobe. The emphasis is on innovation and quality, with breathable performance fabrics to the fore.
A capsule collection developed with The Woolmark Company features swimming costumes 60% made with wool, introducing a fast-drying, ultra-lightweight compact blended fabric, distinctive for its texture and vivid colours. Also on the cards, a collaboration with Marcelo Burlon, in the wake of those with Bape, Fendi and Avnier launched by Arena in recent years.
“We’re already widely distributed in the sporting goods channel. With Pitti Uomo, we’re taking a step towards higher-quality retail distribution, with a lifestyle product. We want to enter the major chains,” said Musciacchio, underlining that “the price positioning is much higher.” The new beachwear items are between 40% and 45% more expensive than Arena’s swimming products, with prices ranging from €50 to €150.
Beachwear currently accounts for 10% of Arena’s total revenue, which last year reached €142 million, equivalent to a 45% increase. The goal is to grow beachwear sales by a factor of three by 2026. Arena is chiefly distributed via sporting goods retailers in over 100 countries. France is its main market, worth 15% of total sales, followed by Italy, Germany and the USA. Between them, these four countries account for 60% of Arena's revenue. The company employs 400 people, of whom 180 in Italy, home to its head office.
“In the sports industry, products that are simply functional don’t sell. In the past, fashion turned its attention to denim. Nowadays, the industry is more attracted by sport, and younger consumers rarely distinguish between the two sectors. We want to reach out to this audience and aim for a more fashion-oriented market, without however losing our sport performance DNA,” concluded Musciacchio.
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
