DESIGUAL
Established in Barcelona, Spain in 1984, Desigual was the brainchild of Thomas Meyer, who imagined a future in which dressing differently would be less expensive. The slogan ‘Desigual is not the same’ continues to echo the brand’s objective with every collection, which remain colourful, on-trend and always at the cutting edge of fashion.

With 100 stores and operating across 50 countries, the brand has achieved rapid success throughout Europe, creating a multichannel retail concept. With over 3,500 points of sale worldwide, Desigual is established in the most prestigious shopping centres, including El Corte Inglés in Spain; La Rinascente and Coin in Italy; House of Fraser in the UK; Galeries Lafayette in France; Mitsukoshi in Japan; Isetan in Thailand; Myers in Australia; Palacio del Hierro in Mexico; and CK Tangs in Singapore.
The company now plans to take the brand worldwide and is on target in achieving this goal, which began in Spain where Desigual now has 100 stores. It has now conquered a number of highly competitive European markets such as France and Italy, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands, and has stores in Amsterdam, London, Paris, Lisbon, Singapore and Fidenza in Italy.

The brand will be opening its first store in the UAE in January 2009 at the Dubai Mall. This 2,619sq ft outlet will be the flagship store for Dubai, comprising a simple space that maximizes on the visual quality of the merchandise.
Cristina Trujillo, Franchise Director for Desigual says: ‘‘We are looking forward to bringing the brand to the Middle East and believe it will be a successful addition to the UAE retail market. We are passionate about our products and have a set global expansion plan, whereby our aim is for Desigual to become a worldwide recognized brand.”

The Middle East, she says, is a natural progression in this evolution. A second store will be opening at the new Marina Mall in Dubai in early 2009. The store concept is designed to be spacious, unconventional and unique; bursting with positive energy and over flowing with enthusiasm, the outlet will be a relaxed and vibrant place to spend time.
“We plan to open stores in every Middle East country,” says Trujillo. “In addition to the Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Mall stores, we have plans to open two stores in Abu Dhabi, to be followed by additional stores in Qatar and Kuwait.”
Desigual already has stores in Saudi and Bahrain. RLI asked Trujillo if, of the existing stores in the brand’s portfolio, she considered any one in particular to be the flagship?
“All of our Stores are flagships,” she counters. “We always try to open in the best places and offer a quality experience to the consumer. In the UK, for example, we are located on Regent Street and at the Westfield Shopping Centre, and we are delighted with both stores.” With a strong, recognisable brand Desigual works hard to remain faithful to its principles. “This gives us a personality and originality that has a translation in strength,”
says Trujillo.
The brand’s core consumer is segmented by a lifestyle, by a way of seeing his life and this world, she explains. “Everybody can be a Desigual consumer and of course we have a lot of faithful consumers that believe in our story along the years.” But are consumers’ attitudes to fashion shopping changing?

“Fashion is becoming increasingly more accessible, even luxury brands are developing products for all segments, this has a massive effect,” says Trujillo. “The way to address this, and to combat the current economic climate, is to continue doing what we do best and to remain positive.

For the full article please see the RLI January 09 issue
  Paramount Publications Ltd Suite 15, Hardmans Business Centre, New Hall Hey Road, Rawtenstall BB4 6HH UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1706 212200 Fax: +44 (0) 1706 211782 Email: info@rli.uk.com