Page 19 - RLI May 2019

FREEDOM TO EXPRESS hrough its extraordinarily wide and diversified

range of products, KIKO allows everyone to
express their own personality with cutting
YOURSELF Tegde products.
KIKO’s identity is rooted in “Made in Italy” values and the
world of the capital for fashion, art and design. The research
into original textures and colours is combined with research
into quality formulas with guaranteed performance, for a
perfect fusion of quality and creativity.
The result of customer centric product development
Established and founded in 1997 by Percassi, KIKO MILANO and the latest fashion trends, KIKO continuously renews
itself with products that are always new and closer to the
is an Italian professional cosmetics brand that features a multiple ideals of beauty.
Today the brand currently operates 900 physical stores
range of cutting-edge makeup, face and body treatments. across 21 countries, and has a presence online in 34
RLI speaks here with company CEO Cristina Scocchia to countries around the world.
“In 2018 KIKO started the implementation of a three-
discuss how the brand has grown and what comes next. year strategic plan aimed at increasing financial and
operational effectiveness,” explains Cristina Scocchia,
CEO of KIKO MILANO. “We have begun shifting
expansion eastwards and are complementing retail with
online growth, bringing a consumer centric marketing
kIkO ORIO AL SERIO approach, with more focus on brand building, cost control
Milano, Italy
and operational excellence.”
Recently the company has opened its first franchise site
in Israel, with the store opening at Ayalon shopping mall in
Tel Aviv, with much more to come in the future.
“We have a large development pipeline, with over 30 “We offer a vast array of esthetic possibilities for our
initiatives a year. But we like to keep our competitors consumer, but we remain grounded in our Italian roots.
guessing about what comes next, and keep providing our Italy has been a beacon for esthetics since the times of
customers new beauty experiences they didn’t expect, the Roman Empire. KIKO being Italian has much to offer
with innovation, better service and ever more colour,” for a consumer who wants to unleash their creative
says Scocchia. side in a way that is and has been universally appealing,”
Though at its core it is an EU-based brand, KIKO explains Scocchia.
understands the need to go where growth is, and that Social media plays a very important part of KIKO
is towards the east. Asia is a key growth region for them, MILANO’s online targets, within a broader omni-channel
and they already have a presence in both India and Hong strategy. Their online strategy involves better cross-platform
Kong. The company is also listed online via T-Mall China, functionality, with an omni-channel approach that integrates
where they have had stellar results. Though the region is physical locations, e-commerce, mobile applications, and social
highly competitive, the business will continue to grow in media. Social media is, and will remain a key player within that
the Asia Pacific markets, through distributors, online and strategic approach, but KIKO understands it is only one piece
franchise operations. of the whole puzzle.
Through the years KIKO has proven to be an innovative So why does Scocchia “We have begun shifting expansion
pipeline that is amongst the most agile and varied in the believe customers remain eastWards and are complementing
business. It is a global brand that offers the consumer loyal, and what are the key
the freedom to express themselves creatively, without drivers behind the brand’s retail With online groWth, bringing
compromising on wearability or affordability. The brand phenomenal success? a consumer centric marketing
always wants to understand their consumer better, and is “We do not compromise
investing significant resources in achieving this. on quality, and our products approach, With more focus on
uphold the highest standards brand building, cost control and
in the beauty industry all the
kIkO ORIO AL SERIO kIkO VITTORIO EMANUELE while having very affordable operational excellence.”
Milano, Italy Milano, Italy
price points, and as for
key drivers, our creativity, our quality, our variety and our
affordability, all offered with a customer centric approach in a
dedicated retail space. That’s the KIKO way.”
The business is a highly entrepreneurial brand, which
exists with a culture of creativity and quality, what KIKO does
is offer its consumers the freedom to express themselves.
KIKO is constantly committed to a single objective, and
this is to allow all women to treat themselves to the most
innovative cosmetics without having to break the bank.
As we bring the interview with Cristina to an end, we
ask, what lies ahead and what does she perceive to be the
greatest challenge facing the company right now?
“We believe in our current strategy moving forward, and
in what KIKO can offer to the global beauty consumer, and
while there are many challenges facing our sector, with the
right strategy in place we can face the headwinds in front
of us,” she concludes.

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