Page 21 - June #173

Rome, Italy

San Babila
Milan, Italy

key one being sustainability. Their current collection is made up of 95 to invite people to come and get really aligned with the philosophy and
per cent sustainable materials, a huge increase from Selfa’s arrival at the values of the company, brand and connectivity,” says Selfa.
end of the spring summer 21 collection was made up from 30 per cent Moving forward, social media is an area where North Sails is looking
of sustainable materials. to grow and in the last year they have pushed in this area and want to
The second pillar is the internationalisation of the business Selfa expand more in the future. Previously they had not had a team focused
touched on earlier. “Right now around half of our business is done in on this aspect of marketing but this has now changed, and social media
Italy. Our best markets outside of our home country are Spain, France presents the brand with an opportunity to talk about multiple facets
and Germany and in total we have 1,300 points of sale including multi- through their channels, such as water sports, ocean conservation,
brands, department stores and our own stores.” sustainability and fashion.
Selfa goes on to say that whilst Europe can still grow, the UK market When discussing sustainability, Selfa highlights that their philosophy is that
is a market in which they are not very present and want this to change they look for progress not perfection. They now produce items with less
moving forward. water usage, they have cut out the use of toxic dyes and they have reviewed
“We are now also having some good conversations in areas like the the code of conduct with suppliers. So while perfection is impossible right
Middle East and the US, and places such as Australia and New Zealand now, they are making great strides in the area of sustainability.
are obvious places for us to go to in the future. However, whilst we are The brand has seen considerable success over the years, and the
looking to grow, we want to grow responsibly and sustainably and not CEO of the apparel division feels that this can be put down to its Italian
rush it, we want to grow organically,” Selfa highlights. consumers that are incredibly loyal to the company and have grown with
While Covid is by no means gone, the retail world is returning to the business over the years.
something resembling pre-lockdowns around the world. As things are As she looks to the future, Marisa feels that the challenges that face
now opening up, the brand is once again in a position to engage with North Sails are similar to the rest of the companies in retail, as companies
customers in additional ways to help build loyalty and ensure repeat visits. today ask themselves, how do we achieve sustainable growth?
They have launched the ‘Adopt a Coral’ initiative, meaning whenever a “This is not about the sustainable materials; it is about opening in the
customer purchases something from North Sails, the company will plant right place at the right time with the right partners. The other challenge
a new coral. They are also looking to host mini-events in some of their is omni-channel and finally is continuing to build the right business model
flagships, for example they have invited the Founder of Coral Gardeners for the future,” she explains.
Titouan Bernicot to come to their Milan flagship to give a speech on “As for me personally, my challenge moving forward is to make sure
what is happening in the oceans. our team is really motivated and happy to be North Sails as we continue
“We want to begin incorporating these little events because we want to grow.”

Rome, Italy

Saint-Tropez, France