Born in 1994 with its first store launching four years later, Salsa Jeans has grown and evolved over the past three decades and is now available in more than 40 countries. In this interview, RLI spends some time with company CEO Hugo Martins to discuss the journey the brand has undergone and what its next steps are.
Created with the idea of crafting the best-fitting jeans, Salsa Jeans began life as a laundry unit before evolving into designing and crafting denim wear, leveraging their own atelier and industrial facilities. This craftsmanship ensures not only exceptional quality but also offers a sense of artistry and dedication to each piece, making them truly unique.
“I would say there are many things that make Salsa Jeans special,” exclaims CEO Hugo Martins. “The way we develop our jeans for example, they are designed with the individuality of each person in mind, particularly women, which inspires us to keep challenging our own boundaries.”
Today there is close to 200 Salsa Jeans stores across the world, with around 60 of them in their home market of Portugal. In addition, they have locations in Spain, France, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Ireland, the last of these being a new market where they only opened their first store back in June.
Outside of Europe, their franchise partners operate Salsa Jeans stores in a selection of regions, the most relevant of which is their long-lasting partnership in the Middle East in locations such as Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“We’ve also established a strong foothold through our inclusion in a multitude of department stores and wholesale points across Europe, Asia and Africa and growing within these geographies, giving us in total about 1,500 points of sale worldwide,” Martins highlights.
Hugo goes onto explain that this year has marked significant progress in terms of store openings and in the unveiling of the company’s new store concept. Launched in April at its flagship store in Paseig de Gracia, Barcelona, the new concept embodies the brand’s soul: a place to find the best jeans in the world.
Within the new unit there is also a permanent corner for denim customisation, repair and immediate hem making, a service that has been greatly appreciated by customers. Being in such a high-profile tourist location has also meant that a lot of the customers are not locals, so it is pivotal to be able to offer this service in the very moment they purchase.
Another element of the new rollout is the fitting rooms, as while these have always been a key feature in Salsa stores, they decided to take it a step further, designing them to create an experience, with the customer now able to choose which kind of lighting they’d like to have while trying on their clothes – daylight, office light, disco light – just like their jeans, there is an option for everyone.
In June, Salsa took this concept and adapted it to a shopping centre context and opened their first two stores in Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown in Dublin, Ireland. This involved designing a store that delivered that same specialist denim experience, but in a smaller store and in a more purchase-oriented context.
“Looking to the future, we have ambitious expansion plans in the short-term with a strong focus on the upcoming couple of years. We have plans for new stores in the Middle East, leveraging the positive momentum the brand is experiencing locally. In relation to Europe, we will continue to develop our store network, namely in Ireland and leverage that experience to enter further countries in the future,” says Martins.
Constantly seeking fresh opportunities and improved ways to showcase Salsa Jeans to the world, the business is also delving into the Scandinavian and North American markets. Their initial interactions indicate significant potential in both regions and it is developments like these that Martins feels are truly exciting, as their jeans consistently demonstrate exceptional fit & feel, regardless of geography, culture or ethnicity.
The company has been on a journey of creation and innovation since inception and it is this that sets them apart, this commitment to standing out, daring to tread uncharted paths and doing what has not been done yet.
The Confidence Room, which was unveiled as a pop-up in Dublin before the launch of their first stores there earlier this year, is a perfect example of this. It may be very unusual for a fashion brand to have a store that has its fitting room mirrors covered, but that is exactly what Salsa did.
“We did this to make our customer focus fully on feeling the product rather than judging it based on the reflection of a mirror. Only after trying on the jeans and sharing their feelings with the team could the customer unveil the mirror. This became one of The Confidence Room’s highlights and I believe it is cutting edge for our industry and for fashion’s approach on how you feel rather than how you look,” says Martins.
The company has fully embraced social media’s pivotal role in modern retail, understanding it can bring brands whatever they desire as long as there is a well-thought-out strategy, with clear objectives and goals that align with the dynamics and interactions the community has at any given moment and on each platform.
Their primary goal for their social media channel is to build the brand’s notoriety by making an impact and establishing relationships with their audiences. They adapt their communication to different platforms and social media, always working their brand messages according to the target.
As we move onto to discussing sustainability, Hugo remarks that he believes, at this moment, sustainability-related issues are non-negotiable from the consumer’s perspective. He goes as far as to say that as brand, sustainability is intrinsic to Salsa’s way of working. With their industrial background, they have always sought to gain efficiency and reduce impacts in all their processes.
“All the projects we have shared through ‘Become’, our social and environmental responsibility program, are the result of many years of work and developments. This makes us 100 per cent confident in the commitment we have taken on,” Martins explains.
As our time draws to a close, Hugo concludes the interview by saying that Salsa’s daily goal is to be a leading player in European denim wear and he genuinely believes they have what it takes to set themselves apart: a unique product developed with the know-how and craftsmanship that are the trademark of the Northern region of Portugal where they grew and developed.
