“Our core business is and will be rooted in men’s wear, as the brand has built its own DNA on the idea of positive masculinity and a sportswear aesthetics,” the chief operating officer said.

Despite an unprecedented year, Bikkembergs managed to contain its losses, reporting a 10 percent drop in sales compared to 2019. The executive did not provide total sales figures for 2020.

“This is quite a positive result because other companies are showing high-double-digit decreases,” Predonzan said. He mentioned e-commerce as a serious booster, growing 20 percent year-on-year, and also underscored how a streamlined retail network helped contain expenses. The online channel generates 10 percent of Bikkembergs’ revenues.

“This is definitely the skyrocketing division, which is why we’re committed to invest on it and more broadly focus on digital marketing initiatives,” the executive said.

Late last year, the company opened two new stores in Russia in partnership with local operator Vogue Dialogue. A focus on the country — among the best-performing markets alongside China and Italy — is in the pipeline for 2021, too. Predonzan explained that the brand will add three new stores, two in Saint Petersburg and one in Moscow, by the end of the year.

A new Bikkembergs store in Moscow. Courtesy of Bikkembergs.

Bikkembergs counts 10 stores in Russia and 30 globally, five of which are directly operated by the company’s shareholder Canudilo Modern Avenue, the Chinese retail giant that took over the brand in 2019, acquiring the remaining 49 percent stake in the brand it did not already own from Italian companies Zeis Excelsa and Sinv.

“Russia in 2020 continued to be on top of our priorities especially as it performed quite well despite the pandemic….It was less impacted by the COVID-19-related economic fallout than Italy and Europe,” Predonzan noted. For instance, orders for the pre-fall and fall 2021 collections are growing in the country.

A retail push in Italy was also planned for 2020 but openings were postponed “for prudence reasons” including the reopening of a Milan unit. The company closed its store in the city in 2018.

“We continued to bank on our key market strategy, leveraging on our solid basis of regions where we are renowned,” Predonzan said. The key geographic areas include Russia Italy, Spain and the Middle East, with a new store recently opened in Cairo, Egypt.

Bikkembergs’ partnership with Global Brands Group Holding Ltd. for the production and international distribution of the brand’s footwear collections inked in 2019 has also helped the Milan-based label push its presence in the U.S., where it is available at Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom.

Overall, Bikkembergs counts around 500 wholesale clients, representing 70 percent of the business. Predonzan said the market has responded very well to the reorganization he set in motion from 2019, by reuniting the brand’s multiple lines to focus on its core business under the Bikkembergs name, formerly Dirk Bikkembergs.

Bikkembergs underwear ad campaign. Courtesy of Bikkembergs.

In addition to the new beachwear and underwear deal, Bikkembergs operates several manufacturing and distribution licensing agreements: Sinv for rtw; Global Brands Group for footwear; Ratti and La Compagnia delle Pelli, for textile and leather accessories, respectively; Elisabet for junior footwear; Two Brothers for the production and distribution of its children’s wear collections, as well as Perfume Holding for fragrances and Arkano Srl for men’s jewels.

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