MILAN — Italian resort brand Manebí keeps growing across different channels and product categories.
The company, established in 2013 by Milanese friends Antonello Benati and Vera Drossopulo Bogdano as a label offering revisited espadrilles, closed the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 with revenues of nearly 10 million euros.
“This is the first year that our business got profitable. We posted a 10 percent EBITDA margin,” said Benati, adding that the company grew its business both online and off-line.
In particular, while online sales, which in the period increased 50 percent compared to the previous year, account for 45 percent of the brand’s revenues, Manebí over the past year succeeded in expanding the brand’s wholesale business that stands at 3 million euros. “We managed to enter in key stores in Europe and in the United States,” said Drossopulo Bogdano, highlighting that in North America Manebí collections are available at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Intermix, among others. In particular, during the past spring season, the company obtained significant visibility through the launch of co-branded capsule collections with key partners, including Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini and LoveShackFancy.
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Manebí’s directly operated retail business was also profitable last year. The company, which operates 12 boutiques, including new additions in the Italian resorts Alassio and Forte dei Marmi, expects to open three more stores in 2022, including a pop-up shop in London.
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“At Milano Investment Partners SGR, we believe the retail industry has just begun a great journey of transformation, in distribution and customers’ experience strategies,” commented Paolo Gualdani, chief executive officer at the venture capital and private equity firm, which acquired a stake in Manebí in 2019. “Manebí’s project appeared to us concrete and innovative at the same time, from the very beginning, capable to create a direct and empathic conversation with new generations of customers who are looking for a different way to buy and approach the brands, as a personal choice which embodies values and identity. We invested in Manebí since the very beginning and we are proud to keep supporting this successful project.”
Along with continuing to push its signature footwear offering, also through influencer marketing initiatives with international KOLs — such as concept creator Alex Rivière, who designed a successful summer 2021 capsule for Manebí — the brand is gradually expanding its product offering. “We want to develop a full wardrobe for all who are chasing the sun all year-round,” said Benati, emphasizing that the label’s offering will remain rooted in a resort-inspired aesthetic.
Besides expanding its beachwear line, this past spring Manebí staged its first bag sales campaign with the Milan-based Massimo Bonini showroom and successfully tested on its online store a collection of ready-to-wear pieces, including breezy dresses and shirts retailing between 150 euros and 300 euros.
“We got very positive feedback and results across all the categories and this is pushing the brand into a new exciting lifestyle-centered direction,” said Drossopulo Bogdano, adding that among the goals for the future is the growth of the men’s business, which accounts for 35 percent of sales.
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