RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian designer retailer Daslu plans to open a temporary showroom during the next New York Fashion Week and, in the first half of 2007, will open its first Manhattan store.
Daslu wants a U.S. foothold, in part because of the success it’s had in selling its own label abroad. Daslu’s owner, Eliana Tranchesi, said the showroom, in a suite at the Bryant Park Hotel, will be open for five days in September during 7th on Sixth, and will feature 500 pieces of her spring-summer 2007 collection. Currently Daslu mounts a showroom twice a year in a suite in the Plaza Athenee for 10 days during Paris Fashion Week.
Last year, that Paris showroom sold $2.5 million worth of Daslu-brand apparel to 90 visiting foreign buyers — from sports/casual wear to blazers and silk gowns. Italian buyers made up 28 percent of the total, followed by buyers from Hong Kong (26 percent) and then the U.S. Among its U.S. stockists are Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and boutiques like Scoop, Newport Beach, Giorgina and Oxygen.
Daslu expects overseas wholesale sales of $8 million this year, both because it is opening the Manhattan showroom and because the brand is catching on abroad.
Tranchesi said Daslu’s New York showroom, to be open during each of the two 7th on Sixth fashion weeks next year, will, by the end 2007, “allow us to sell to 40 U.S. upscale department stores and boutiques.” She added that Daslu will also try to open a Manhattan store in a two-story town house somewhere between SoHo and Union Square in the first half of 2007.
“If we can’t find a suitable town house space for opening the Manhattan store by June 2007, for selling our spring-summer 2007 collection, we’ll open it in the first half of 2008 to sell our spring-summer 2008 collection,” said Tranchesi.
Daslu’s push to sell its brand abroad is, in part, the result of a June 2005 sting operation, called Narcissus, that involved 250 agents of Brazil’s federal police and 80 tax auditors, some of whom raided the $70 million, 200,000-square-foot Florentine-style fashion emporium into which the Sao Paulo retailer had just moved.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
The government alleged that import-export firms had falsified invoices that showed that foreign merchandise, delivered by them to Daslu, cost much less than the real prices. Federal police alleged that, under the scheme, Daslu paid less than the 20 to 30 percent average import taxes on fashion imports.
Tranchesi said her lawyers prohibited her from talking about the sting operation, but that she would present her defense during her trial, which could begin by December of this year. She did say that because of the sting operation she had to find new import firms for bringing in many of her foreign labels. The labels Daslu carries include Giorgio Armani, Prada, Jimmy Choo, Emilio Pucci, Blue Marine, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Christian Dior, Chloe, Manolo Blahnik, Tod’s shoes and Louis Vuitton.
“Because we’ve had trouble importing foreign labels since the blitz, we’ve put a bigger emphasis on selling our own brand, both in our emporium and to foreign buyers,” said Tranchesi.
As a result, whereas in the first half of 2005, foreign brands accounted for 60 percent of Daslu’s sales and its own brand accounted for 40 percent, in 2006 foreign brands are expected to account for 35 percent of sales and its own brand 65 percent.
She added that because domestic Daslu-brand sales have surpassed expectations and have offset the drop in foreign-brand sales, the fashion emporium will sell $150 million worth of apparel in 2006, up from $106 million in 2005 (not including exports).