Italian luxury menswear company, Corneliani, is foraying into the U.S. market with a direct-to-consumer model.
The company will launch its first ever online store in the U.S., in order to enable prospective customers to shop directly from their website.
The online distribution channel would include Corneliani’s ready-to-wear, footwear, leather goods assortment, in addition to selected pieces from the brand’s Archive Collection. It will also offer a premium delivery service and a 14-day return policy to its American customer base.
“I think that companies can no longer ignore the importance of integrating the brick-and-mortar and online store concepts,” Corneliani Chief Executive Officer Paolo Roviera, said, adding, “I believe that distribution channels should be managed in a holistic way. If the physical store is the hub where a brand’s values and creative ideas come to life, e-commerce is its window in the digital world.”
The portal has been designed and developed in collaboration with Italian e-commerce specialist Alkemy, and follows the January debut of the Corneliani’s online stores in the European and Russian regions.
Since the brand does not operate any physical store in the U.S. as of now, Roviera considered the e-commerce debut as the best way to approach the vast and challenging U.S. market.
After its online foray into Europe, Russia and now the U.S., Corneliani has its sights set on the booming Asian market for the future.
“In Asia, the C2C economy is becoming bigger and bigger. It’s a completely different approach than in the Western world,” Roviera said. “We are starting to work with local partners to create collaborations with the most important online players, such as WeChat.”
The brand currently retails out of 90 points of sale across the U.S., including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdale’s among others.
