Intimo più mare n° 213 - Settembre 2018

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Emporio Armani, Luisa Maria Lugli, Ritratti, Exilia, Pain
de Sucre, Nicole Olivier, Michael Kors, Seafolly, Naturana,
Opaak, Zimmerli, Empreinte, Maison Close and Marjolaine."
Ilona started out right away with the Italian brands thanks to
their intrinsic quality, the insuperable fashion content and the
fine craftsmanship and detailing one encounters in every single
item.
"With Italian fashion products there are no risks because
the manufacturers function as stable, reliable partners,” she
explained. “The fashion component in the Italian collections
is more obvious than what one encounters in comparable
products produced in other countries. The latest trends have
always been tastefully incorporated. 80% of the store’s customers
are women between the ages of 25 and 70. They lead
active lives and travel a lot. The 20% of men are shopping for
themselves. The list of best-selling brands includes Paladini
and Emporio Armani."
Ilona is an expert and has always attended the specialized fairs
which, for their part, have frequently contacted her in order to
obtain vital information about the Russian market.
"Russia is currently going through a number of different crises:
financial, governmental and fiscal,” she explained. “The
shoppers have always displayed a keen interest when it comes
to the Italian collections, but now we retailers are being forced
to deal with two big problems. The first is of an economic
nature, the second has to do with the diffusion of the social
networks which are having an enormous influence on shopping
behavior. In Russia, as elsewhere, the greatest demand is
for dynamic brands that work with bloggers and influencers.
Those who either refuse or are simply unable to adapt to these
developments cannot hope to succeed in our market. Russian
women are looking for increasingly youthful, innovative and,
of course, fashionable products. These days one sees numerous
brands that should revamp and innovate. Lots of today’s
women practice a variety of sports and are looking for models
that are both elegant and sporty. There is also an enormous
amount of competition coming from the realm of the Internet.
Unfortunately, there are those who come into the store just
to try on garments they intend to by online. The government
has also imposed new rules dealing with imports and importation.”
Ilona Chichigina attneded the Maredamare Fair in Firenze.
"It provides an important opportunity to see what the latest
trends are and get a good overall impression of the latest
developments,” she said. “I’m eager to find sandals, slippers,
handbags and other accessories for the beach, as well as sportchic
lines, in state-of-the-art high-tech materials.”
RODION TITOV
TITOV & MASIUTENKO-RUSSIA
Last year Rodion Titov came aboard to join the company
founded more than twenty years ago by his parents.
"Back in 1995 they opened the first store,” he explained. “By
now we have three of them, all in Kursk and the surrounding
area, but with different names: Lolita, Marc&Andre, Estet.
We carry some 90 brands, not super-luxury but certainly
high-end. We have a lot of Italian brands, such as Emporio
Armani, Oroblù, Pepita, Ritratti, Antica Sartoria and Raffaela
D'Angelo. Design, trendiness, youthful colors and fashion
content are the principal factors contributing to the appeal
of these Italian collections, motivating our customers to
purchase them. When it comes to beachwear, Seafolly is the
hands down best-selling collection, thanks to its sport and
everyday concept, not to mention its affordable price point.
Good fit is always a major concern, but there are brands that
sell regardless of the fit. People in their thirties account for the
core business in our stores.”
Last July Rodion attended for the third time the Maredamare
Fair in Florence.
"My first trip was to the July 2017 edition", he pointed out.
“Then I came back in February in order to attend Immagine
Italia because it exhibits collections that I can only see here,
such as Pepita, for instance. At the fair in Florence I’m always
on the lookout for exciting new brands. I don’t leave home
with an specific ideas about what I’m looking for, other than
a desire to discover the latest trends and new developments.”
TIMI MOUFTOGLOU
ELEGANCE-GREECE
Timi Mouftoglou is the head of the Greek company called
Elegance, with its boutiques and Elegance+ concept stores
located from Salonika to Athens.
“We are both importers and retailers,” he explained. “We show
off the collections as attractively and effectively as possible in
our shops, also selling to resorts and concept stores. We have
always worked together with numerous Italian under- and
beachwear brands, including the likes of Christies, Fisico,
Paladini, Ritratti, Luna di Seta, Raffaela D’Angelo, Luisa
Maria Lugli, Pierre Mantoux, Grazia'lliani, Justmine and
Anjuna. For years we have been working very well with Naory,
an established brand that goes back to our earliest days. We
have always specialized in under- beach- and swimwear.”
Timi Mouftoglou’s parents started the business 40 years ago,
always carrying a great variety of collections, especially Italian
ones, in order to satisfy all the needs and desires of their customers.
“The features of the made in Italy collections which we have
always most admired are the incomparable quality, that distinctive
Italian flair for design, the sophistication and class,
the excellent fit and the original, highly creative prints", explained
Timi. “And our customers (both boutiques and retail
shoppers) continue coming to us in order to find items with
these exclusive characteristics. But we are always on the lookout
for something new and interesting that also represents a
good value for the money.”
Among the new entries in the area of beachwear the shop customers
can now find Justmine. According to Timi, a collection
based on an exciting design concept and boasting the important
option of differentiated cups.
“Women who wear the larger sizes want to be able to select
models that are stylish without being too classic,” he explained.
“In this collection the chromatic palette has been very
carefully developed, represented a major selling point. The
Italian landscape of producs in this sector offers an enormous