The Interview: Ludovic Manzon, CEO, IKKS Paris

IKKS Paris opened its first UK store in May on London’s Carnaby Street, and added a second store on London’s Kings Road in mid-July.

CEO Ludovic Manzon tells us all about the brand, his story, the shop openings and the new brand strategy.

What is your background and how long have you been CEO of IKKS Paris?

I started my career about 30 years ago, mainly in the sports industry, first at Nike for 12 years in France, and then in The Netherlands. I then went to Puma in Germany for six years in various sales positions, prior to a first experience as a Managing Director of the European region. I then relocated to Japan as Managing Director of the Puma subsidiary, and finally to Hong Kong for about five years as Managing Director of Asia Pacific and Japan.

Then I moved to Switzerland for a first experience as a CEO, for Sloggi, the intimate apparel brand which is part of the Triumph Group. That was for four years prior to finally coming back to France as the IKKS Group CEO in May 2020.

After so long in the sportswear business, and then the underwear business, how did you end up in the fashion business at IKKS Paris? And why join just after the COVID pandemic started?

After four years at Sloggi, and a successful turnaround of the brand in a difficult environment, I was contacted to lead the IKKS turnaround. Firstly, the mission was a good match for me, and secondly, I knew the brand as I was a consumer for my kids, and I really liked its unique style and history. As such, I felt confident that with my background I could contribute to the management efforts - giving solid direction and leadership.

As for the timing, I doubt at that time anybody knew how long the COVID pandemic would last and what collateral impact it could have on the disruption of the global supply chain. Somehow, I think I’m fortunate, as we went through the period steadily, which shows how resilient the brand is. It is also very often that when things get tough, the tough get going, as they say.

How long has IKKS Paris been established and who owns the brand now?

IKKS was founded in 1987 by Gerard Le Goeff, first as a junior brand (childrenswear) with a unique and disruptive DNA, adopting adult codes to the junior category. It then extended to womenswear in 1999, and then menswear was added in 2003. Nowadays the brand is owned by Avenue Capital and Carval Investors, our majority shareholders. Gerard Le Goeff is no longer involved in the business since he sold the company, but his free spirit personality is still very much the essence of the brand’s DNA.

What is IKKS best known for?

For our historical consumer IKKS is a kidswear brand, even though nowadays the women’s category represents the biggest part of our business – approximately 45%. Kidswear follows at about 40%, but we also have a growing business for men, which currently represents about 15%. The brand is known amongst our consumers for the quality and stylish design of our products.

IKKS Paris has 800 stores worldwide (600 in France), and though the brand had a pop-up shop on South Molton Street in 2016, why has it taken so long to open permanent stores in London?

I guess that is a culture shift and most likely the reason why I was appointed CEO. Given my international experience and mindset, the future is very much on international expansion. Following our two London openings, moving forward we will look at Milan, Rome and Munich to have a solid footprint across the European capitals.

Why is Carnaby Street seen as a good fit for your brand? And why the Kings Road?

Carnaby Street has a good mix between local and international consumers, giving us a chance to connect with Londoners as well with tourists from across the world, It’s a great window to express our brand. The Kings Road is targeted more at a local consumer, and fits our ambition to be a meaningful French brand to people that live in London.

We are planning to expand beyond London in 2023. Both the Carnaby Street store and the Kings Road location will give us a good read on the next steps. Interestingly, initially we were planning to just sell our women’s and kid’s lines in the Kings Road store, but given the strong performance of our men’s offer on Carnaby Street already, we now intend to have a capsule men’s selection there too.

What’s unique and special about both stores?

Our concept is about experiencing the values of the IKKS brand. It’s all about simplicity and authenticity, and making the shopping experience joyful for everyone. We have adapted our Parisian concept to London, keeping the easy chic spirit of our collections, displaying key looks and also focusing on accessories. Today, there are no premium brands able to express fashion consistency in both the adult’s and children’s categories. That’s what makes us very special.

Do you see retail as a money maker or as more of a window to promote the brand?

It’s a combination of both. Some stores are there to contribute building our brand image, while others are more commercially driven.

What are your top four markets?

Obviously, France is by far our number one market with a very solid and resilient business base that we could fully measure during the COVID pandemic. Then our other key and historical markets are Benelux, Spain and the Middle East. Our future will be on our development across the European capitals, starting first with London then others will follow. We also recently opened a few stores in Shanghai, a start for our business in China.

Having just gone through a pandemic, with online sales becoming much more of a focus, why is now a good time to expand your retail portfolio?

I think both ‘brick and click’ work together, it’s not one channel against the other. It’s a combination of both through a seamless consumer brand experience. We must focus our efforts to give good service and brand experiences to our consumers across both. As such, our new territories expansion will always combine retail and digital.

Did you put much more emphasis on your online business during the pandemic?

Our online business represents 20%, versus about 15% prior to the pandemic. We leveraged the lockdowns to accelerate our online business as part of our overall mix, through brand and product content, consumer services, digital tech and investment in a loyalty programme to attract and retain more and new consumers.

How was your huge retail portfolio affected during the pandemic and several lockdowns?

Somehow, we managed to get through the storm with barely any loss. On that note, I believe that the government support proved right to maintain our activity and those of our affiliates, as well as employees. Without the support from the government, it would have been more challenging and a different story. That, combined with efforts from our side to manage our cost base cautiously, gave us the opportunity to invest now and for the future.

Are you planning on introducing any new product categories in the near future?

We cover all categories, but we are spending more resources to diversify our product mix in the bags segment. That offers a solid opportunity for new business. We introduced bags in AW20 and, despite the pandemic, they were a success. As such, we’re doubling the mix of our bags. Next to that category, we are also investing in footwear, specifically in sneakers across all genders, as our recent introduction performed above expectation.

How important a role does social media play in marketing your brand and new products?

Social media is part of our core communication strategy, with brand ambassadors in various countries who promote our brand and contribute in building the IKKS community. It is also a direct communication tool to our tribes to share our latest product development, early bird releases, limited edition pieces, or just to share brand initiatives and build a strong relationship with our consumer base. So, it’s very important.

Is IKKS Paris just direct to consumer (DTC) or do you have a wholesale business as well?

IKKS is distributed across all channels, including wholesale, which was our historical channel 35 years ago when the IKKS story started. Today, wholesale represents about 10% of our business mix, from independent wholesalers to department stores.

Is wholesale a side of the business that you wish to grow again going forward?

Over the last few years, we have been very much focused on DTC, not servicing our wholesale business well enough. Moving forward, from a wholesale perspective, we want to grow with a more selective and complementary distribution channel -supported by specific product initiatives such as ‘The Pure Edition’.

That’s a new label for IKKS, which is a limited edition series with upgraded fabrics and finishes that we will launch in November in a selection of key destinations and capitals across Europe. That initiative, and others, will support the development of our wholesale business to differentiate it from the rest of our distribution, giving our partners a reason to support and showcase our brand.