Paolo Mantovani: "The combination of online and offline is a winning one"
News
Edition 98
29.10.2020
The buyer of Mantovani, a historic store from Tuscany, tells MFF his impressions about Pitti Connect, which hosts both Pitti Uomo and Super: "It's done really well." Among the issues he addressed: the impact the pandemic has had on business and the evolution of the concept of trend.
The opportunity to immediately connect with a brand's history is just one of the characteristics that make Pitti Connect a successful experiment. Explaining this to MFF is Paolo Mantovani of Mantovani, a historic store from Tuscany. "The platform, which hosts both Pitti Uomo and Super, is very well done," highlighted the buyer, "it features all the information we usually look for."

A digital version that meets all the requirements to integrate the physical one. "In my opinion, the hybrid formula, which includes online and offline, is the most contemporary and efficient. There is no way that one of the two worlds would replace the other," explained Mantovani, who, despite preferring the physical event, maintains that many collections lend themselves well to being bought on the web. On the other hand, online selection was a mandatory process during the lockdown months. "I believe that the phygital format will evolve and can continue." Ash, Sundress, Tatras, Kate Cate and Herno Laminar are among his brand picks on Pitti Connect.

The pandemic, explains Mantovani, did not have alarming consequences on his company's business. On the contrary, "we were amazed at how quickly customers returned to the store after it reopened." While on the one hand, there was a lack of foreign customers, on the other, they regained a portion of Italian customers who had been absent for some time. "There has been a rediscovery of the new local. A very positive sign. In our store in Castiglione della Pescaia (a seaside resort, editor's note) we have worked more than in other years".

When asked about the season trends, Mantovani replies: "Fortunately, we are moving towards a fashion made up of contents such as history, roots, sustainability rather than trends." A kind of sustainability looking not only at the impact it has on the environment but on society, too. As for the closing of the financial year: "It all depends on the next few months," concluded the buyer. 

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