How Italian Swimwear Brand Calzedonia Is Using Influencers to Make a Big Splash in the U.S.

Calzedonia is looking to make big splash in the U.S. market, and it is perceptively using social media influencers to do so. Last week, the  swimwear and hosiery company hosted 180 influencers from 40 countries across the globe at their headquarters in Verona, Italy for a larger-than-life runway presentation to showcase its latest collection of bikinis and maillots.

Representing the American contingent were former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo, fashion personality Louise Roe and blogger Charlotte Groeneveld of The Fashion Guitar. Collectively, all three have a little over 3.6 million followers who subscribe to their respective styles and are inclined to purchase whatever these presumed authorities recommend. To varying degrees, the reach that each of these women have is sizable enough for brands to pay them top dollar for endorsements and posts on their social platforms.

Indeed, the way fashion—nay, content in general—is communicated has drastically changed in the past decade. The once revered fashion glossies and television promos, where companies spent all their advertising dollars, have become less prevalent in this digital age. The masses are now getting their news and entertainment through their phones and tablets, making the return on investment of media buys in print, billboards and broadcast much less substantial. Also, the idea of what makes a purveyor—a person that directs commerce—has broadened in scope. The higher-than-thou magazine editors and show producers have lost sway to those with personal-ish stories to tell on platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Now anyone with a mobile device can become an influencer if they can muster enough of a following and active engagement. And it appears that Calzedonia (along with every brand practically) has caught on to this change in consumer habits, especially in the U.S. market.

Founded in Verona in 1986 by Sandro Veronesi, Calzedonia, which is a subsidiary of the Calzedonia Group, has amassed a strong reputation and grown exponentially in European markets. It offers a vast selection of reasonably priced beachwear, leggings and socks, becoming a leader in these categories continent-wide. And as of last year, it is broadening its purview into the U.S., aiming to compete with local and better-known companies. Task with accomplishing this stiff enterprise is Marcello Veronesi, Sandro’s son.

As the U.S. CEO, the younger Veronesi is perceptive to the impact of influencers and how they have become the most efficient way to target a fashion-obsessed audience and grow awareness for the brand. He already soaked his feet in U.S waters last year when Intimissimi, the intimates branch of the Calzedonia Group, opened its flagship store on New York’s Fifth Avenue, inviting a mix of editors, Hollywood folk and, of course, influencers. For Calzedonia, however, he is focusing more on the latter, bringing them to his home turf so they can share the experience with their hefty, like-minded fan base.

Here, Veronesi elaborates further on how fashion communication has changed, what makes the right influencer and how he is using them to succeed stateside.

How has the fashion industry evolved in the past 10 years?

It’s a bit complicated. For sure, it’s becoming faster. Everyone is talking about see-now, buy-now. There are less seasonal, fixed collections for fall and winter. As with many brands, we still follow this seasonal model, but we are developing a new structure that we call flash productions. We’re going to start presenting new collections and articles every month.

What sets Calzedonia apart from other more established American brands?

First of all, we are new. As I was saying, every week we have a new delivery and are renovating faster. The crucial point, I would say, is that we are a specialized brand. Under our umbrella, we have several brands: Intimissimi, Calzedonia, Falconeri and so on. With these specific brands, we are curating niche products. We have more than 300 items in our family, but for our show, there were just bikinis. For Calzedonia, we only do beachwear, tights and leggings. But within this category, we try to have every single characteristic from A to Z. For other companies, swimwear is only 5% of their business. We focus on specialized brands and specialized shops.

Other U.S. brands don’t have that?

Other brands that succeed in the U.S. are huge. They do sneakers, hats—everything. We tend to scale our products. Like our shop on Fifth Avenue, we simplify and try not to give our customers the idea that they can find whatever, from jeans to jackets. It’s not everything. We have one category. But in that one category, we have 500 different styles. We’re also Italian-made, so that also makes us different.

How are you courting consumers in this digital age?

Now everyone is speaking about digital. That’s why we changed the format of our show and made it more exciting. Like every brand, we are now focused on digital influencers and digital media. That’s not news. Maybe five to 10 hears ago, you’d see a static front row with magazine editors. Now, the young generation takes inspiration from influencers. Everything is going to be multi-channel—online and offline are going to integrated. We, as a company, try to be everywhere. It’s like our distribution: we have a physical retail store but we are also pushing our e-commerce channel. I think that they help each other. Though, our core business, around 80%, is still retail.

Do you think American consumers are more digitally-focused than those in other markets?

As Europeans, in regards to new technology, we’re following what’s happening in the U.S. All the new tools are invented in Silicon Valley. In the U.S., this new form of communication is more important. If you look at the main global influencers, they are either based in the U.S. or China.

How would you describe a fashion influencer?

An influencer is different for every person. But generally speaking, it is someone that you are inspired by. It’s someone that you like to be similar to. Everyone, especially the younger generation, lives with phones in their hands and constantly checks on people they want to be. For example, I follow footballers. Anyone can influence someone else. So we try to understand our customer and who is the right influencer for Calzedonia.

So what are qualities that make the right influencer for your brand?

We try to do partnerships with women, as they are 99% of our business. They are young, dynamic and real. We try to be close to real people and not to those who seem disingenuous or are recommending products that they won’t normally wear. We are also trying to be very specific within every country. Every market has its own, say, rule of engagement.

So what are the rules for the U.S.? Are looking more at an influencer’s followers or their active engagement?

It really depends. There are macro influencers, who are very big and have power to influence a broad range of people. On the other side, there are micro influencers. The best scenario for us is to combine both. We know that micro influencers, even if they have a smaller following, have a higher level of engagement. With them, we are trying to operate more locally in certain markets like New York, Boston or Washington. Meanwhile, it’s also important to build up our national and international presence with macro influencers. For example, Olivia Culpo is our United States ambassador for the brand. Then, we are targeting local markets with The Fashion Guitar, who is very New York-based. This is our strategy.

How has your marketing strategy changed? When did you start allocating a budget for influencers?

This started two to three ago. We only entered the U.S. market last year, and are in the learning stages. The development of this world is still unclear. We like to try new ways to communicate. That’s why, in some countries, we’re shifting budgets from traditional media to new ones. And in other countries, we have not yet identified the best partner is this digital media world. We’re not taking just anyone who has a lot of followers. We try to build long-term relationships and not just for two years.

So have you shied away from traditional media buys?

We are still doing traditional, offline channels. In some countries, we have given smaller budgets to influencer activations, but we haven’t shifted 100%. As I said before, we’re focusing on multi-channels.

Do you still get foot traffic and sales from traditional media?

Yes, I think so. In the United States, starting in mid-April, we’re putting up billboards on the street, subways and in malls of our bikini and beachwear collection.

You’re not doing things small and steady I take it.

The U.S. is huge so we need to do things to be seen.

So why did you decide to have a fashion show in Verona and host a number of influencers from across the globe?

We hosted 180 influencers from 40 countries. And thanks to their profiles on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, they are able to involve their followers by participating in the show. Doing this is more impactful, as it touches people in real time.

Do influencers impact your sales? Are they driving traffic to your e-commerce site and do you see those conversions?

It really depends on each country. In the U.S., we’re still new and are starting this project in a couple of months. But I can tell you that in Italy, with a Chiara Ferragni collaboration we started last year, we saw many interactions from some articles of clothing that she was wearing. People were asking, both in store and online, about specific tights and swimwear. That said, it is very hard to measure the exact numbers. But as a big company, we should be everywhere that counts.

How do you see the brand growing in the digital space in the next five years?

Honestly, we don’t look that long ahead. But I can tell you that it is gaining steam, and that we’re going to involve ourselves more in this field with creative collaborations. More or less, in all the countries where we are present, we have local ambassadors. But because the digital world is growing and moving very fast, we have to review the strategy and change points yearly.

Follow Barry Samaha on Twitter (@barry_samaha) and Instagram (@barrysamaha).