FIRST PERSON

5 Questions for…

Fabrizio Gamberini, CEO, Marcolin USA

marcolin USA CEO Fabrizio Gamberini has a history of success in retail. Before joining Marcolin USA in 2008 as CEO, he oversaw the Americas retail business at Nike, opening numerous branded stores. Gamberini heads up Marcolin USA, which is on a growth trajectory with a lineup of new brands and the company’s recent purchase of Viva International Group.

eb: What do you think the Kering situation means, overall, for the industry?

fg: We are observing what is happening in the industry with lots of interest but we are focused on what we are doing internally. We have enough on our plate with our acquisition. The only comments we made is that our acquisition of Viva was made at the perfect time. However, Marcolin has received reassurance directly from the Kering Group that the Balenciaga brand is not part of their internalization project.

eb: What’s the latest on the integration of Marcolin USA and Viva International?

fg: Things are moving and very fast. We are almost done with organization. We are working now on the investments we made in New Jersey (new SAP platform and highly automated DC). By the year end we will be ready and fully combined. In the next year, our main focus is to leverage on the major brand portfolio offering we can provide.

There are also certain synergies that will take place—we don’t have to have two showrooms and at trade shows we need one booth, not two. We also have relocated our product development team from Miami to our New Jersey offices—it’s very important that all the people in the process can look at things together and work together.

[After this interview, Marcolin announced that it would close its Scottsdale, AZ, office and move all operations to the its headquarters in New Jersey (formerly the Viva International Group headquarters).]

eb: How is the merger impacting ECPs?

fg: We see our acquisition of Viva as a benefit to eyecare professionals that are trying to reduce their vendor base. Now, we have one of the largest directly employed sales forces—over 200 people in the U.S.—that can serve customers better and with many brands at different price points.

eb: What is your brand introduction strategy moving forward?

fg: If you look backward, you’ll see that we’re constantly working to enhance and balance our brands portfolio in order to offer a wide range of selection to our customers and consumers (from diffusion, trendy, fashion, and premium brands). Right now, we have Ermenegildo Zegna launching in January 2015 and Emilio Pucci at next Mido. We also have a few others that we are working on. We are really serious about growth.

eb: What can ECPs expect for their future relationship with Marcolin USA?

fg: We now offer a wide range of brands to fill a wide range of needs. And, we are also focused on helping ECPs to improve their businesses in the right way. This year, we are offering the ability to preview and order collections in advance to strategic accounts. We call it “Silmo events,” and we are hosting them in 28 cities. This is a much more retail-oriented way to think about selling eyewear products with forward-looking strategy and value added for ECPs.