MALIBU, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 03: Co-Host & President of Mytheresa for North America Heather ... [+]
Mytheresa and Bruno Cucinelli invited about 80 guests to Lake Orta in western Italy for a two day special event. Attendees enjoyed dinner by Michelin three star chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo at Villa Crespi, along with a boat tour around Isola di San Giulio, and a picnic in the garden of the privately owned Palazzo Gemelli. The occasion was the pre-launch of the Brunello Cucinelli high-summer collection exclusively available on Mytheresea starting on May 8th.
It illustrates how Michael Kliger, president and CEO of Mytheresa, a German luxury brand, remains bullish at a time when other luxury brands are faltering.
According to Vogue’s Laure Guilbault, the star-studded event was attended by Gossip Girl alumni Kelly Rutherford and Ed Westwick, British actress Amy Jackson, model Jasmine Tookes, as well as top clients and editors. The choice of Lake Orta was very deliberate as the beautiful setting is “often overlooked,” as Michael Kliger noted before dinner. He also stressed the “quiet luxury’ of the setting was a perfect complement to the positioning for which the fashion brand has become synonymous.
While many of the luxury brands are currently struggling, on=line Mytheresa is doing well.
Lavishing attention on top clients is one of the ingredients of Kliger’s recipe for brand success. Mytheresa hosts about seven weekend events like this every year. However, Vogue notes, that this time the backdrop is notably different.
In addition, the Vogue article cites curation of the assortment and careful attention to cost control as other distinguishing features of Kliger’s brand management strategy.
The report is that Mytheresa is on a very good track. That is in contrast to what we see going on with other leading luxury brands who have seen declining sales during the last six months. Kliger reported an increase of +5% in the period ended December 30. To further reassure the market, Mytheresa published preliminary figures with sales increasing by +15% to 18%.
Kliger joined Mytheresa in 2015 after Neiman Marcus acquired the company. Mytheresa started to trade on the NYSE in 2021. Under Kliger’s direction, sales rose from $130 million in 2014 to €767 ($713 million) in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023. Projections are that by June 2025 the company will have passed $1 billion in sales.
In addition to the very high profile weekends, Mytheresa hosts several other private client events throughout the year. The client weekends are not always transactional, but rather management-created occasions to wear the clothes.
POSTSCRIPT: The Munich, Germany company is doing well. We tell the Mytheresa story here in order to show that there are new ways to present high fashion to customers and energize a business. The luxury look will continue to be in demand, and I think Mytheresa is a winner.
