It appears no part of the business was left untouched as Guess Inc. CEO Carlos Alberini and team worked on a “brand transformation” the executive said is showing signs of working.
“Our brand is enjoying very strong momentum,” Alberini said Thursday at the ICR Conference in Orlando, Fla. “To me—considering what’s happening in the market today, seeing the contraction that many markets have experienced as a result of the pandemic and everything else—to continue to see share gains, is very encouraging and exciting.”
The head of the Los Angeles denim company credited the company’s ability to innovate as key to the Guess brand transformation. It’s part of a five-year strategy to deliver global expansion and profit growth unveiled in 2019.
“We think that this is just the beginning of the repositioning, and when you think about what we touched with our brand innovation initiative, we touched almost every aspect of the business starting with the quality of the products—the taste, styling and all the fabrications that we are using are significantly upgraded from what the brand used to offer.”
Alberini rejoined Guess in 2019, following the departure of Victor Herrero. He previously served as president and COO of Guess from 2000 to 2010 before departing to lead Restoration Hardware as co-CEO and chair and CEO of Lucky Brand.
Building Brand Equity
Part of the strategy to breathe new life into the business began with a focus on creating what Alberini called a global product line. In other words, designing and developing across all 25 of Guess’s product categories intended for all markets.
“I think it was very ambitious to really go after that,” Alberini said. “And we have been able to do it very effectively.”
Guess worked to narrow its focus on three customer segments: the heritage consumer, Millennials and Generation Z.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t bashful in raising prices, a point Alberini said wasn’t just about making things more expensive, but an exercise in reinforcing brand equity.
“I think that was a great move because it has resulted in enhanced, full price selling,” the CEO. “And, as a result, the view and the perception of the customer when it comes to seeing the product, they see that the pricing is completely aligned with what you will expect for that particular product. And we do this with every single product in our collection.”
The company’s network of more than 1,000 stores globally will continue to see remodels. About 500 stores across Europe and North America have been refreshed. Guess estimates 80 percent of its doors will have been remodeled by the end of the year.
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