LUISAVIAROMA
Luisaviaroma: luxury e-commerce.
The beginnings: the Luisa Boutique
In the late 1800s Luisa Jaquin, a French designer of hats opened the Luisaviaroma boutique in Paris. At that time the ladies changed their hats at least three times a day: in the morning, at tea time and in the evening. In 1929, her daughter Olga married Lido Panconesi, Italian entrepreneur, and together they decided to open a new boutique in Florence, in Via Roma. Little by little, he decided to expand the business by opening a clothing factory.
While still in college, their grandson Andrea Panconesi became the visual merchandiser and during a trip to Paris in 1968, he met the Japanese designer Kenzō Takada and became the first store in Europe to bring Kenzo by displaying the collection presenting the Japanese designer’s autumn / winter 1968-69 collection. Andrea Panconesi also became a buyer for brands such as Balenciaga, Balmain, Givenchy, and Saint Laurent.
In the 80s, thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of Andrea Panconesi, Westuff was born. This was the first magazine that talk about art, fashion and music. The exclusive editorial staff is composed by Stefano Tonchi, head of the fashion section, Maria Luisa Frisa, head of the art section, Bruno Casini, head of the music section.
The artist Kyle Bradfield, also collaborates with the magazine and also with the shop – which in the meantime has become Luisaviaroma. Its profound aesthetic sense and its particular craftsmanship gave the shop windows a visionary imprint, making them the most popular in the world.
Luisaviaroma e-commerce
The boutique enjoyed great success with customers from all over the world, so in 1999 Luisaviaroma launched the Luisaviaroma.com e-commerce platform. Among the first luxury e-commerce companies in the world, luisaviaroma.com meets the needs of customers who, despite being abroad, require the same services and level of quality for which the Florentine shop was known.
In 2005, under the guidance of the marketing manager Felice Limosani, the store began to organize events with many international brands such as Nokia, Puma, Adidas, Missoni, Lacoste, Levi’s and Coca-Cola, trying to offer customers not only products but real experiences. The site is highly interactive, with a high emotional involvement to maximize customers’ satisfaction.
In 2008, the physical store was also redesigned. The windows of the boutique are renovated with eco-friendly materials and based on the conservation of energy resources.
10 years of Luisaviaroma: Firenze4ever… it’s magic!
For the 10th anniversary of the store, with the “FIRENZE4EVER … IT’S MAGIC!” the most influential fashion bloggers in the world were invited to create their multi-brand looks and to make photo shoots, together with professional photographers, make-up artists and hair stylists.
The format was very successful to be repeated twice a year at the beginning of the season, just before Pitti Immagine and the Milan and Paris fashion weeks.
In 2011, the Luisaviaroma e-commerce lands in China and has become available in 9 languages.
The results of the new millenium
Both the store and the site are still 100% family-run with Andrea Panconesi, grandson of the founder, as CEO and Annagreta Panconesi, his daughter, as Creative Director.
The offer of the site has expanded considerably, also introducing accessories for men, women and children, household items and beauty products as well as clothing and shoes. Luisaviaroma is the official dealer of luxury brands such as Off-White, JW Anderson, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Valentino, Loewe, Jacquemus and many others. The official headquarters of the site is located in Florence, while they reside at the Milan office press and stylist.
Luisaviaroma closed 2017 with 53 million unique users and an exponential growth since 2008, when 1.5 million were registered. 90% of sales are recorded online, of which 15% is generated only in the United States, followed by Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, China and France.
In addition, it offers a series of exclusive services and offers various initiatives both online and offline such as the Buy It First, the Luxury Club, lo Sneakers Club, LVR Privilege and LVR Editions.
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ANNEMIE VERBEKE
