French Connection has ventured into Italy through its first wholesale deal with a big Italian department store, and there are plans for further expansion.
French Connection product is displayed in a dedicated area of Rome's Jam shop - part of the La Rinascente department store business - that opened last week.
Previously, French Connection only had a few wholesale accounts with small, independent customers in Italy.
Operations director Neil Williams said the Italian market was important: 'We've been working on expanding the business in Italy. It is one of the three major European markets and suits our scope. But it is not easy. It is quite a splintered market.'
Two more French Connection areas will open in La Rinascente stores in Bergamo and Milan in February, with a further three planned for the second half of the financial year. Williams expects to have approximately 60 wholesale accounts in Italy within the next two years.
The venture comes on the back of other expansion in Europe, about 70 per cent of which is fuelled by wholesale and the rest via concessions.
Three more wholesale deals have been signed in Spain and there are plans to open more outlets in Germany, either franchises or own-managed shops.
'We're looking to open more standalone stores in Germany, depending on whether the right opportunities come up. It would have to be in the right location, at the right price,' said Williams.
At present, French Connection has four own-managed standalone stores in Europe - in Dublin, Cork, Copenhagen and Cologne.
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