The recent London Fashion Week saw the debut of Luc Goidadin as head of Smythson’s stylitic department. The leather goods brand, founded 132 years ago in London, has a heritage that is essentially based on the production of leather covers for notebooks (paper ones, not laptops and such), diaries and travel journals. Goidadin was chosen by the British brand to “freshen the image of a brand that makes its collections in Italy, which adds enthusiasm to the brand’s sales”. The last data available, regarding 2017, shows that Smythson reported revenue for 37 million UK pounds, and a loss of 3 million. Goidadin spent 16 years inside Burberry, where he was called in 2001 by Burberry’s ceo at the time, Christopher Bailey. “I tried to replicate the British essence, sophistication, and humor, that Frank Smythson, founder of the brand, used to include in his time. If a brand builds such a great history, we must promote it and take advantage of it, otherwise we can open a new brand”, stated the Swiss stylists, who decided to enrich the offering of paper goods (made in England with Italian leather), with lively colors and marquetry. The brand’s new collections for Fall 2019 aim at: a larger target, maintaining prices constant (from 55 UK pounds for a diary to 28,000 for an exotic jewelry box), and developing new lines of women’s handbags that are priced between 1,200 and 1,800 UK pounds, with the goal of finding a new equilibrium with men’s handbags, since they are currently offering a wider range of models.
Smythson: after 132 years, the London-based brand, trusts in Luc Goidadin (ex-Burberry) and made-in-Italy, to make the brand shine once more
