Modern Fashion: Manfred and Peter Erlacher of Chervò On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today
An Interview With Candice Georgiadice
Make your brand recognizable (Peter). It is the search for beauty, harmony and refinement that guides us in carrying out our activity, thinking and looking at what surrounds us and inspires us: Italy and the Mediterranean, with its colors, its climate, its nature, its history, its flavors and its joy of living. I have so many sources of inspiration that I do not need to look at what other brands or competitors do or, even worse, what retailers demand, for creating our collections. Obviously, there are certain general fashion trends and I keep our collections updated to those trends. Sometimes I have questions with my brother who is driven by a more commercial and marketing business concept, who asks me to design something specific. I listen, but I always refuse to copy anybody. I am inspired by what surrounds me, ensuring the strong personality that is attributed to our creations.
Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?
In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Manfred and Peter Erlacher of Chervò.
In 1982, brothers Manfred and Peter Erlacher established the Chervò sportswear brand. Initially established as a skiing brand, in the early nineties it revolutionized the way of dressing on the golf course- no longer traditional attire of yesteryear. A more casual fashion, combining all-Italian style with highly technical fabrics. Since then, Chervò has remained true to its original, unconventional character, becoming the symbol of chic-tech fashion.
Today, Chervò is present in more than 30 countries around the world. As one of Europe’s leading sportswear brands, as well as one of the most prestigious European sportswear brands in the USA, Japan, China and Korea.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
Manfred and Peter: We were born in a small village in the heart of the scenic Italian Alps in a middle-class family that allowed us to share without particular restrictions the life of all other boys our age. Mountain sport activities were the core of our interest and particularly downhill skiing. Peter had a special talent and joined the Italian ski team first as a competitor and subsequently as a trainer.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
Peter: In those years sport alone was not sufficient for making a living. Because of my passion for sports, I started selling, with a certain success, initially as a sales agent, and later as an importer of some mountain sport related products and convinced Manfred to leave his quarrying business to incorporate a joint company, the direct predecessor of the present Chervò.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Manfred: Peter had very innovative ideas concerning products that needed good marketing materials. As the business mind behind the newly formed company, I was aware that we could not afford professional people for the photography of our products, therefore, I decided that Peter would be the model, while I would be the photographer. The commercial result was positive, so for the following shooting the team was increased to three members, one of our handsome cousins as the model, Peter switching to photography while my role was just driving the car. In any case we learned a big lesson for future years, an innovative product may speak for itself, but without appropriate marketing it does not go very far.
You are a successful business leader. Which three-character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Peter: Our vision that we like to call Chic/Tech, is very simple and based on three pivots: a) Functional/performance products b), Italian Style c) Mediterranean soul. When I was designing my first ski range in the first half of the 80’s, I observed that, while until then every skier was imitating the products worn by professional skiers, i.e. technical products that were quite boring from a fashion perspective, a new generation of brands, mainly from Switzerland and Germany offered, with considerable success, louder and more fashionable clothing, colorful, with bold prints, color-blocks and wider fits, more suitable to the new skiers that considered skiing as a recreational sport activity, rather than a performance sport. Those new designs, however, were not always meeting the requirements of mountain weather or ease of movement in an activity that had its own necessities. As a former competition skier, I understood the technical implications while appreciating the newer more informal attitude toward the sport and I thought that those two aspects should have not necessarily been in conflict. This was the very beginning of the Chic/Tech story marking my constant quest for the most innovative functional materials and constructions, inspired by the Italian refined style, rooted into a brand reflecting the solar attitude and joy of living of the Mediterranean countries. We reached our 40thanniversary, society has changed, technology advanced, but constant loyalty to the three-character traits allowed a constant rejuvenation of the brand and of its image.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Manfred: When we started the golf wear line in the early 90’s, products available were not very technical and mostly inspired by Scottish or British looks. Introducing our Chic/Tech vision of highly technical functional materials that we had pioneered in ski wear with an Italian style, marked quite a revolution with a product that stood out from anything else on the market. Today most of the brands pretend to use technical materials and have fashionable looks, but we are still at the forefront of this concept, without imitating anybody.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?
Manfred: Growth is vital for any company, if you do not grow, decline and eventually failure is inevitable, but also unplanned fast growth can lead to problems. I still remember when, literally in tears, I had to rip up a large order from a Japanese client because we did not have the infrastructure or the finances for producing it. Many brands experiencing instant success for a number of favorable circumstances may suffer a sudden decline if unable to fully understand and reproduce the reasons for their success. I believe therefore in a steady growth around a sound vision and consistency of values.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?
Peter: Winning companies in fashion, disregarding the kind of product or style, are those oriented to the high quality of their products by establishing reliable relations with their suppliers, motivating and engaging their employees, and listening to their customers for long-term loyalty. From the technological side I consider 3D design a real breakthrough for the industry, drastically shortening product development lead-times and greatly facilitating communications within the supply chain.
Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?
Manfred: While we cannot change the world, besides having adopted a formal ethical code, we strive to entertain fair relations with all our stakeholders and bring happiness to our consumer by creating beautiful, well-made and lasting products.
Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?
Manfred: We are committed to follow socially responsible sourcing practices, expected of a leading prestigious brand. We count on our business partners to do the same including respect of labor and employment rights of all employees, minimization of the impact on the environment, provision of a safe and healthy workplace, and promotion of the health and well-being of all employees.
Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?
Peter: Unfortunately, the fashion industry as a whole has quite a heavy environmental footprint. Important but only limited measures can be taken by individual companies. We are striving to do our part by self-producing part of our energy requirement with renewable sources, testing and using bio-based materials, prioritizing environmentally sensible suppliers, and limiting the use of plastic but we are well aware that no easy fix is in sight. Therefore, the lifetime of products is essential. Since we have always been producing products with the highest quality standards of the golf wear industry and we have a reputation for very long-lasting products, we could not be more in agreement with the opinion that product duration is the single most effective measure in the short term for making fashion more environmentally friendly. A longer duration means an immediate corresponding cutting of pollution, carbon emission, and use of resources. Even if highly durable items may be costly, even without considering the higher satisfaction that they provide, the cost per use will result in a much more economical item than that of a non-lasting product.
Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need to Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.
Manfred and Peter:
- Have a vision that can stand the test of time (Peter)
When I decided to design my first ski outfit, I wanted to fill a gap in the market designing a deep snow one-piece suit. People daring out of the beaten slopes, besides possessing excellent skills, represented a new breed of skiers expressing a new ski lifestyle with a younger and louder dress code, compared to the people that they had left on the groomed pistes. For gaining their attention my clothes had to be at the same time both technically advanced and more fashion daring. The “Chic Tech” vision was born, and this same vision was applied a few years later, with considerable success, to golf wear. The constant quest for the most performing shapes and innovative technical fabrics combined with stylish colors and prints lead the company to become one of the most admired golf clothing brands in more than 40 countries worldwide. Since innovation is a never-ending process and fashion evolves constantly the Chic Tech vision is a guarantee of constant rejuvenation for standing the test of the time and for making products that are not only performing on the golf course but are perfect for any occasion not requiring formal clothing.
2. Make your brand recognizable (Peter). It is the search for beauty, harmony and refinement that guides us in carrying out our activity, thinking and looking at what surrounds us and inspires us: Italy and the Mediterranean, with its colors, its climate, its nature, its history, its flavors and its joy of living. I have so many sources of inspiration that I do not need to look at what other brands or competitors do or, even worse, what retailers demand, for creating our collections. Obviously, there are certain general fashion trends and I keep our collections updated to those trends. Sometimes I have questions with my brother who is driven by a more commercial and marketing business concept, who asks me to design something specific. I listen, but I always refuse to copy anybody. I am inspired by what surrounds me, ensuring the strong personality that is attributed to our creations.
3. Know your strengths and weaknesses for deciding how to compete (Manfred)
We do not own any manufacturing facility and, as a relatively small company, we have no competitive edge in big volume manufacturing. Our strengths are in product development, we have excellent relations with fabric manufacturers with which we jointly develop innovative materials, we can rely on a strong distribution network, managed either directly or in cooperation with international distributors and have built a system of suppliers with which we have created strong ties. These features make us chase innovation and quality rather than look for volume.
4. Create and retain a motivated and loyal management team and staff (Manfred)
We are definitely a company with a strong character. This means that you either love it or it may not be easy to connect and interact with the team. Our overall employment turnover is very low, and we have many instances of people having shared their whole or a substantial part of their professional career with Chervò. During the celebration of our 40th anniversary, a considerable number of people were given special recognitions for having spent more than 20 years with us. The secret of this is recruiting people that we feel share our passion and are willing to do things well because they love what they do. We value skills and past experience, but we put a particular emphasis on the understanding of our values and on the motivation to be part of the team. The atmosphere at the headquarters is very positive and collaborative. We are not obsessed with productivity, but we perform well because we like our work.
5. Do not be afraid of prices, but set them reasonably, according to your strengths and positioning (Manfred)
We are not designing our products on Mars. Peter and I are passionate golfers and we understand what golfers may find desirable. We try to anticipate what they may need and like and we strive to be efficient in manufacturing and delivering those products. We are very proud to mention a very high degree of loyalty both among consumers and the trade. In a number of European countries our product vision is shared by the vast majority of golfers leading Chervò to be the leading brand in terms of volumes. Where the market is more sensitive to prices and we are not leaders or have just small market shares we enjoy in any case a very high reputation and loyalty, just for the qualities, values and durability of our products, not certainly prices. Prices are a fair consequence of how we do things.
Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?
Manfred: Fashion is not a self-contained business, but probably one of the most evident mirrors of the evolution of the society. Therefore, it is not possible to anticipate changes in fashion without a view or hope on the future. Many powerful, opposing forces are presently shaping the world such as globalism/ sovereignism, multilateralism/clash of powers, and the necessity of limiting the use of resources/development of new technologies. It is not yet clear which forces shall eventually prevail but people in the whole world are usually taking their personal stance on such issues. Fashion cannot solve those dilemmas but shall rather respond to change in terms of sourcing and logistics policies, priorities in international growth, global strategy versus localization policies, environment-friendly product development. Every strong brand should have a view on the future for strengthening its position with the customers sharing the same values and hopes.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Modern Fashion: Manfred and Peter Erlacher of Chervò On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.