By 2025, Zadig & Voltaire claims it will double its activities in China and grow its worldwide store count by 36%, expand online sales to 30% of total income, and guarantee that 100% of its goods are traceable and made with certified critical raw ingredients.
President Rémy Baume, who joins the French high-end company in January 2020, has outlined the mission. Baume previously served as CEO of Kidiliz Group, the organization responsible for Kenzo, Paul Smith, and Jean-Paul Gaultier’s children’s creations, and before that, he was employed by Groupe Arnault, the parent business of the Group-LVMH.
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A brief history
Thierry Gillier created Zadig & Voltaire in 1997. It now has 400 shops across 30 countries, generates revenues of about €320 million, and accounts for about 22% of total sales via digital channels, up from 15% before Covid. The company intends to double pre-Covid digital sales to reach over 25% by 2025 and to establish an additional 122 outlets in France and other countries before that date.
As seen by its new store on London’s South Molton Street, it is aiming for bigger, more prominently situated locations that will allow the company to demonstrate its whole brand concept. Due to the Covid issue, more apartments with more variable contracts are now accessible, and the company plans to capitalize on this.
What next?
Thanks to multiple partnerships with prominent architects and the frequent inclusion of modern artworks, ZADIG & VOLTAIRE boutiques have always been a reflection of the company’s artistic vision. The chance to further refresh the brand’s artistic message exists throughout this phase of expansion.
The brand’s laid-back approach, which promotes individual style expression, has benefited from the Covid problem as well. This will also be crucial to the brand’s growth plan, especially in China, where a lot of attention will be paid in the upcoming years, coupled with a desire to further promote revenue in the important area of accessories.
Current situation
At the moment, Alibaba’s TMall and 16 boutiques in China are both home to Zadig & Voltaire. It had a long-standing joint venture in China with the IT Group, but it has since established its own business under the name “SDIGÉ” and recruited a CEO for China. The job has been filled by Jean Lahirle, who has 25 years of experience developing luxury retail brands in Asia. The goal is to boost its visibility on Chinese social media and e-commerce sites, as well as quickly grow its supply chain to 60 retail locations by 2025.
For the previous ten years, their Chinese customers, who are highly informed about France, have valued the message conveyed by ZADIG&VOLTAIRE, which is based on a more laid-back, carefree, and approachable approach to luxury. By growing its network of boutiques and digital channels, the company hopes to increase the size of its audience through more visible communications and simpler access to its products.
What are the key pillars?
Additionally, the company has revealed a brand-new sustainable strategy called Voltaire, which is built on four major pillars: created with respect; saving energy and materials; pollution levels and temperature in processes; and collaborative commitment.
As part of its commitments, the company has pledged to use only responsibly sourced materials for all of its garments and packaging, reduce its carbon footprint by the Paris Agreements by 2025, and create a variety of certified and traceable products for use throughout the distribution chain. In the upcoming days, Rémy Baume will provide additional commentary on this subject in the industry. fashion.
Concentration of Zadig&Voltaire
The goal of Zadig&Voltaire, which was founded in 1997, has been to investigate duality. However, the Parisian brand combines and balances rather than competing. She blends styles, regions, and periods without making any distinctions to produce one work. This dichotomy can be seen in the choosing of their employees as well as at the helm of Zadig&Voltaire, where CEO and co-founder Thierry Gillier collaborates with artistic director Cecilia Bönström.
Policy of Zadig&Voltaire
Due to its commitment to equality, which is a fundamental component of its internal policies, the brand received a score of 98/100 on the French gender equality rating for the fiscal year 2020–2021. a result that Zadig & Voltaire works to enhance daily.
The 98/100 score for 2020/2021 is broken down as follows: The indicators for the pay gap are 38/40, the raise rate gap is 20/20, the advancement rate gap is 15, the comeback from maternal leave indication is 15, and the indicator for the ten highest salaries is 10.
Shop dresses and much more
Women are dressed by Zadig & Voltaire with one goal in mind: to release them from limitations and unleash their style. No clothing that won’t restrict them, box them up, or compress them: Each item in Zadig&Voltaire’s ready-to-wear collection is made to go with ladies both throughout the day and at night. Frequently, all it needs to transform its character is an accent. A simple handbag or pair of shoes can transform a working girl’s appearance into that of a party queen!
The House understands how to break off from trends so that each pair of dress pants, sweater, pair of jeans or pants, and dress shirt can serve as the inspiration for a unique appearance. The “lifestyle” universe created by Zadig & Voltaire does not enforce a certain aesthetic; rather, it breathes in the singularity that free spirits seek, allowing each individual to take risks and design the looks that best suit them.
Therefore, this mix of comfort to the touch, wearability, and unmistakable style is the product’s strength. This combination makes the “Zadig quickdraw,” which is stylish and carefree, instantly recognizable, and provides ladies the freedom to adopt the main theme of the House.
Find ready-to-wear apparel too!
The new Zadig&Voltaire women’s ready-to-wear line is a tribute to freedom—the freedom to be oneself and in sync with the outside world. In a constant dance between permanence and dialectic materialism, new things coexist with enduring items. The House offers a variety of materials with unmatched suppleness for its women’s attire.
As a symbol of the stylish and carefree style that Zadig&Voltaire pioneered, cashmere is and will always be at the core of the collections; the sweater is like a flag of its uniqueness.
