Menswear brands wishing to make inroads in Saudi Arabia had better come to market with soft fabrics and forgiving fits.
“There’s a heavy emphasis on comfort in this region and we see this in the numbers,” Michael Kliger, chief executive officer of Mytheresa, told the WWD Global Fashion Summit in Riyadh.
The German retail executive delved into the evolution of Saudi customers, describing them as globally minded, “very well educated about fashion,” accustomed to high service standards, and oriented toward newness and originality, especially for special occasions, of which there are many.
“You want to be sure you have some unique pieces,” Kliger said during a conversation with James Fallon, editorial director of WWD and Fairchild Media Group, highlighting the active social lives of its Saudi customers. “What does impact the consumption here is the lifestyle, the culture, the occasions, many family affairs, having large weddings — that drives certain types of categories and products that we sell more.”
Beyond that, Saudi consumers are up to speed on trends and emerging brands and designers, given their “high affinity to social media,” reflected in the high penetration of digital devices in the kingdom.
“A designer in Colombia can become a hit here, a designer from Lebanon can become a hit here,” he said. “Our top 30 brands are almost the same across all markets, although maybe not in the same order.”
Mytheresa has hosted several events in Saudi Arabia in recent years, enlisting its clients as ambassadors. “Word-of-mouth and trust is very valued in this region,” he explained. “Having existing customers of ours inviting their friends into their homes and organizing events like that has proven to be quite helpful for us to build a reputation.”
Asked about the turmoil in luxury e-commerce, with once-mighty players including Matches and Farfetch recently hitting the skids, Kliger sounded sanguine about the sector’s long-term validity, despite the recent slowdown in luxury consumption worldwide.
“Luxury e-commerce exists because there are consumers who find this way of shopping the most convenient, and the most inspirational,” he said. “E-commerce is growing because of consumer need. It’s not technology, it’s not us, it’s the consumer. And if we listen and work hard to please, to inspire, to create emotions, I don’t see a challenge.”
That said, he acknowledged the threat of disruptive start-ups always looms.
“I always say to my team, ‘Don’t worry about our competitors. We know them. They do something, we do it differently. That’s fine.’ What we should worry about is the ones we don’t see yet — the three people in a garage in Palo Alto or in a garage in Shenzhen right now creating something that may give us a headache in five years.”
Kliger stressed the need to pay close attention to its customers, not only following data about spending behavior. “All comments are read, and every comment, whether negative or positive, can trigger an idea,” he said. “We serve emotions. Our consumers look for emotional benefits, and we need to work hard to please them, and to not annoy them… Luxury needs to inspire, and digital can do it.”
Yet Kliger acknowledged the “limitation of being digital,” which is why Mytheresa organizes — with its brand partners — special, multiday destination experiences, which typically drive sales before and after the event.
In September 2022, for example, Mytheresa brought a group of VIP customers to Brunello Cucinelli’s headquarters in Solomeo, Italy.
“The emotions run high after these events, and revenues follow,” he said. “You need to create something that allows them to come home with a story to tell. Humans are storytellers.
“To really strengthen the emotional relationship with our clients… it’s so important to have physical moments.”
Fallon interjected and asked about such lavish junkets, “Isn’t it also about impressing your friends?”
“That’s also an emotion,” Kliger responded with a chuckle.
Asked about the rationale for Mytheresa entering new categories of business, such as homewares and jewelry, Kliger cited customer need.
“We always said we only want to go there if it’s serving our customer. We’re not thinking, ‘Oh, this will add another amount of revenue.’ Revenue is the outcome,” he said. “The starting point is, ‘Is our consumer looking for this?’”
Asked what might drive the business in the future, as the quiet luxury trend has recently, Kliger said he’s looking forward to the spring 2025 shows in September, which will feature the debut Valentino collection by Alessandro Michele, and the second Chloé runway show by its creative director Chemena Kamali.
“We need to bring ideas, we need to create excitement,” he stressed.