August 31, 202061sketches of upcoming projects to give his fans a window into
the design. Last week he posted a detail of a wheel from that
MercedesSUV.Shoppers,hesays,needtobeclosetothecre-
ativeprocess.“That’sthemodernattributeoffashion.Maybe
if it’snolongermysterious,theconsumer can understand the
ethos of the designer.”
Home base remains Off-White, the fashion label he started
in2012.Lastyear,U.K.-basedFarfetchLtd.acquiredthe
brand’sparent,MilaneselicensingcompanyNewGuards
Group,for$675million in a deal that also netted the publicly
traded luxury retailer companies such as Palm Angels and
Heron Preston. Farfetch CEO José Neves said at the time that
he’d scored a “creative tastemaker.”
Off-White’s top executive, Andrea Grilli, who’s known
Abloh since 2012, says the designer has an aura of unpredict-
ability that lures people into perpetually wondering what he’s
up to next.
That’s not to say that Abloh is unstable or kooky. Rather,
Grilli sees him as feverishly data-driven, trying to bridge a
long-held divide between creative and business. “Virgil talksto
everysinglelevelofseniority,”Grillisays.“Helikestoabsorb.”
He’llneedto.Off-Whiteis lookingtoexpandintoa billion-
dollarrevenuebrandoverthenext 10 years, says Grilli, who
declined to share current revenue numbers. To do this, Abloh
will need to alter the business model, and his designs will have
to stretch into new product categories.
Over the next three years, management wants Off-White
to expand its e-commerce revenue to be 30% of the busi-
ness, while also skewing more female, and have women’s
clothing account for 40% of sales.
While Abloh is helping Louis Vuitton maintain its domi-
nance, he’s also positioning his Off-White label to enter the
hallmark areas a typical fashion brand such as Louis Vuitton
would play in. “Handbags, shoes, fragrance,” Abloh says.
“Those are all segments that I will grow into.”
The brand has been selling more handbags lately, but it’s
plates, towels, and other home goods that are seen as the
next big revenue generator. Grilli says there’s a new collec-
tion on the way, set to be introduced this fall. There’s also
talk of getting into cosmetics.
It’s an old formula for such a visionary mind, and all
these products face a long road back to normalcy—a sudden
reality that Louis Vuitton and its boss know too well. But for
LVMH, there’s reason for hope as the business remains fun-
damentallysound.Executivessawnascentsignsofa luxury
revivalinJune,justintimetoseala $16billiondealtobuy
U.S.jewelerTiffany& Co.
Ever hopeful, Abloh hasn’tgiven up on the retail
experience either. One week after the Shanghai show, he
opened a new Off-White flagship store in the Miami Design
District. (He hasn’t seen it in person yet.) He’s also open-
ing a new female-focused Off-White store in London this
fall. And he’ll put on another Louis Vuitton show in Tokyo
on Sept. 2. “To me, as a creative,” he says, “it’s a time to
show resilience.” <BW>LVMH
-37.8%
TOTAL REVENUE
2ND QUARTER 2019
€12.54B
2ND QUARTER 2020
€7.80B
KERING
-43.5%
TOTAL REVENUE
2ND QUARTER 2019
€3.85B
2ND QUARTER 2020
€2.18B
HERMES
-41.3%
TOTAL REVENUE
2ND QUARTER 2019
€1.67B
2ND QUARTER 2020
€982.51M