When you pass in front of the numerous shop windows of the new store open to Milan da Golden goose you don't think of a normal shoe shop: rather a laboratory with lots of machinery featured and craftsmen at work. The new space, in the heart of Brera, is called Forward Store with which Golden Goose experimented with a new format that was replicated in 5 other locations including New York and Dubai: extending the life cycle of the products in the assortment.
“Golden Goose has always promoted the artisan tradition supporting local artisans, tailors, artists” he said Silvio Campara, CEO of Golden Goose. ”This philosophy finds concreteness in this format. The activity of co-action between artisans Golden goose and the customers will become a key element in this mission. From sustainability to responsibility. From co-creation to co-action”. Golden Goose shoes, famous for their aged look and iconic star, they are all made in Italy and favored by celebrities such as singers Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift. Despite the deliberately simple appearance, the men's model "Ball Star Wishes" on the brand's website has a price tag of over 650 euros.
For the new format, spaces for Shoemaking and Tailoring have been created
The Milanese store, which extends over an area of 370 square meters, is a tribute to the historic headquarters of Golden Goose in Marghera. The floors are in rough concrete, the pillars in rough iron and the shelves in wood, where souvenirs of the brand also appear, collected during research trips around the world,
On one side of the space the area is clearly visible Shoemaker, which recalls the atmosphere of a craft workshop, complete with all the machinery necessary for the shoemaker's work and all the tools used for repair and customize the boots. A second area hosts the dressmaking with sewing and embroidery machines.
What can you do in the new Forward Store?
Let's forget about going into the shoe store and looking for a model among the usual columns of boxes. Here you come to do something else. With the service Remake Customers can design the own unique products, choosing from a wide range of decorations and finishes, collected in wonderful albums, to be applied to new or used items or with various treatments, such as the distressed effect, embroidery, messages or strictly hand-made drawings, to create exclusive “1OF1” items. “Customers stay in our stores on average quite long. Here it is like being in an amusement park, where you can choose every detail: from the labels, to the laces, to our star, picking one of the thousand proposals that we offer in our collections or using your own idea or your own writing” says the manager of the Milanese store. You can also request the service Made to Measure or you can bring them to the shop products of any brand that you want to mend, repair and fix according to your needs or you can still take advantage of the washing and sanitization services. "They are specialized craftsmen in the various sectors that deal with these services and here we also deal with their training” adds the manager.
Reselling and recycling: the long life of the product
The store is also intended as a physical platform for the resale of selected pieces signed Golden Goose, say those in charge. For this reason, there are two recycling baskets in collaboration with ReCircled, to promote the circular economy in fashion.
In one corner of the shop is displayed the work of Sidival Fila, Franciscan friar of Brazilian origins who works with recycled materials and used fabrics. In the center are instead arranged some recovered furniture combined with glass tables with blue metal legs in industrial style. The space also exhibits exclusive products, as the brand's first sustainable sneaker – Yatay Model 1B – and some pieces of the Venice M'Art collection of the Venice Venice Hotel in Venice. In the center of the room there is a wooden display dedicated to the Archive Collection.
“Raising awareness and sharing knowledge are key to safeguarding thelegacy of craftsmanship for future generations: these aspects have always been at the heart of our mission and have finally materialised with the Forward Store" Campara said recently in the limelight of the gossip pages for his love affair with Chiara Ferragni.
The listing project will return in 2025
Lo last June the company, purchased by the fund Permira Private Equity for 1,3 billion euros in 2020, had announced the stock market listing, also coming to decide the details. But then at the last second he changed my mind explaining that “the significant deterioration in market conditions following the European Parliament elections and the upcoming elections in France” have negatively impacted the performance of the luxury sector.
“We will return to thinking about the listing after the american elections. We'll talk about it again in 2025” Campara said at Paris Fashion Week, as reported MF, a couple of weeks ago. “It's like the the listing process had never stopped. We will return to sea when the storm is over. We will return to sailing when the conditions are better.”
In the first half of the year, turnover increased by 12%
The company in the first semester filed sales for 307 million euros, up 12%. “The first half of the year was exceptional,” Campara continued. “It is difficult to predict what the second half will be like. The fundamental thing is that growth was driven by a +18% of retail and from various geographies, except China and Korea which have slowed down for everyone. 50% of the turnover comes from America, it is a market very much in line with our tone of voice”. From a retail point of view, the company intends to open among the 30 to 35 new stores per year. “By the end of 2024 I want to reach 220 directly operated stores, for us it is a dogma, there are no franchises”.
Three new ambassadors in sport
Meanwhile, Golden Goose has strengthened its presence in the world of sport with the addition of three young athletes as Global Brand Ambassador: the US Olympic skateboarding champion Keegan Palmer, the Italian tennis player Matthew Arnaldi and the Spanish padel star Arturo Coello.
