Accessories brand Parfois plans European and Asian expansion

Founded in 1994, the Porto-based Parfois is one of the most successful brands in the accessories market. The company currently operates 900 stores across 65 countries, and aims to reach the mark of 1,000 stores by the end of the year. FashionUnited spoke to Susana Coerver, Parfois’ Director of Marketing and Communication about the brand’s expansion plans.

What is your expansion strategy?

We’ve entered several new markets over the past year, including the Netherlands, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Mauritania, Algeria, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Honduras, as well as joining Alibaba’s Tmall Global platform.

This year, expanding in Latin America is our most important goal. We plan on opening 11 more stores in Mexico and entering a new market in the region. We also plan to consolidate our presence in the countries where we already operate, and explore expansion possibilities in Eastern Europe and Asia.

But it’s not just about opening new stores. Making sure there are new items in store every week is a huge priority for us, as we aim to offer customers what they want right away. We’re also constantly working on improving the design and quality of our products.

We also focus on social media, striving to always improve our content. We work with a significant amount of influencers, whom we call “Parfois & Friends”.

Where does Parfois manufacture its products?

Most of them are made in India and China, but we also manufacture accessories in Cambodia, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan and Turkey.

What are your future projects in Europe?

Portugal and Spain represent more than half of Parfois’ revenue. Spain is by far the biggest market, both in terms of sales and points of sale. We have a strong presence in the large cities, so now we aim to expand in smaller municipalities.

France and Italy are part of our action plan. We currently operate 70 shops in France, and 40 shops in Italy, of which three are new shops in Milan. We’ve recently opened new stores in Madrid and Amsterdam as well.

Any new product categories in the pipeline this year?

Yes, we’re venturing into apparel. But the clothes will serve as a backdrop for our accessories, which remain the core of our business. We’ve also recently introduced silver and stainless steel jewelry in our shops.

What was your sales volume in 2017 and what are your sales estimates for 2018?

We closed FY 2017 with a total of 306 million euros in sales, and we expect sales to grow by 20 percent this year.

This article was originally published in French at FashionUnited.fr. Translated by Marjorie Van Elven.

Photos: courtesy of Parfois