Mango completes accelerated expansion plan with Madrid opening

Spanish womenswear brand has invested a total of 600 million euros in the opening of 200 megastores since 2013, when it launched a wide-ranging revamp strategy. The transformation process has ended this week with the launch of a new flagship store in Serrano, Madrid.

“The opening marks the culmination of a process that began in 2013 to transfer Mango’s DNA to this store and 200 others which are spread all over the world. This store in Serrano has been highly anticipated because we struggled to find an iconic space in Madrid,” said Mango executive vice president Daniel Lopez at the media briefing.

The company is betting on a larger store format with a selling space of between 800 and 3,000 m2 and all or most of its lines stocked, as a way of improving the consumer experience.

Lopez said the clothing group has made an important effort over a short period of time to achieve its target of having 200 megastores. “We will continue at a more reasonable pace to develop this concept further with 60 to 70 openings a year,” he added.

The vice president highlighted Mango’s commitment to omnichannel and online/offline integration. “The customer has to feel and understand the DNA of the brand. We sell a fashion concept which can be found online, but in terms of experience, the physical store is at the centre of the customer experience”.

This doesn’t mean Mango has forgotten about e-commerce. “The goal of the company is for online sales to account for 20% of all revenue by 2020,” he revealed. In 2015, the e-commerce channel generated 243 million euros and accounted for 10.7% of total revenue.

Madrid will be at the same level of Paris and Barcelona

According to Daniel Lopez, the Serrano store allows Mango to “almost complete” its dream in Madrid as it adds to existing megastores on Orense, Gran Via and Goya. The programme will be fully completed by the end of this year or early 2018 when a 2,000-m2 flagship store opens on Preciados. “Our commitment to Madrid is important to us and with this store the city will reach the same level as Barcelona o Paris, because we had a historical deficit of stores here,” he said.

The executive added that the company’s commitment to fast-fashion, which is in the DNA of the brand, is working well, with stores receiving new designs every day thanks to its manufacturing facilities being in close proximity to its markets and a good supply chain.

Mango has invested 360 million euros in the construction of a new logistics centre in Barcelona, which is fully automated and exclusive for the brand. “It’s not about copying Inditex’s model, it’s about doing what our consumers want. It’s about being reactive.”

The clothing company, which cut profit by 96% in 2015, plans to continue growing in the international markets where it already has a presence. “We are not obsessed with entering new markets. We want to grow in Europe, put main market, as well as the Middle East, Russia, Southeast Asia and Latin America,” said Lopez, who added that the U.S. is not on the company’s agenda despite them already having a presence there.

As for launching an additional line such as homewares, the way rivals Inditex, Desigual and H&M have, the Spanish company remains cautious. “We haven’t considered it and home accessories line is not on our radar right now,” said Lopez.