3 minutes
Desigual sees exit of the exec behind the brand's renewed brand identity, Guillem Gallego
Guillem Gallego has put an end to his time at Desigual. Appointed head of marketing of the Spanish company in December 2018, Gallego, hailing from Nike, arrived at Desigual as a key signee and confidant of Desigual founder Thomas Meyer, who personally set his eyes on Gallego and his 15 years of experience at Nike.
At that time, Meyer had just bought back 10% of its capital from the French fund Eurazeo and was rushing to end his creative collaboration with creative director Jean-Paul Goude and to dismiss several members of the board in a gradual restructuring of its top management and centralization of power in the company. Gallego arrived amid turbulent times with a clear objective: to renew and reposition the brand.
"At the end of this month, I will close my chapter at Desigual as global chief marketing officer after a bit more than three years; time filled with great experiences and learnings," announced Gallego on his Linkedin profile. "The task was not particularly easy, and I feel very proud of the work done and the team I have formed and managed. The company has now a solid brand platform that can enable future growth," he added about his departure from the fashion company, effective April 30. The executive has not revealed his next post.
Under Gallego's leadership in the marketing department, Desigual created successful collaborations with artist Miranda Makaroff and Colombian designer Esteban Cortázar. Following Gallego's approach to communication, Meyer took the floor for the first time before the press to tell the story of the brand and explain why it needed to evolve in 2020. A few weeks after the intervention, the pandemic hit the company at a key moment in its transformation, when its repositioning and new brand strategy had only been underway for a little more than a year and a half. "Covid-19 came when we were about to make our biggest investment. We went through it with a lot of fear and action to be able to stop the shock and see where we stood afterwards," acknowledged the marketing manager in an interview with FashionNetwork.com last November.
Desigual, which was founded in 1984 in Barcelona, thanked Gallego "for his unwavering dedication and commitment, as well as his contribution to the launch of the new corporate identity and brand positioning, which has been a turning point.” The company presented the project of its renewed image at a grand event in June 2019. The visual and strategic change of direction included a revamped inverted logo and redefined products combined with creative collaborations aiming to rejuvenate its clientele.
"We wish him all the best in this new stage," the company added in a brief statement, detailing that it is currently in the process of selecting the person who will lead this department. "At the moment, we are finalizing the needs and characteristics of this position, taking into account the challenges we face in this new stage and the priorities of our business strategy," they said.
In its last financial year, Desigual managed to return to profit, after being in the red for the first time in its history, having recorded losses of 89 million euros in 2020. Meanwhile, the company's turnover increased by 3.4% to 371 million euros, but remained far from the sales figures prior to the pandemic, when the company led by Alberto Ojinaga posted 589 million euros. Its latest initiatives that have stood out the most are the launch of capsule collections with the founder of Libertine, Johnson Hartig, and with the Italian brand Stella Jean.
Copyright © 2024 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
