Replay goes global with Paris Saint-Germain football club

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jan 20, 2020

Replay loves football. The Italian denim label owned by the Fashion Box group marked its connection with the sport late last week at the Parc de Princes football ground in Paris, where it staged a glam event, with celebrities like Lorena Rae, Shanina Shaik and Baptiste Giabiconi in attendance, to present a first, 11-item collaboration with the Paris Saint-Germain football club.

It was the start of a four-year partnership between PSG and Replay. “With Nike, we have a partnership for sport apparel, but there was an opportunity that seemed to us complementary in the denim domain,” said Marc Armstrong, in charge of commercial partnerships at PSG. “With Replay, we have found a partner that shares our vision of how to develop a fashion range,” he added.

This isn't Replay’s first foray in the world of football. In 2012, the Italian label became the casualwear supplier to Spanish giant FC Barcelona and one of its stars, Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr. Now, Replay has dropped a line of denim jackets, light trench coats, denim shirts and of course jeans (a stretch model in ‘smoking blue’ and a hyperflex five-pocket model) sporting the PSG logo, and Neymar Jr is in the picture again.

“[Neymar Jr] facilitated the connection between Replay and PSG,” said Matteo Sinigaglia, CEO of Fashion Box, interviewed inside the PSG dressing room. “For us, football is a very interesting choice. It is a sport that is popular and well-known worldwide. This has clearly enabled us to get in touch with different types of clients,” he added.

The impact on Replay’s sales is hard to measure exactly. The PSG collection will be distributed via Replay and PSG monobrand stores, and via a selection of multibrand distributors for the two brands. It is already available at Replay’s Parisian flagship on rue Etienne Marcel.

For Replay, teaming up with a football club with international ambitions is also a way of boosting visibility, as the Italian label continues to expand. “It's certainly an extra asset when trying to enter new markets,” said Sinigaglia. “But we’re doing an enormous amount of work to create collections that feature sustainable innovations. We are very demanding with our products, something that makes us stand out. And this enables us to grow,” he added.

Sinigaglia said that revenue in 2019 was €252 million, as opposed to just under €238 million a year earlier. Above all, he indicated that EBITDA grew by 30% over last year’s figure of €21.7 million. He attributed this increase to a better performance in existing stores and also to an expansion of the distribution network.

Last year, Replay signed a joint-venture agreement with Reliance Brands, to develop its presence on the Indian market, and with Fashion Company, to distribute its collections in East Europe. The label’s South American footprint also broadened, and Replay is planning to grow further in the region in 2020, with eight new stores on the cards in Mexico. It has also signed a joint-venture agreement with a partner in South-East Asia. In all of these regions, the reputation of Neymar and of PSG are likely to bolster Replay’s results.