“CelioClub has not gained enough awareness”
Children will mature and that is what CelioClub will do too: once Celio’s citywear brand, it will now go its own course as a proper brand. It will focus on 30 to 40 year old men, while Celio focuses on 20 to 35 year old men. CelioClub will also position itself in a higher brand segment. “Our prices start where Celio’s stop”, general manager Thomas Camille told FashionMag.
“Celio has not gained enough awareness. The goal is to operate as an independent and autonomous brand, with our own brand territory and our own world. Even though both brands have remained separate in the past, they will now go their own way.”
CelioClub already has 65 own stores in France, while it also has a dozen shop-in-shops in Celio stores. CelioClub also has a few stores in Belgium and two in Morocco. Affiliate chain Celio has some 1,000 stores worldwide.
Own web shop and twice the number of boutiques
A brand new store at the Carrefour de l’Odéon last month was the signal for both chains to move away from each other. It was the first with a new CelioClub formula: no black-tinted windows, but dark-blue and several references to Parisian flats and New York lofts.
The first 10 stores should be fully transformed by March 2015, to mimic the Parisian flagship store. From January 2015, fans can also visit CelioClub’s new web shop. Up until now, they were forced to visit Celio’s web shop.
Manager Thomas Camille is very ambitious: he sees possibilities to “double the number of stores”, particularly in city centres and in certain shopping centres. “The owners know where we want to go and are charmed by our evolution”, he said.
