The Journey of SUMParts

I always get asked how I managed to go from working just one day a week on the retail floor, to becoming CEO of a luxury fashion brand. So here is that story and a few lessons learnt along the way.

Casual Beginnings

It all began in Sydney, Australia at the HUGO BOSS flagship store on King St as a casual working one day a week.  It was my first fashion job and somehow, I managed to achieve great sales on the first day. I attended every training possible after hours and tried to learn from all the senior staff and tailors as much as possible. In a short time, I was moved to the multi-brand store as an assistant manager where with a new energy, above and beyond service, and tenacity we doubled the business within a year. The best piece of advice in those days I recall was, “If you want to keep running first, you need to think you are running second“

National Sales Manager Role

After the initial retail success, I was given a great opportunity to move to the HUGO BOSS head office for Australia and New Zealand as a National Sales Manager, and one year later I added Training and Development to my responsibilities. Identifying gaps and capitalising on opportunities allowed me to grow my areas of responsibility significantly. This period was another leap in my development and was the first time I collaborated with the global headquarter teams at HUGO BOSS.

Asia Pacific: Expansion and Dynamism 

After four years at HUGO BOSS AU/NZ head office, I was given the amazing opportunity to move to Hong Kong and head the Wholesale, Travel Retail, and Customer Service Teams for Asia Pacific at HUGO BOSS. This was an exciting time where I had the chance to get to know the diversity and dynamism of Asia. It was thrilling to negotiate entry into new markets in Southeast Asia and expand key markets like Greater China and South Korea. Negotiating and opening 45 stores during this time was, to say the least, a productive period.

The main success factor here was to always treat Franchise and Wholesale like it was retail. This was novel at the time for a wholesale driven business. I learnt that continued relationship building is key to pushing forward reform and help stakeholders embrace change. Change is a constant, and embracing it is imperative to influencing the outcome.

I am always grateful to HUGO BOSS for the great opportunities and personal development they afforded me over many years. 

Embracing CÉLINE: A Journey into Directly Operated Business

A few years later, I was eager to move into a directly operated business, which brought me to the amazing world of Phoebe Philo’s CÉLINE. I took on the role of Managing Director for Mainland China with a mission to turn around the business which had been struggling for a few years. The CEO at the time, Marco Gobbetti asked me why I wanted to become a Managing Director, I answered: “I want to bring all the parts together with a unified message, which I believe creates a bigger impact than individuals only working on their part. I can only do that if I lead all the parts” (or simply, real-world synergies). 

I managed to turn around the negative trend in a very short time and eventually tripled the business. We also achieved the third highest KPIs in LVMH group with only LOUIS VUITTON and Dior being ahead of us. The business and culture that we built during this time was very special; numerous innovations on how to work internally and project externally became best practice. 

Working cross-department, truly communicating, and creating a culture of positive pressure is not just a slogan but a daily effort.

Having a dedicated and agile team became super important when CELINE went through a major change under the creative direction of Hedi Slimane. The ability to market consistently and with a high level of intensity was crucial to getting the new aesthetic across to new and existing clients.

Strong landlord relationships became even more vital as we had to increase the store network substantially. Before leaving CELINE I had negotiated and signed contracts to double the network, which contributed to the ongoing success of the brand. 

CEO of DIESEL APAC: A Unique Turnaround Assignment

After CELINE, I had a short period as CEO of DIESEL APAC, another turnaround assignment. To make a big splash, we developed a one-of-a-kind DIESEL HUB in Shanghai – a store that also had a bar and a restaurant. We also incorporated a boxing ring and an old-school arcade entertainment. It was also a great location to do live streaming and artistic collaborations. Rebuilding the team and ensuring a confident customer first approach was key to kick off the turnaround.

Valentino's Revival: Navigating a Competitive Environment

Then I moved to VALENTINO as CEO of Greater China. Valentino has always been an exceptionally beautiful and elegant brand; however, in the hyper-competitive China market it had not kept up with its competitors. Leveraging previous experience can only get you so far, you need to create and solve with a forward-looking vision. Here again, I was on a mission to assemble a great team, that in a short time put Valentino back on the map. Through one-of-a-kind collection launches, special exhibitions, and creative celebrity activation, the brand garnered widespread coverage and attention. 

When you can’t outspend your competition, you have to be more creative and daring to stand out.

Real Estate Challenges: A Critical Brand Vision

Securing great real-estate locations is becoming ever increasingly challenging for small to midsize brands like Valentino, especially those not part of the larger groups. It was vital to reconnect the landlords to the brand’s vision and uniqueness. Communication is an overused word but an under-actioned one. Communicating the real equity of a brand internally and externally is vital to its continued development. Using my landlord relationships, I was able to rescue and expand tier-one locations and enter key gap markets for Valentino. I was extremely proud of the achievements of the Valentino team in Greater China, whether it was elevating the positioning, the organisational change, or the network expansion; the parts built to a bigger sum.

SUMParts: A Platform for Growth Strategies and Success Stories

And now SUMParts which I founded as a consultancy and platform to share success stories, lessons learned, and strategies with businesses eager to grow and evolve. My journey is woven with examples of overcoming business challenges, adapting to market environments, and a relentless pursuit of innovative ways to move teams and businesses forward.

I established SUMParts as a unique consultancy to share my knowledge and help cultivate brands in Australia and Globally. Influence, Imagination, Resilience and Innovation are key to always moving forward and avoid falling behind competitors. 

The aim is always to improve the parts to ensure the sums yield greater value for all stakeholders.

I invite you to explore the SUMParts journey on our website or by contacting me directly. I look forward to future conversations and collaborations.