Abstract
Harmont & Blaine is one of the most dynamic and successful companies in the Italian fashion industry, with about 100 mono-brand stores throughout the world. Born as a small family business in Caivano, a small city in the Naples province, the company has achieved successful competitive performance in less than 10 years despite competing with international fashion giants. The brand enjoys international recognition as being synonymous with top quality casualwear. The company’s philosophy reinterprets the Italian sartorial tradition through creative combinations of different colors, fibers, and patterns, in order to offer a high quality total look solution to its customers. Over the years, Harmont & Blaine has invested various resources in the building of a brand identity consistent with this philosophy. This case explains how the building of a strong brand identity requires the management of visual identity, brand promise, brand personality, and brand communication.
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Notes
- 1.
The Neapolitan school was founded in 1351 with the foundation of the Brotherhood of Tailors and reached its peak in the period during which Naples was the capital of the two Sicilies, as well as a socioeconomic and fashion center reference point rivalling London and Paris. In 1611, 607 tailors in Naples were approved to do the work and recognized by The Brotherhood. In 1887, a Neapolitan tailor wrote the treatise “The Art of the cut,” receiving international recognition. To date, the Neapolitan tailoring tradition has become renowned all over the world, as demonstrated by a recent article published by the Financial Times (January 27, 2015): “If Italy is a study in contrasts, Naples and its tailors provide one of the most striking. While the southern city is racked by decline and urban decay, some of its streets in the grip of organised crime, the fortunes of its tailors—whose hand-cut, hand sewn suits fit with the city’s languor and regal beauty — are rising” (Sanderson, 2015).
- 2.
The D & B rating expresses a synthetic and predictive ranking of reliability on the overall situation of the company, with a 1 to 4 scale (1 = the highest rating of reliability of the company).
- 3.
Since 2005, AGB Company produces for Harmont & Blaine’s junior line through an exclusive subcontractor’s agreement.
- 4.
In 2016, two new subsidiaries will be established, one in the United States and the other in Spain, responsible for the activities of four boutiques (Madrid, Barcelona, Puerto Banus, and Malaga), 15 corners in El Corte Ingles, and 3/4 outlets (Interview with Domenico Menniti, 2015).
- 5.
In Campania, the three main Italian textile districts are located in:1)San Giuseppe Vesuviano (the largest textile district of South Italy, with more than 4,000 companies specializing in the production of clothing for men, women, and children, as well as fabrics, curtains, etc.),2) Sant’Agata dei Goti-Casapulla (focused on the production of jackets, slacks, knitwear, shirts, and leather clothing), and 3) San Marco dei Cavoti (specializing in some phases of production, such as the cutting of fabrics and packaging of the garments).
- 6.
Marinella is a Naples-based third-generation company with over 100 years of history producing tailored, high-quality, and handmade ties that are sold through six exclusive boutiques (located in Naples, Milan, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Lugano) and several corner shops located in Europe, Asia (Isetan-Japan) and America (New York and Washington, United States). Among the most famous customers of the company are all the United States Presidents from Kennedy to Bill Clinton, as well as Re Juan Carlos and Prince Alberto II of Monaco.
- 7.
Kiton produces mainly high-quality, custom-tailored, and handmade dresses, which require 25 to 50 hours of work. All products are sold through boutiques in Europe (Paris, London, Barcelona, Vienna), Asia (Moscow, Singapore, Tokyo), the United States (Miami, New York, San Francisco, Houston), and the Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi).
- 8.
The Harmont & Blaine café revenue in 2013 amounted to €555,000 (up 121 % compared to €250,703 for 2012) (Harmont & Blaine, 2013). However, at present the firm has decided to concentrate its efforts exclusively on its core business.
- 9.
For the project “Global Cities” by the end of 2016, the company has planned openings in cities like London, New York, Tokyo, and Singapore (Interview with Domenico Menniti, 2015).
- 10.
For example, during the Moscow store inauguration, all the shop windows emphasized the cultural link between Italy and Russia through the representation of three classic dancers in the colors of the Russian flag, a sport in which both countries have always excelled.
- 11.
In this way the company controls the flow of unsold stock, monitors the brand appeal, and increases short-term liquidity (Interview with Domenico Menniti, 2015).
- 12.
The industry’s profitability declined. In 2013, the average ROI fell by 1.5 %, compared to the previous year (Fashion and Luxury Insight Report—SDA Bocconi, 2015).
- 13.
The four founders are brothers by their mother, who was married to Sir Montefusco as her second husband.
- 14.
Founded in Nice, France in 1950, Façonnable is an international company that distributes its products in Europe, North and South America, Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Façonnable is a high-end brand renowned worldwide for its timeless collections for men and women.
- 15.
The usurpation of the brand is widespread in China. When Italian companies enter the Chinese market, they often find that some Chinese company has already filed the same brand. China applies the principle of “first to file,” for which the trade mark right is given to the subject who submitted the request first. There are cases in which Chinese entrepreneurs have acquired the ownership of Italian trademarks, taking advantage of the reputation or trying to sell them to the Italian owner. These “shadow companies” are mainly located in Hong Kong, where the constitution paperwork and company registration are particularly rapid and where the local trademark office does not perform background searches or checks on lists of filed trademarks. Italian companies generally have no alternative but to pay. Harmont & Blaine instead has chosen the path of litigation, by resorting to the Chinese Department of Appeal of the Patent Office, which upheld the claim and assigned the exclusive right to the brand Harmont & Blaine. The decision is now final (Interview with Domenico Menniti, 2016).
- 16.
Informal agreements concern all moments in which well-known national and international brand lovers contribute to enhance brand image as they participate in important moments of the firm’s life, such as the opening of a new store, the promotion of a new collection, the organization of a fashion event, or simply the purchase of Harmont & Blaine products. Among these international celebrities are actors such as Sylvester Stallone, Antony Delon, Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Massimiliano Rosolino (swimmer and Italian Olympic champion).
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Colurcio, M., Melia, M. (2017). Harmont & Blaine: A Successful Dachshund to Build the Values and Brand Identity. In: Jin, B., Cedrola, E. (eds) Fashion Branding and Communication. Palgrave Studies in Practice: Global Fashion Brand Management . Palgrave Pivot, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52343-3_2
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