"Finance starts from design."

In 2009, Pablo López started a men's tailoring business in Córdoba. Today Silbon has 70 points of sale -in Spain and France-, 600 employees and a turnover of more than 30 million euros. For this reason, Lopez has been in charge of inaugurating the 2023-2024 course in The Hive, the club of emerging fashion brands of ISEM Fashion Business School.

The colloquium with Silbon's CEO kicks off a two-year period in which 19 companies - Adeba Madrid, An&Lee, Ana Cristina PD, Arbusá Joyeras, Baltei Studio, Birinit Petit, Camacha, Clooui, Culto 1105, Dragon Girl, Mimush, Muscari, Nait Nait, Olibati, Opere Plumari, Suma Cruz, Vanylu, Wasacs and Zubi - will share teachers, knowledge, mentoring and support.

The Hive (La colmena) is an ISEM project that was born in 2019 to help emerging fashion brands with more growth potential in the Spanish market. Since then, this club has helped push companies such as Mimoki, Bleis, Lonbali, Figara, Laura Vecino, Jo-Sephine Clothing or Paris 64. The members of The Hive have in common having been born in the digital environment thanks to the creative intuition of its founders, the spirit of growth that pushes them and a need for professionalization in their processes, which is where the Business School brings its expertise.

It is very enriching to have the opportunity to listen to professors and professionals who have developed their careers in different areas of the fashion industry," explains Elena Zubizarreta, from Zubi Design. In addition, for me, the relationship that is created between all the brands in The Hive is key: there are synergies, there is a lot of transparency and a desire to share information. Both things encourage me to continue innovating and moving forward with Zubi".

Pablo López shared with the new additions to The Hive the keys to Silbon's exponential growth. In fashion companies, management and process optimization weigh heavily on the day, however, they have to coexist with the creative part: "Finances start from the design".

The entrepreneur encouraged attendees to open new lines of business with caution and to have vision when assessing the profitability of each one of them. "It is impossible to measure what services the physical store provides to the online store and the other way around and what profitability each of them has. In the case of Silbon, the digital channel has 30% of our sales share, however, 90% of digital sales occur in cities with physical stores."

In the coming months, the teams of the brands that are part of The Hive will meet professionals and teachers who will talk to them about Operations, Sales Channels, Finance, Marketing, Sustainability... so that, in the near future, their companies will also be a benchmark for creativity and business in the Spanish fashion market.