"Embrace change, surround yourself with the right people and embrace mistakes", the keys to dealing with industry transformation according to Marcella Wartenbergh
The CEO of AWWG (Pepe Jeans, Hackett and Façonnable) delivered a session at ISEM Fashion Business School
Photo /Marcella Wartenbergh, CEO of AWWG, as of September 2019.
18 | 05 | 2021
The students of the Advanced Program in Fashion Business Management (PADEM) shared a lunch meeting with Marcella Wartenbergh, CEO of AWWG, the group that owns Pepe Jeans, Hackett and Façonnable. The executive, who arrived at the group in September 2019, shared with the students all the details of the deep transformation plan she is carrying out in the company with the aim of adapting it to the changes facing the sector.
"The fashion world had already changed in recent years, but with COVID, this whole transformation has been accelerated," said Marcella Wartenbergh, who confessed that her keys to a successful transformation process are "embracing change, surrounding yourself with the right people and accepting mistakes." She also admitted that, because of the pandemic, she has had to rethink her entire plan several times: "We have to have an 'accordion' mentality: today you decide one thing, but tomorrow it may be different.
But what is that plan? "I call it a RESET strategy, that is, turn off and turn on again. This plan includes 5 basic pillars: "The brand, which is the greatest value we have as a group; the product, which is what the customer expects from us; an efficient distribution strategy; the digitalization of the company at all levels; and people, putting special care in employee care".
More than 25 years in the fashion industry
Marcella Wartenbergh is considered one of the most powerful women in the fashion industry in her native Mexico. Her impressive résumé includes renowned international brands from different countries in Europe and the U.S. Prior to joining the Pepe Jeans group, Wartenbergh served as global director of merchandising and licensing for Calvin Klein for 3 years in New York.
He previously worked for the PVH Group and Karl Lagerfeld at their headquarters in Amsterdam. But his beginnings in the fashion industry date back to 1996, when he switched from the automotive industry to the offices of Tommy Hilfiger, where he held various positions of responsibility for more than 15 years.