The fashion company Yerse opens a new stage with the promotion of its network of its own stores and a brand repositioning. Founded in 1964 in Sabadell by Lluís Generó, the second generation of the family has decided to go one step further and take advantage of the positive inertia in sales of recent years. “We are coming from a good stage, with double-digit annual growth and profits,” comment Mariona Generó and Carles Penas, co-CEOs of Yerse.
Last year, the company had a turnover of 17 million euros, 14% more, with the same commercial perimeter, and by 2024 they expect to reach 20 million euros. The plan for new openings will play a crucial role in increasing income, which includes the recent flagship on Rambla Catalunya, designed by the architect and interior designer Isern Serra, and which will serve as a model to change the image of all its establishments, for which They will invest 1.5 million in two years. The goal is to open one more business this year and another two in 2025 if they find the right locations. “It took us more than two years to find the perfect location on Rambla Catalunya,” they give as an example of the difficulty of entering premium commercial hubs, such as the center of Barcelona. The company now has eight of its own stores, 21 corners in El Corte Inglés and 1,200 points of sale in all of its markets.
Exportation represents another of the levers on which Yerse will support its new strategic plan. Foreign sales already account for 42% of the total, with France and Italy as the main markets. “We can gain share in the countries in which we already have a presence and we also plan to enter South Korea and Latin America,” explain the CEOs.
They will finance the new plan with their own resources to maintain a low debt ratio, as has always been customary in this company. “We want to maintain family ownership and in fact the third generation is already preparing to join,” says Generó, who also serves as creative director.
In parallel, they are working to expand the target customer base, which has evolved rapidly in a short time. Traditionally, Yerse had focused on women between 40 and 60 years of age, but its group of buyers has expanded, both in the young and adult age groups. “Now mothers and daughters come to our stores,” says Generó, who is committed to offering a wide range of sizes to adapt to different morphologies. Their goal: to dress women of any age and with any body type.