Sorli Supermarkets President Anna Sorli has launched a new business distinct from the family-owned food distribution business. The Catalan businesswoman has created her own clothing firm, Somia, and is finalizing the opening of a flagship store in one of the most exclusive shopping areas of Barcelona, ??on Rosselló street between Diagonal and Rambla Catalunya. It is a 200 m2 space that will open next week and that represents Anna Sorli’s great commitment to consolidate her brand and position herself in the textile sector.
“It is a very personal project with a goal that goes beyond fashion; it also has a social and environmental aspect, it is clothing with a soul”, describes Anna Sorli. With this bet she also recovers her initial vocation. She studied fashion design in Barcelona and had a foray into this field years ago. “Together with a fellow student, I launched a women’s shirt company,” she recalls. “We closed after a year and a half -she continues- she; we lacked patience, because businesses need time to materialize and get ahead.”
Anna Sorli put her vocation for design on hold for a while to dedicate herself fully to the distribution group founded by her grandfather Francesc Sorli in 1923 and later run by her father, Jordi Sorli. After assuming different responsibilities within the supermarket chain, she took the reins of the company in 2015, when she promoted a process of change and modernization.
“Now I’m going back to the origins,” says Anna Sorli, who combines her responsibility in the presidency of the family business with the promotion of her clothing brand based on lengthening her already intense working day. Her involvement in the new business is total: she is the sole owner of Somia and has financed the launch through her estate.
Both the fabric suppliers and the clothing workshops are located in Catalonia, two of which are linked to social foundations – one to the Fundació Nou Xamfrà, for inclusion with people with intellectual disabilities, and the other to the Fundació Ared, for the insertion of women in vulnerable situations. “It’s a way of betting on local production, with decent working conditions,” she says. Also to demonstrate, she adds, that business is not at odds with social responsibility. “The store has to be profitable and the clothes are of high quality; it will also be located in a premium area, with a very special concept and experience,” she stresses.
In addition to clothing, a corner of the Barcelona establishment will be dedicated to the sale of exclusive perfumery and handmade jewelry. With the opening of Barcelona, ??Somia will already have three points of sale (Sant Cugat del Vallès and Vilassar, in addition to e-commerce). The initial investment to prepare the stores in Barcelona and Sant Cugat has been 100,000 euros.
For now, Somia will be focused on women’s fashion. Anna Sorli plans to incorporate new product categories in the future, such as swimwear and scarves. She will now focus on consolidating the brand and making the Barcelona establishment work. “I don’t rule out the firm growing, but I want to do it safely and slowly; we’re not fast fashion,” she says. Her clothes, she notes, are made “to last.”
