Adolfo Domínguez renews old shops in Portugal, says CEO

A executive president (CEO) of the fashion brand Adolfo Domínguez states, in an interview with Lusa, that the bet this year in Portugal goes through the renovation of the oldest stores and that ponders a new area in Lisbon.

Adriana Domínguez, the founder's eldest daughter, took the executive leadership in 2017 and, in early October, attended the first parade of the Spanish brand in Portugal, a market where she has been for 32 years.

In an interview with Lusa, the CEO talks about the impact of the war on the Middle East, inflation and stresses that “Portugal is undoubtedly the most important market outside Spain throughout Europe.”.

In the Portuguese market, “the current bet is not so much in the opening of new stores, I believe it is more about renewing the older units, since we have very good shops, such as Cascais, Saldanha and [Avenida da] Liberdade”, points out.

On the other hand, the brand is “considering a new area in Lisbon for a possible opening”, but it is a “possibility” because there is no space yet. “We’ll keep looking,” he says.

“ Renovating a store practically amounts to creating a new one, since it is necessary to dismantle everything and install everything from scratch. Therefore, we have several renovations of this type planned ", says.

This year, the brand opened a unit in Braga and is making renovations in Lisbon and Porto. In the latter, the store has been expanded and now also offers men's fashion.

The Portuguese market has “bringed a very positive surprise in recent years,” he points out, referring that it is similar to Spanish and the brand “is quite known”.

Therefore, “we have been able to intensify our activity and invest in Portugal, since the return has been excellent. It has been a market of great success in recent years”, says Adriana Domínguez.

In Spain and Portugal, “an extremely positive point is the renewal of the customer profile, we are receiving many young people” and “the shops are having excellent performance”, he says.

This is a year “when we are very focused on consolidating our markets — both internationally and in Spain, which remains a very important market for us,” the CEO continues.

This year the Spanish fashion brand Adolfo Domínguez “for 50 years, which means that in the markets where we have been for a long time and where we already have a solid presence, it is necessary to promote a renewal and a new breath”.

Therefore, “I would say that this is a year when we are not so focused on sales volume, our focus is more focused on positioning as a premium brand” and for greater control over the issue of discounts and similar practices.

Currently, the best markets are Latin America and the Middle East, although the latter has been impacted by war in the region.

“ We saw a break in the first months of the war, but I believe that since the end of the summer people are returning,” he says.

That is, “we are seeing most of our stores in the region recovering. Not so much those that depend on tourism, but Dubai is very large, it has many residential areas, and we have shops in these areas,” so the situation “is practically returning to normal.”.

In addition, “we have stores in Lebanon that are going very well, we opened two last year and we will open one more,” he said.

Adriana Domínguez points out that “wages are not keeping pace with rising inflation”, which leads to “more weighted, less impulsive” consumption behavior.

Adolfo Domínguez counts “with a more stable clientele, precisely because it is not a brand oriented to impulse consumption,” the CEO points out.

Adriana Domínguez says that the performance of the brand in Portugal and Spain is very similar in Tokyo or Mexico.

“ We realize that the best-selling products in Lisbon are the same ones that lead sales in Tokyo and Mexico, it is extraordinary ", highlights.

At the moment, “we are in negotiations [...] to enter a new market, but I cannot reveal what it is”.

Each year, the brand opens between eight and 20 stores. It is currently present in 54 countries and has more than 375 points of sale.