Alberto Candiani & Simon Giuliani
Owner & Global Marketing Director Candiani Denim
Premium brands are finally building sustainable innovations
Candiani Denim was established in 1938 in a tiny town near Milano and is a family-run company ever since. In 75 years of experience the enterprise grew to become the world's finest and most sustainable denim mill creating the fabrics that gave birth to the premium denim industry. Owner Alberto Candiani and Global Marketing Director Simon Giuliani speak to Fibre2Fashion about premium denim, COVID-19 disruption, and sustainability.
What is the global market size of premium denim industry? Which countries/regions are the main markets?
It ranges between 200 and 250 million units if we consider “premium” a pair of jeans that costs over $200. Candiani owns roughly 15 per cent of this specific market share. We are mostly talking about North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China.
Over the years, what innovations have been incorporated in premium denim fabrics?
Back in the 90’s, when the whole premium jeans concept was born, the main innovation consisted in adding stretch to denims so that they could fit better, especially on women. Since then, premium has evolved into smoother denims with nice touch and hand-feel thanks to special fibres and finishings. In addition to these characteristics today’s premium brands are finally building sustainable innovations into their collections.
How have washing techniques evolved for treating denim garments?
Washing technologies have evolved hugely, especially in the last 20 years. The focus has broadened from building machines that allow to reduce water, chemicals and energy to include also workers’ safety. Wash technologies and fabric engineering have gone hand in hand stimulating and challenging innovations on both sides. A good example are Laser and Ozone technologies which have driven the creation of easy-fade fabrics.
Candiani Denim prides in the tag ‘Greenest textile company in the Blue World’. What makes the company’s production process so environmentally friendly?
Two very simple things—who we are and where we are located. Candiani is a fourth generation, family-owned business and the family still lives inside the mill compound. That should already say enough in terms of how much we care about living and working in a clean place. It is also the Candiani mentality, literally obsessed by precision, efficiency and respect towards the people and the environment. And the actual environment surrounding the mill is the other big factor. Candiani is located in the middle of a national nature reserve called Parco Del Ticino, between Milano and the Alps. The regulations and restrictions Candiani had to observe since our early days in order to produce within the nature reserve have certainly contributed to make us who we are.
Where do you source your raw materials from? What are the criteria for choosing suppliers?
In 80+ years of denim making we have fostered strong relations with traders, farmers and chemical suppliers. We have always researched the best quality ingredients and even put to work our R&D to support the development of new, enhanced materials together with our suppliers. Today our sourcing strategy focuses on two main aspects: bringing the suppliers closer to home in order to reduce the carbon footprint and perfecting traceability through a proprietary digital platform.
Where are your manufacturing units based? What is the volume of production?
Our production is fully based in Italy, specifically in Robecchetto Con Induno, where we produce roughly 20 million yards of denim per year.
Who are your customers? Do you also retail under the Candiani brand?
We started serving the “Big Three” in our early days, namely Levi’s, Lee and Wrangler. Through the years, our increasing passion for innovation moved our business organically into the premium and luxury segment, which today, includes the majority of our clients. We do not retail finished products under the Candiani brand as we have always believed that we should not compete with our clients. But as the fashion industry is going through a drastic change, we do not exclude that we could approach the B2C at some point.
In which countries/regions are Candiani products currently sold?
Globally, but mostly in North America and Europe.
Any plans for expansion of manufacturing capacity?
Not really, we are consolidating our business. Expansion would probably mean to move or to start a mill somewhere else, somewhere more competitive, and that is not what we are looking for. The brand Candiani will certainly find its own expansion.
Your company also provides premium service to develop customised products. What type of products are developed and how is the response?
The loyalty of our clients grants them certain benefits. One of them is a special attention in developing dedicated products. Our R&D creates brand specific assets which can focus on aesthetics, performance, sustainability features, wash recipes and others. Our marketing then translates the benefits of these dedicated developments into communication assets that the brand can directly build into their launch strategy. This service is certainly one of Candiani’s specialties and is immensely appreciated by our clients.
Italy was one of the worst-affected countries during the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020. How did it impact your company? Any learnings from the disruption?
Being the first one to be hit by the pandemic had certain disadvantages, but there were also advantages. We had to react and find solutions when everyone else was still evaluating if it could impact them. This approach helped us to keep our workers safe, production running as much as possible and to get out of the pandemic’s worst year with scratches but no broken bones. The pandemic accelerated the decay of many processes which were kept in place even if outdated and brought a new focus on optimisation, efficiency, and innovation. We took the opportunity to restructure and implement specific departments and procedures injecting digitalisation and technology.
What will be your advice to other denim manufacturers with respect to going sustainable in their production?
The first and hardest thing is that you have to unlearn what you’ve learned, meaning that you have to abandon the way you’ve been looking at things so far, define your new USP and plan your strategy to be always one step ahead of your clients in order to become a point of reference for them. Even if the competition is very high and everybody wants to be the most advanced in sustainable innovation be always honest and truthful if you want to go on the long run.
Published on: 31/01/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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