This week, a look at the new Brunello Cucinelli AI site, plus a breakdown of Prada’s earnings.
Luxury brands have not been keen to use AI chat formats out of fear that they won’t reflect their luxury positioning. Luxury fashion brand Brunello Cucinelli, however, has set a new benchmark by integrating AI into its operations with a customer-facing website focused on AI called Solomei.AI. The site was launched on July 16 with an event at a theater in Solomeo, Italy.
The website is fully compliant with accessibility regulations and will soon include voice commands to assist visually impaired users, plus it can answer queries in any language. Within the next two to three months, Solomei.AI will link to Brunello Cucinelli’s e-commerce site and will be able to personalize customer product selections and give style advice.
“Once the AI-driven e-commerce website is up and running, you may want to ask questions like, ‘Tonight, I have a cocktail party in Dallas. How can I mix and match these [items]? What advice can you give me?'” said founder Brunello Cucinelli on a July 31 call focused on the AI site launch. “Our focus is to have customer associates providing advice to customers for a party or any event in Los Angeles [or other locations with the help of the AI].”
At the moment, users can interact with the site by typing their queries into an inquiry box. In turn, they receive AI-generated answers and additional content such as outfit inspiration photos. The AI is restricted from answering questions unrelated to the brand or Brunello Cucinelli himself — for example, it won’t provide trend forecasts or political views. The AI-generated content is complemented by hand-sketched illustrations and music by musician Piero Salvatori, orchestrated by AI.
“The most complicated part of the job was to create the ‘guardians’ to protect the website from questions not related to the topics the platform was created for,” Cucinelli said.
Over the last few weeks, the platform has handled between 10,000 and 12,000 queries daily, according to founder Brunello Cucinelli.
The idea for the AI started with the company library that opened to all customers in Solomeo in 2021 but is still unfinished. “We had this idea in 2021 when the COVID pandemic seemed to have come to a close, and we asked ourselves, ‘What are we going to do [to commemorate] our next 10 years or 20 years?’” said Cucinelli. “We gathered five young people: one mathematician, one philosopher, two engineers and one artist, and the idea was to do something together for our library. We have already gathered 70,000 books, but it will take another two years before the whole building is completely ready [to access via the AI site],” Cucinelli said.
The AI was initially conceived as a universal library for the brand’s global customers and staff. The platform now serves as a repository of content about the brand and its founder. “Some of the information that we fed into the platform was information about Brunello, about my life and about Cucinelli as a company producing lifestyle products,” Cucinelli added.
Beyond enhancing customer interaction, Brunello Cucinelli is also using AI in the brand’s production processes, which take place in Italy. “I don’t think it will ever replace the hands of human beings, but it will help us do away with very repetitive tasks and maybe speed up things a bit,” Cucinelli said.
During a July 11 second-quarter earnings call, the company reported revenues of €620 billion ($682 billion), up 14% from the previous year.
Cucinelli emphasized the brand’s commitment to “gentle luxury,” fair pricing and balanced profits on the earnings call. The brand’s CEO, Luca Lisandroni, highlighted the geographic distribution of turnover, with 36% in North America, 36% in Europe and 28% in Asia, reflecting balanced growth across regions. Co-CEO Riccardo Stefanelli discussed significant investments in expanding the Solomeo factory and new production facilities in Italy to support future growth.
“[Inclusive of] communication, production and advice provided for outfits for specific parties, it’s a 360-degree cooperation that we’re trying to clinch with AI,” said Cucinelli.
Prada Earnings: Miu Miu Bags Viral Impact Amidst Industry Subcontracting Concerns
During its July 30 earnings call, Prada reported a robust performance with net revenues of €2.55 billion ($2.805 billion) for its second-quarter 2024 earnings, marking a 17% increase from the same quarter last year. A significant highlight was the exceptional growth of Miu Miu, which saw a 93% increase in retail sales during the quarter. Both Miu Miu and Prada landed in the top three spots on the Lyst Index in the last two quarters.
The success of Miu Miu’s viral bags, particularly the Arcadie and Wander models, played a crucial role in this surge.
Prada CEO Andrea Guerra and marketing director Lorenzo Bertelli emphasized the brand’s strategic focus on identity and impactful marketing initiatives. On the earnings call, Guerra said, “The performance of the leather goods [category] pleases us, [including] the continued success of the Arcadie and Wander [bags], but also the success with the newer introductions in the range.”
The Arcadie bag launched in June last year, and the Wander launched in June 2022. Videos on TikTok featuring the Arcadie bag have earned 7.5 million views. The call details did not mention the new version of the Prada Galleria bag or the reinterpretation of Mario Prada’s circa 1913 bag in Nappa leather and re-nylon which have come out this year.
The viral success of these bags is not an overnight phenomenon but years in the making. As Guerra said, “This is a result of many years of work on the brand, on the products and on the people.”
While Prada enjoys this success, the luxury fashion industry faces challenges related to subcontracting practices. Brands like Dior were scrutinized earlier this month for issues with their supply chains. Guerra highlighted Prada’s strong industrial foundation, saying, “From day one, the industrial soul of Prada Group has been pretty evident. We manage and own more than 20 factories in Italy.”
This vertical integration strategy is a point of differentiation for Prada, ensuring better control over quality and production standards. As the company continues to invest in its manufacturing capabilities and IT projects, it remains vigilant and agile in navigating market challenges, Guerra said.
Stat of the day
- In the week leading up to the Olympics Opening Ceremony, U.S. gymnast Simone Biles gained 100,000 followers. That same week, her teammate Sunisa Lee earned 10,000 followers from her announcement of a Skims partnership, according to insights from social media tool Metricool.
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