104 WHAT'S THE STORY
of jeans – they became a completely normal part of everyday life, a lifestyle product. During this decade, the brothers established their brand as a constant and soon had other countries beyond the island in their sights: In the ‘90s Pepe Jeans London supplied France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland. A Focus on Stars
The image of a brand lives off pictures. Pepe Jeans London always had a nose for campaigns: By employing Bruce Weber, for example, they bagged one of the most established fashion photographers of past decades. In 1992, he photographed supermodel Bridget Hall for the brand. The list of stars who represented Pepe is much longer – Laetitia Casta, Ashton Kutcher, Natalia
Sebastian Vettel is not just one of the fastest men in the world he also makes a good model for the Formula 1 collection Infiniti Red Bull Racing.
313 style in progress
Vodianova, Sienna Miller, Jason Priestley or recently Cara Delevingne have all posed for Pepe. Photographers like Steven Klein produced the look: edgy, beyond the mainstream and always with a special twinkle in its eye. A Racy Partnership
Since 2010, Pepe Jeans has been sponsoring Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing and has been building on the success of the young racing star Sebastian Vettel, who has been racing from victory to victory with his team. Now the company has extended it cooperation with Red Bull for the next two years: Until 2014, Pepe Jeans London is not only an official sponsor but is also producing an accompanying collection Infiniti Red Bull Racing – a premium line for men, women and children. In addition, Pepe
Campaigns with the stars: Personalities like Alexa Chung characterise the image of Pepe Jeans London.
Jean London is developing team uniforms for the racing team. The premium line has been in the brand’s flagship stores since April and is available on their own online store. In addition, they are being marketed on the Red Bull Racing store and in the context of Formula 1. The media presence is tangible. “Our partnership with Formula 1 has given us a really great drive,” says a delighted Uwe Boser, Germany’s Country Manager, who has been working for Pepe Jeans London for 18 years. His goal for Germany is focused on sport. “Of course to be number one,” he says. “We are already very strong in the market when it comes to our women’s collections. With them, we stand for high-fashion, trendy collections. It’s important to us to have more of a presence for men.” The share between men and women is 60 to 40 per cent, they are expected to even out in the long term. Pepe Jeans supplies 680 doors in Germany alone. In 2013, the brand is focusing even more on the youngest customers: “Growth rates among kids are high,” says Boser, “there is still enormous potential here.” Pepe has had its own sales team in Germany for the junior lines since February with showrooms in Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. New from this year are collections for the youngest customers, from two years old – an investment in the future for the new generation, which could possibly give Pepe Jeans London another 40 years.
Star photographers like Bruce Weber photographed for the brand – here, the supermodel Bridget Hall in 1992.
In 1973, Pepe Jeans London was founded by the Shah brothers. Today’s CEO Carlos Ortega took over the company in 2001 and moved the company’s headquarters to Madrid. In order to boost international expansion, the investors L Capital and Artá Capital Partners came on board three years ago. With great success: Today Pepe Jeans London has expanded with approx. 2,000 staff in more than 60 countries, and it runs over 300 stores around the world. In Europe, France and Germany are its strongest countries with subsidiaries of their own. In Austria and in Switzerland, distribution has been carried out by the Agentur Madison for many years now. In Germany, Pepe Jeans London has its own stores in Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Oberhausen and Berlin, where another branch is expected to appear on Leipziger Platz. They are also present in Zurich, Mendrisio, Vienna and Graz with their own stores. The British menswear label Hackett has also belonged to the consortium since 2006. As well as this, they are a distribution partner for the brands Tommy Hilfiger and Esprit in Spain and Portugal. www.pepejeans.com