OTB’s Renzo Rosso on success of ‘alternative luxury’ in China
Jing Daily talks to OTB founder and chairman Renzo Rosso about how his portfolio of brands – Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Jil Sander — is making headway in China.
Earlier this week, Only The Brave (OTB) founder and chairman Renzo Rosso landed in China, a market that has been fertile ground for his group’s portfolio of brands.
In 2023, Diesel turned profitable with year-on-year sales revenue growth exceeding 13 percent. And Maison Margiela recently posted a 23 percent YoY rise in turnover, much of it thanks to China and South Korea. Overall, Asia Pacific is propelling the group’s expansion.
During Milan Fashion Week last month, Rosso told Jing Daily that the group had heavily invested in China. “We have put 60 percent of the group’s total investment into this country. We strongly believe in this country,” he says.
Why are OTB’s brands successful in China? “Because we are an alternative to what others do,” says Rosso.
The group’s brands, from Maison Margiela and Diesel to Jil Sander and Marni, are headed by genius creative directors like John Galliano, Glenn Martens, Francesco Risso, and Lucie and Luke Meier, with strong visions and unique aesthetics.
“At the moment there are two directions on the market. There are the big groups that are going more into the world of entertainment. Instead, our group focuses more on the development of the product, the beauty of the product,” Rosso says.
“We are still creating dreams and the desire to buy a product. In a time when everything is possible, everything is easy and fast, we are still connected to the true values of a product. I think our success in China results from this,” he adds.
OTB’s labels cater to shoppers who wish to express their individuality through their outfits. China’s youth demands alternative options to the mass-produced items commonly known and worn.
Renzo recalls that in the early days, “to have a space in the malls, we had to knock on the door and there was never a space because the large groups took everything they wanted.”
“But today, they are giving us space because we are ‘alternative’ to what others do,” he adds.
What did not work a decade ago, is now a strength for OTB. China’s dynamic fashion scene has turned Maison Margiela and Diesel’s alternative cult styles into core assets for the group.
In 2022, four OTB brands – Maison Margiela, Marni, Jil Sander, and Amiri – took over the facade of the then newly opened JC Plaza Shanghai luxury department store to promote their new flagships, covering 2,400 meters square in total, at the retail destination.
JC Plaza is the
