MILAN – Stone Island is pushing its retail strategy by opening a store at London department store Harrods.
Located inside the menswear section on the Knightsbridge location’s second floor, the 430-square-foot space was designed by Rem Koolhaas’ OMA/AMO studio and reflects the outerwear specialist’s blueprint in other retail destinations, including Chicago, Stockholm and Paris’ Rue Saint-Honoré.
“Harrods represents a powerful crossroad with local clients and tourists from around the world converging in an elevated and engaging retail environment. We are therefore delighted to now be present with our global store design so that customers can fully appreciate a comprehensive Stone Island experience,” said Robert Triefus, chief executive officer of Stone Island.
In keeping with Stone Island’s signature fabric research and innovation, the unit’s design embeds inventive architectural solutions, from the compressed layers of soil mounted as a back wall to mimic the veining of earth to burnt, sand-blasted and coated cork used for dark side walls, which have sound-absorbing and humidity-control features. The minimalist furniture includes a green table, Tim Teven’s stools in pressed aluminum and lighting fixtures dangling from the roof by Tim Hooijmans.
Inside the Stone Island store at Harrods.
Courtesy of Stone Island
Although Harrods already carried Stone Island products, the move aligns with the brand’s shift of its business into direct-to-consumer from mainly wholesale.
Stone Island, which is marking 42 years in business in 2024, directly operated 85 stores as of June 30, with the most recent opening of Vienna Kohlmarkt. It also runs 13 monobrand wholesale stores.
As reported, in the first half of 2024, Stone Island revenues totaled 188.9 million euros, a decrease of 6 percent as the company DTC strategy is being put in place. In the second quarter of the year, revenues for the brand amounted to 75.9 million euros, down 4 percent at constant exchange rates, with the strong double-digit growth in the DTC channel almost entirely offsetting the decline in the wholesale channel.
Inside the Stone Island store at Harrods.
Courtesy of Stone Island
In 2020 Moncler acquired 70 percent of Sportswear Company SpA, owner of the Stone Island brand, before taking full control of the firm the following year. Triefus joined Stone Island as CEO last year after 15 years at Gucci, where he had risen to the role of CEO of the brand’s Vault and Metaverse Ventures in addition to his position as senior executive vice president, corporate and brand strategy.
