Q&A with Matthew Malin of Malin+Goetz

I’m delighted to run a little Q&A with one of my favorite emerging brands, Malin+Goetz. I first met the founders at a Women’s Wear Daily conference in Miami three or four years ago… we shared notes on PR firms, suppliers and industry trends. And then they kindly offered me a ride back to the airport. Be sure to check out the promo for IBC readers at the end of the Q&A!

Q. Hello, Matthew. So I guess we only got 1/2 of the “M&G” combo today? Never mind, let’s dig in. In essence, what’s M&G all about?

Making skin care uncomplicated and modern, starting with sensitive skin first.

Q. You make it sound so easy! Take us back to the genesis, that moment you both decided to commit your lives to this “project”.

There are two starting points: first, when Kiehl’s was sold to L’Oreal in ‘99 during my six-year tenure there overseeing global sales (as Nars was sold to Shiseido, Stila to Estee Lauder, Bliss to LVMH, etc). Then, two years later, after lots of research and planning (which was a rewarding process), we took the plunge. We wanted to establish a family business with a soul.

Nau is dead. What does this mean for the “green style” market?

Wow. Nau, darling of the green apparel sector (judging by the torrent of media coverage since its launch about a year ago - WWD, Coolhunting, etc), is dead. This, according to one of my favorite marketing/brand blogs, murketing.com. A quick visit to Nau’s website confirms the news.

I first heard of Nau when one of the founders made an presentation at the Lohas 12 conference one year ago. Lots of pizzazz. Very impressive. Attendees couldn’t get enough. One year later, with dream-team management, tons of buzz and a large chunk of capital raised ($20mm? $40mm?), they’re gone.

What happened?

Remember, we met online at Prada?

Here’s a nugget, buried deep in WWD this week, in an article titled ‘Luxe Brands Follow the Money – to the Internet’:

“The great opportunity that Web 2.0 has brought is the ability to interact with people in a whole new way,” said Salter [Guy Salter of Walpole of London]. “Some brands realize it’s good to bare their soul a little more and entertain comments from customers both positive and negative. I see a day when people will meet each other in the context of commercial brands,” he said. For example, a brand-related social networking site could be very useful for luxury customers who want recommendations from peers they trust. [my italics]

Seems to make sense. Something like this: “Let’s see. We both like Prada, APC and the Georges V in Paris… now what do you think about those Louboutin heels?”

Some tips from a retail master

We pay attention when Mickey Drexler, Ralph Lauren, Georgio Armani and Renzo Rosso talk about running a successful lifestyle retail business, for obvious reasons.

J. Crew just reported a strong fourth quarter ‘07, with revenues, same-store sales, gross margin and operating income up nicely over the prior period.

What’s driving this excellent performance at J. Crew in a souring retail market? Here’s some insight from Drexler, Chairman and CEO:

“It’s all about inventory today and differentiation… It’s about the quality of goods, service and innovation. We are in a game right now of beating the competition. The winners will win not because they’re cutting expense. Long term, they’re winning because they are innovating their product.”

Drexler said the key to J. Crew’s continued success has been being “obsessively focused on our customers and our product,” down to the stitching, the buttons, the colors and all the details.

And further on, another telling excerpt re: Madewell, J. Crew’s fledgling new retail concept:

“New businesses are really hard to start. They only work if there is strong long-term vision and tremendous passion and a product that’s focused on the consumer… I can’t emphasize the importance of having a store about 10 blocks away… We are in there every day looking at it and we’re living and breathing it…”

Enough said. My underlines.

Photo: detail of work by Kon Trubkovich, Marianne Boesky Gallery

Give me less choice, please

How many times have you been in a retail store, overwhelmed by the sheer number of brands/products on offer, only to leave in frustration?

Increasingly, it seems, trusted editors who can curate choice products and/or services in a compelling way will win our harried attention.

This is bringing the “specialty” back into retail, driving a resurgence of passionate mom’n pops and leaving large, national, “big box” chains exposed.

Give me a small, local book shop, wine shop, cheese shop, bike shop or shoe shop offering earnest service, a sharp point of view and a crisp assortment over a big, national player, any day.