What comes to mind when you think of your favorite fashion brand? What exactly is it that makes the brand your favorite? Is it the excitement and anticipation of the newest collection? Or is it the way you feel when you see the brand on TV or on social media? Whatever your specific reasoning might be, it’s clear that the brand resonates with you, and that’s not by accident. It means the brand managers of that company have done their jobs successfully.
In this section, you will find out more about Anila Pirja and Rubens Gucaj, Fashion Group Albania’s brand heroes that have gone above and beyond.
As the main point of contact for everything brand related, Anila and Rubens are responsible for their brands’ images and ensuring that they properly resonate with their target markets. To accomplish this, they analyze and stay on top of market trends, carefully watch the competition, lead the commercial agreement & negotiations to ensure their brand development in the country year by year.
But it doesn’t stop there – these two brand managers have a major contribution on the company’s figures. Just last year, their brand portfolio earned approximately 20% growth in Turnover, 40% growth in Gross Profit and 15% growth in Gross Profit Margin.
“During a difficult year due to the pandemic, our brands have had an excellent performance compared to other countries in the region, thanks to our work as a team,” – says Anila in retrospective. “I can note my brand portfolio’s positive performance with a profitability increase of 40%, and the online introduction of several collections of new brands Perdro Del Hiero Woman, and Hoss Intropia,“ – Rubens says regarding this year’s key achievements. “A brand manager must have a clear strategic vision, business orientation, persistence and creativity in achieving objectives. They must have excellent communication skills to motivate staff, conduct research to understand customer requirements and bring the latest trends, while preserving the brand identity,” – they say when asked about the features a brand manager should have.
Besides managing his portfolio’s current brands, Ruben is developing the idea of adding a new Spanish Brand, a long-term plan for the further development of the company.
Anila is also managing the newest brand that is soon joining Fashion Group, with an extension throughout Albania and an expected turnover of approximately EUR 1.3 million Turnover per year starting from spring 2022. Recently, she successfully managed the opening of the new Women’Secret store at QTU, for which she received praise from international partners. “On behalf of Women’Secret team I would like to congratulate you on the inauguration of the new store, which looks amazing,” said Eva Santiago Perez, International Product Director at Women’Secret.
With over 10 years of professional experience at Fashion Group Albania, both are testimonials of successful milestones and role models. Fashion Group Albania is proud to have these two brand managers on board and looks forward to their future successes.
