Alain Mikli Has an Eye on Italy

A net profit of 8% in 2002, billings of 40 million euros (33 million in 2001) and a 2003 target of 50 million. For Alain Mikli the figures speak for themselves. The restructuring of the French eyewear company which began five years ago is now beginning to pay off. 'The time has come' - Mikli told 'Affari e Finanza' - 'to show our competitors that you can also do business with products that go beyond recognized market logic'.

The launch of a new brand is forecast for next year and it will join the other two lines under license: the first, created in collaboration with Philippe Stark, features essential designs, the second, with Issey Miyake, offers very special models with top-of-the-range positioning. Another objective: take the sunglasses business from its current 20%, compared to 80% for frames, up to 40%.

Italy plays a leading role in the French optician's plans: if today it's the brand's third market after France and Japan, in three years time it should be number one. And it's no accident that he's trying to open his first Italian store in Milan.

But eyewear isn't all that Mikli's future holds. The forty-seven year old Parisian who started out as an optician was one of the first to maintain the technological aspect of reading glasses while also treating them as an aesthetic accessory (Bono and Elton John are just two of his clients), and for some years now he's also been aiming at clothing and bags. But without wanting to compete with the stylists. 99% of his business still comes from eyewear. For the moment, it's just a few items to put in his Paris store. The imprint is still the same: the bags look like acetate shells, and the multifunctional clothes are inspired more by the world of design than that of fashion.

(Source: La Repubblica)