Luxury Retail Fashion Tips - with James Mastrantonio

hello hello my name is Nick McHenry and right before coronavirus hit I had the pleasure of sitting down with a very good friend of mine James mastrantonio James has worked for the likes of Valentino and Giorgio Armani both as a salesperson on the floor in the mono brand boutique and as a brand manager managing the wholesale business in the stores and then growing those businesses year over year throughout our conversation we touched on so many important topics that I think both apply before Corona and after such as getting back to basics how you can build your business by building relationships and personal connection with customers on the floor even people you just met and many other really really fascinating topics around how to succeed as a luxury salesperson in today's retail environment I really hope you enjoy the conversation I know I got a ton out of it so here we go oh really quick as always if you want to get more content more interviews more conversations hit the subscribe button now let's get into it [Music] I am here with fashion aficionado seller extraordinaire James mastrantonio who has a storied career across you know many of the major fashion brands that define what fashion is today and we're gonna talk about you know what it takes to succeed in the current retail environment on a luxury sales floor so thanks for being here James it's my pleasure why don't you just get started and tell me it I mean I gave you an introduction there but tell me a little bit more about where you came from true how you ended up where you are today my my initial fashion career began with Valentino was the very first job I had in the fashion business it's a long story but I was in LA working as an actor and a woman I met at a cocktail party said do you need a job and I said no I'm working as an actor she says come and see me tomorrow which I did and that was 20 year plus career and in that process I got to work with one of the premier designers in the world and it was in a store initially that had multiple brands and then I was eventually evolved into the booty itself with just a mono brand but I got to meet a lot of people who buy beautiful clothes and with mr. Valentino we had ready-to-wear and we had Couture as well and when you say could you're with Valentina you genuflect because it was really a spectacular experience and while I wasn't it wasn't my prime occupation I had clients especially from Las Vegas who were opening casinos and they just wanted to premiere pieces so that was my understanding of that and as I got more involved and tenure I started going to the buy which for mr. Valentino was in Paris there was the show which was the Grand Poobah experience Fashion Week in Paris and then the best experience was in the showrooms after all we got to really see the clothes the models were up to up front we can touch the fabrics we could see actually what worked and what didn't work we've got to understand that just in the process fast-forward to 2011 the CEO of Valentino moved to Georgia Romani and he was kind enough to invite me and I embarked on the wholesale career which was terrific because I got to immerse myself in the luxury of Georgia Romani women's clothing and then my assignments were always in department stores where Georgia Romani had a boutique so for instance in New York where my primary career was I was at the trifecta of fashion Barney's Bergdorf's and Saks so I got not only to learn about how our clothes operated in those boutiques but how they operated in relationship to the other big names in the fashion business the client that bought our money by Chanel buys accros buys Laura piano so learning product knowledge and customer knowledge at the same time that was that kind of condenses my career up to date so you kind of skimmed across something interesting I want to go back to so when you were in LA they said a lot of your core clientele were in Las Vegas yes I had because of the close proximity a lot of Las Vegas people came you know owners of casinos wives and the people who worked for them as well and they just happened to you know come to Rodeo Drive and and pop into the store Rodeo Drive is only three blocks long and the best part I would say is a block and a half and what it is in Los Angeles shopping is an activity in New York a woman shops on her own and she doesn't want her husband there she doesn't want her boyfriend there she it's a private activity but in Los Angeles it's a couple's thing so if people are traveling to Los Angeles they might stay at the will Shore one of the hotels on Sunset and they visit stores and once you get to meet them and establish a relationship with them and I think it's the word trust that's a word you use a lot Nick yeah absolutely and I think that what happened over time I would meet someone and I would envision you that in an outfit or it's something that I thought might work for you after just a few sentences and with time I got better at it and then if someone visits once and was happy they visit again and again and then I established a lot of relationships with people where I would send close to them once I met you you know mrs. Jones this piece that reminds me of you may I send it and then with the advent of cellphones it was easy to send a picture and women are set up for it or not they are okay about you sending in clothes they might have staff to UM packet and put on a rack or maybe a business executive who out it doesn't have staff but they like the idea because they were always kept what was current that was a I would say more than half of my business was mail-order more than half of her business was pure consignment 1661 percent to be exact Wow because the traffic of Rodeo Drive is not like Fifth Avenue or wild and heavy and when you're in one brand store not like a department store the traffic is even lighter so how much at that time if sixty-one percent of your business was consignment or sent out how much was a local Los Angeles client how much was I mean you said Las Vegas you know many times with her traveling how much was transient sure well I would say that probably about 25 percent of my business was transient people that were just walking down the street and will come into a store because they knew it was Valentino rights as a product they like and then the the local yokels you know the people that I did business with a regular basis develop relationships were I tried not to do just special event I try to explain to them that I needed to see them at the beginning of the season and let's just organize what we like what's in the budget obviously when you're dealing with a high-end client there are limitations there are some people that have them and I respect that so this is a good time to mention sale when clothes get discounted in a store like Valentino they just do 40 percent and that's it many other department stores bring it down but I advise my clients now that I have left the actual retail environment when they see a store that they like or a salesperson that they can relate to I think one of the ways they introduce themselves with their business card or their personal card is I am a sale customer and hand them your card your personal card please call me when sale happens right and if it's a good salesperson they're going to make sure that they call you for that but while you're in the store may I show you this this piece may not go to sale that was my operation you know the way I operated and I have to say I was honest about that I knew some things would never make it to sale did you see I mean honestly I don't hear that very often like it did you see other sales associates in your career extending their client base let's say to sale customers versus non sale customers no I saw your face light up when I said it like it was a novelty and I think a lot of my career I have to brag about it to you yeah was novel and those were things that I thought of because I put myself in those people's shoes if I went shopping in a retail store because I worked in the fashion business I would get discounts from my designer but I certainly always explained that I was a sale customer and walked in the door right and I could separate the wheat from the chaff the good salesperson remembered me but you did I mean because you're a very high touch high service associate even for the sale customer you would give them the same you know what again well let me just say this to you the sale customer need needs more care because dollars are different right and I understood this relatively early on in my career and there were some people that would not come into the store unless it was sale I couldn't tempt them no matter what so I think reading your customer respecting your customer and figuring out what their needs are mm-hmm those are the those are the important aspects I think what and a good salesman knows this instinctively whether she's selling cars whether she's selling a table top whether she's selling fine clothing or fine jewelry I mean completely agree it's it's it's a definitely I mean luxury fashion has its nuances but a lot of things are saying I mean definitely apply to definitely any luxury retail environment for sure well I think that part of the trust and the relationships I develop eat with people were I never just discussed clothing I was interested in what they were doing nothing intimate but I if they were interested in Arabian horses if they were interested in collecting cars or you know something special about them and what did you do with that that information well I read the New York Times and the LA Times every single day and I would just go through it like this I would pick out the articles I wanted to read but I had a scissors in my hand because by the time I had between I would say 75 and a hundred people that I could remember those sorts of details I like to clip articles out put it in an envelope and not even with a note I thought you would enjoy seeing this because how many times does a client get a personal mail number one number two how many times does a client get personal mail where you're not asking for something it's about what you're offering not what you're asking for and that's what made the difference I think in my relationship with people and I mean that's absolutely amazing I know I would would love to get something in the man that was reflecting something like that but I mean how much of that did they come do they write you back did they come back to the store and say oh my god I got your note or was this - I don't know that I could measure it that way okay but I couldn't remember and I found out that he was discussing this at staff meetings he's using it as a technique and at the same time I don't know how successful or unsuccessful they were with it but it resonated with him he understood what a great honest and full of integrity communication that is I also have to say truthfully I was interested in what they were doing and I love the idea of connecting them to more information i I mean I I love that James seriously it's like I there's one thing to be interested you know on the sales floor we've both been there it's all about hitting your numbers and yeah you know what's your ROI your KPI all this other you know metrics that we go off of and retail but then the day you know you said you're perfectly actually caring is a completely different realm then what you just said describing the what's fraught retail right now I think that a lot of stores are drowning in data mm-hmm and I think they're collecting or making their staff collect data there's something called reach out you know where they're forcing people to go through names that have not visited the store I think that that is important I think there's but it has to be selective right and I think that every salesperson has to start with one customer I remember when I landed at Valentino at my very early days I was a bit green but I did find a lot of interest in the client and I continued a client from hunger a scarf to eventually selling her suit or what other lifestyle stuff she needed but it was all a process and I think that's what's missing when you're just collecting data you're not focused on you know what the client's needs are you you're focused on some kind of measurement right and I think you missed something and in that quantification of the customer you know sub labeling then ferrying out what the value is to the company you just gets muddied you're saying yes and I think it's a little bit too much time is spent on it as opposed to just a little softer so are you visiting New York right it's you know so nice to meet you let them we have a little space without asking so much about gathering your data so in that method of almost like the soft cell as you you put it I mean how much of that in your career did you know do you have small purchases end up being lifetime customers did you have no purchases being lifetime customers well I think that you have to ask a question related to that what's my day going to be like when I'm selling here today is this gonna be just driven am I gonna just be concerned about the numbers that my boss says I have to have by the week or by today there's a lot of sale events or specific events and I think if you could just remove yourself from that I know my number is 50,000 for the week how am I gonna get to that and it's gonna be fun and it's gonna be positive and I'm going to make sure that everybody enjoys it on both sides because the moment you're holding out too tight the client understands right they they choose who they want to work with they can pick and read right away how you're relating to them and the last thing you want to communicate is you want them to buy something not in absolutely way do you think that I mean everything that you're saying is rooted in you know traditional you know almost like core tenets of luxury retail for like when you came into the business until now obviously a lot has changed how do you feel like that's you know caused you to look at the business or changed your actions you know obviously you're grounded in these you know core principles but have you adjusted them at all or I think I'm more surgical now than I've ever been I'm I think that people's time windows and bandwidth for selecting clothes and shopping has really narrowed so I'd like to think that I'm the short division salesman or the short division advisor now and what exactly are your needs I'm gonna ask yeah of course yeah I will have some as a matter of fact we are in your apartment that's right and that gets back to another part of the selling process over time related to budget you know your apartment and I say this for my clients there are some people who get to do this because they have the privilege of the finances and the wisdom and the taste and the age but I think your house should reflect what you how you present yourself when you walk out the door I live in New York City so I don't walk out my door without making sure that hair and makeup is all covered I want to make sure that whatever however I said I'm representing myself the way I feel about that's a good point though I mean so I mean it's it's interesting that I mean your apartment is beautiful and and and you can tell that that's how you live your life absolutely how is that translated even one step farther than you know when you walk into a retail store you're working with a customer or client do you feel like that has an impact and today today's day and age well I think that people they're purchasing personality that you can trademark right you want it's affected by their confidence by how they live their lives outside of walking into a retail store in other words we've seen people that bring in all there are psychological pathologies with them and we've seen people who are just there for this sure enjoyment of you know learning about what you have to offer them right and I think that I have always worked in a kind of privileged place you know where the product was beautiful the prices were high but not everybody who walked in the store was going to purchase something and I think that the atmosphere you create has to be the same for that person as someone who's going to make a purchase the pressure doesn't need a lot of fluffing or soft pedelec right but I think people when they walk into a retail store have to be respected I remember when little girls walked in especially in Rodeo Drive you could see some of them really made an effort and I took samples of perfume and I put them in a little Valentino bag as they were walking out I told one little girl one time it was more than one time I said you know you go when we had a contest today here at Valentino and you won the best dress for the Pro Rodeo Drive package well sometimes they just smiled and the moms with the dads just smiled but I remember one lady said no you won the contest because perhaps that was the first person that talked today young lady right which brings up the old retail adage you never know who the customer is when they walk in the door so remembering that appearance and sizes all those things have to be put into the right perspective mm-hmm yeah no I mean absolutely so back to the the changes there you know we're experiencing in luxury retail it sounds like if I'm understanding correctly like that you have to adjust the way that you're you know working with clients but the core principles even just that the story about you know you're giving the perfume to little girls at Valentino I would say is still so applicable to today is day and age and in the retail environment well I think what's happened is the people that are selling the product to get the staff whether especially in things like cosmetics they're inundated with product now but it's how you interpret it and I think that it comes with their you have to have a self confidence before you can start really promoting anything whether it's mascara or a business suit and that relates I think to men's as well the client today is exceedingly well-prepared for purchases what I mean by that is they can tell right away who's who's clear who's concise who knows what they're talking about when you start mentioning many times you and I have walked into a store where they comment on your appearance or a bag you're carrying or whatever course big turn-off and some people that's the last thing they want you to do is notice them I think that they it's much more appropriate to say welcome I know that I've trained a lot of people especially in with Giorgio Armani we have brand ambassadors that work in different department stores welcome to Giorgio Armani was always got a positive reaction usually got to thank you as opposed to saying something about them or the other death sentences may I help you I was gonna ask you about that actually the answer is no you always want to make sure that any sentence you ask has a positive possibility right and there's there's not as simple no to stop the conversation there's an extension in the conversation let's say there's natural flow into how we converse as humans and getting back to your point about how the business has changed because a lot of business has gone online I think that people are hungry for the personal relationship when a salesperson can look at a woman or a gentleman when they walk and determine what their size is that's key asking someone their size is the first error because it shows that you don't know what you're talking about and then begin to find a piece that you see them in mhm that has been really the key to how I operated it was always greeting the client giving them some chance to move around very often that was what worked because most times people don't ask you for what they want or what they're looking right I think you I mean you you really hone down something super important I think you said like when you said hungry they're hungry for basically what the Internet can't provide it's right which is human content right exactly but on sales floors everything we often forget this right in the sense of they made a cognizant decision to walk into the store as opposed to you know they can find the product online everyone knows they can find the product online so even just that simple act they're already say a portion there to your point I mean they've already basically indicated that they have that hunger for service for someone to assist them in a way that you know ecommerce shopping or online shopping cannot well that's the whole point of creating trust and a relationship we you know you and I were talking about websites and how Trust can be established and printed through photo and someone could understand that they're looking at the website of an expert or not right or someone who was just just beginning that was a great lesson for me because of doing it for such a long time and mentoring people I had assistants I had interns and there was a lot of humor associated with those relationships but the basics really I think what today's customers looking for especially because of the online experience so in starting to wrap you but in in that context because you're mentoring people and you know there's new people coming into either the retail sales floor or the corporate office when you're mentoring people do you just train them on these core principles or have you adjusted it slightly for the new digital age or of the first thing I'd like to do is than what your information is how I'd like to see how you operate I watch you and see how you agree to customer and how you touch the clothes and do you know do you have the reverence for the product that is something that comes naturally how you put a garment on a person how you help them with a coat how you begin the process of not asking them if they'd like to try it on but expressing that this is something they are going to enjoy it's not like do you want black or brown you know it's these are the pieces that this of a salespersons technique that really can only be developed from their self now but what I do is basically refined you know the you know the rough edges yeah and and just get them to be comfortable about it I think that the most fun of selling is the personal relationship that you have with someone obviously some people are open and fun some people are appeal some people it's a horrible horrible experience that they have to go and buy something they just don't like doing it I've met a lot of men and women like that how do you mitigate the circumstances that that's really been the fun of my career I call it my practice right now I that I love that okay so just wrapping up here because we've been having a great conversation we've been talking for a little while what is something that you look back on your career it could be recent it could be you know from years ago that you did something unique in in the retail environment that led to led to a success isn't it to be a business success or a great client but something you're proud of that you deemed - well I'm really happy with how I handled that or how it ended up you know the outcome being I'm thinking and I mean I think that I have a lot of positive ones I'm just sort of stuttering for a second just because I don't have one to come right to mind but there's one great story that I that is rather recent I was in as a Georgia male employee I was standing at Bergdorf Goodman and a woman came in who had a slight her Amazonas thing something was going on there and she sat down in an Armani chair in the Armani boutique and she was looking for her alterations and I watched one two three people come down the stairs from where she had purchased a few weeks before she knew they were ready today I think she was called for it but no one could assist her a burglar of Goodman they couldn't find it they weren't sure things that made the woman who had patients start to get a little flustered so I walked up to her and I said I don't work her I worked mr. Armani I'm visiting but I think I know maybe where these are can you just wait so I went into the area where they're all kept and there they were I mean it wasn't very hard and I brought them out and someone put them in a garment bag because that's I would be happy to do it but then as she was leaving I realized she needed help and I said how are you getting out of here where you're going she said no no I find I said no I'm gonna walk you to the door which I did and then I walked her to the cab well a month later not quite a month later about three weeks later she came back to the boutique and had a really nice time and made some very nice purchases I actually forgot what I did it was just a normal service aspect of what I would do of working for Giorgio Armani and I was quite pleased and actually grateful that she remembered I got a nice letter for it and all that other stuff but she came back and she made a purchase with her husband I love that story for so many ways but also just because it's it I'll see it sums up what we've been talking about for the last period of time in the sense of there's so much talk now about how much the industry has changed and it has with the you know introduction of online and the changing customer and and everything about the industry has changed but that's where right there could have been exactly the same 30 years ago sure as it is today and with the same outcome and I think we have to be careful of what we talk about the customer has changed the business has changed yes absolutely technology etcetera but I think the basics are really the same right I think I don't I don't use that expression old-school anymore because I would say traditional school the system that I think we have to use is just you know you're taking our communications our eye contact and finding out what you need and how can i enhance that it's almost the basics have become intensified it's almost gone the opposite way the sense of its excite more important now than ever exactly and there's something that I truly believe I think every man every woman knows what their tastes is knows what their stylist and I think it's just our job as salespeople to enhance that just give them more choices and if you honestly believe that a choice a client made wasn't the best one the answer you know their comment is I think we can do better and they subtly know what you're saying let's just let's just take this up or go into just a different direction but I think that people truthfully know what they like they have a sense of what they can afford and it's just a matter of you to translate the product to what their needs are that was a great summary James Hurley I thoroughly enjoyed as always talking with you about a topic that you and I are both super passionate about and look forward to talking more about it

Channel: Nick McHenry

Views: 5,367

Keywords: Luxury fashion retail tips, Selling luxury, Selling luxury fashion, retail, Fashion retail tips, how to sell, How to sell luxury fashion, luxury, Fashion clienteling, luxury womenswear sales, Working at Giorgio Armani, Working at Valentino, Bergdorf goodman stories, Luxury fashion retail sales, luxury fashion industry, Luxury fashion clienteling, fashion and luxury goods, fashion and luxury brand management, management of fashion and luxury companies, luxury sales tips, hermes

Id: N8fTr6NsxpA

Length: 28min 57sec (1737 seconds)

Published: Thu May 14 2020