With a new stand-alone store in the Marais, the New York-based label is laying the groundwork for a bigger international push.
As reported in Women's Wear Daily
PARIS — Rag & Bone will officially open its doors to its first Paris flagship Wednesday, and celebrate with a splashy party on Sunday night. But the New York-based label’s arrival in Paris is less about planting a flag in the French capital than the first step in a bigger expansion strategy across Europe under new ownership.
“There’s so much to do,” said brand president Valentina Lucaj, who joined Rag & Bone four months ago following senior roles at Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent and Prada.
The Marais store on Rue Vieille du Temple is intended to be the first of at least two Paris locations. The company is also targeting another stand-alone store in London by mid-2027, plans to turn an October pop-up at Galeries Lafayette into a permanent space and is exploring expansion in Italy and Spain.
However, the strategy is less about reinventing Rag & Bone than honing its house codes for both retail and product. The company has “hired some additional talent” on the design teams across multiple categories, said Lucaj, but there is no plan to bring a big-name designer on board to wholly reinvent the label.
“It’s more further establishing the product pillars that we have and upgrading some of the skill in the pursuit of our ambition,” she said.
Lucaj’s appointment followed Rag & Bone’s acquisition by Guess and WHP Global in 2024. Guess acquired the brand’s operating assets, while Guess and WHP took joint ownership of its IP. The deal was intended to give the New York label access to a larger global infrastructure while allowing it to retain its identity focused on denim, British tailoring and upscaled everyday pieces.
“The store might be new to Paris, but Rag & Bone is not new to the world,” Lucaj said.
Sales have grown more than 30 percent over the past three years, she said.
“We work closely with our shareholders in the pursuit of our ambition, and we’re very transparent about what we’re trying to accomplish,” she said. Both Guess and WHP have been “incredibly supportive,” but have left the brand to work independently.
The next stage is to use that momentum to build more DTC, e-commerce, as well as continue to strengthen international markets such as South Korea, where it operates 17 points of sale with partner Samsung. It is also exploring Middle East expansion based on its strong client base that currently shops abroad at Harrods in London, for instance.
“It’s also about taking existing markets where we have an established business through wholesale in particular, and finding our way to physical retail as the next evolution of the brand,” she said.
