Changes at Vistula brand: new approach to introducing collections, new showroom in Arkadia

Vistula, the largest brand in the VRG Group's clothing portfolio, enters the fall-winter season with a modified approach to the commercialization of the collection and another store in a new concept. The brand's offerings will not appear in stores at the same time, but will be divided into five chapters, introduced to stores and the online channel gradually - so that the individual items are best suited to customers' needs at a given point in the season. The change is part of a strategic evolution of the brand - and the VRG Group's apparel segment more broadly - aimed at growing the company's business in this area.

The first sign of a change in the season's structure at the Vistula brand was the introduction of the trans-seasonal collection for the first time in July - kicking off the autumn-winter season, but matching the assortment and colors to late summer. A total of 7 men's and 5 women's capsules will make up Vistula's fall-winter collection this year.

- Vistula is currently as a brand at a very interesting moment. On the one hand, we are constantly changing from the design side. The collection for the autumn-winter season reflects the latest trends in formal fashion and elegant casual. Our customers will find in Vistula stores what forms the DNA of the brand - that is, timeless classics, designed and sewn in a modern way. At the same time, we will gradually propose elements of the assortment, allowing us to build new, sometimes unobvious juxtapositions along with the next installments. Thus, we are changing our approach to the structure of the season - so that at each moment of the coming half-year we are matched with an offer to the current needs of consumers -  highlights Marta Fryzowska, Vice President of VRG Group, responsible for the clothing segment.

- We are also very excited about our cooperation with the Polish National Football Team, for which Vistula - an official partner of the Polish Football Association - will prepare formal outfits for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Customers can expect to find a special offer related to this celebration of sport in our stores in October-November - adds Fryzowska.

Vistula is also continuing the process of developing its offer for women - expanding its assortment for this consumer group from season to season.

The evolution of the Vistula brand this year, in addition to changes in the approach to the collection, also includes changes in the network, including the premieres of stores being modernized or opened in a new concept. The latest one launched on the last Friday of August in Warsaw's Westfield Arkadia. The brand's collection is available here in an area of 235 sqm. The new concept is distinguished from the previously opened stores by a changed method of display (the assortment is presented on one level, at the customer's eye level) and spaces separated for the women's collection and accessories. The brand already has an analogous store in CH Silesia.

- The new concept is oriented towards presenting not individual products from the offer, but entire figures. Customers can opt for the styles proposed as part of the display, or compose their own - either on their own, or with the support of our staff. We have planned the individual functions and "navigation" through the store to make purchasing decisions as easy as possible - Marta Fryzowska highlights.

Customers visiting the Arkadia Shopping Center will be greeted by the new Vistula store with a display window dominated by a large-size screen. It serves to display campaign materials supporting the brand's current offering.  It is worth noting that the store's designers used finishing elements from companies that adhere to sustainable development standards and are able to display certificates confirming this. Special attention was paid to energy-efficient lighting, among other things.

At the end of the first half of 2022, the VRG network consisted of 539 stores, with a total area of 52,000 sqm (including 144 Vistula stores with a stable year-on-year area of 18,400 sqm). The stationary network is the most important sales channel for the brand, with an online trade share of about 14 percent (with 15.2 percent in the entire VRG Group).

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VRG S.A. (formerly Vistula Group S.A.) is a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange S.A. since 1993. VRG Group S.A. specializes in the design and distribution of high-quality fashion collections for men and women and jewelry. It owns highly recognizable trademarks in five major lines: Vistula, Bytom, Wólczanka, Deni Cler Milano and W.KRUK. The VRG S.A. Group focuses on brand management, apparel and jewelry design and the development of its own sales network in both main segments (apparel and jewelry). Since 2000, the cornerstone of VRG S.A.'s strategy has been to realize the vision of a "House of Brands" and a distributor in the retail market.