A long-desired single-brand store to crown an entrepreneurial project begun by Alberto Xoccato in 1956 and today carried on by his sons, Paolo and Giorgio: Xacus, a Vicenza-based shirt company, inaugurated its first directly managed shop last night in Milan, in Brera. . A long-awaited store: the San Vito di Leguzzano company was awarded the space, in via Solferino 8, already in January 2020. Then, imposing a temporary stop, the pandemic arrived, which was followed by slowdowns also related to difficulties in procuring building materials.
Finally, the long-awaited official inauguration: «We are very happy that this shop has finally opened – says Paolo Xoccato, CEO of the company-. We needed our own view, despite the fact that we already have a series of shop-in-shops that record positive performances, a place in which to meet the end customer live and let him enter our world. By making them understand, we position ourselves next to the consumer ».
A world made up of more and less formal shirts – which recovered from the loss of revenues linked to Covid during 2021 and 2022, also thanks to the resumption of travel, events and office life – and also of personalization: “It is an important component of our business – he continues – and in the shop we will have an area dedicated to the creation of the product based on the wishes and needs of the consumer: from the size, with the tailor-made service, to the fabric ».
The shop in via Solferino is dedicated to the men’s collections, historical activity and core business of the Vicenza company. Over the years, however, it has also invested in womenswear with positive results: “It is not excluded that, in the future, a shop dedicated to women may be opened, perhaps near the men’s single-brand store”. In any case, says Xoccato, “for us it is a format to be replicated”.
The fact of having postponed the opening for about two years allowed Xacus to open the doors of the shop in a particularly happy moment for the Lombard capital which is again besieged by Italians with the desire to return to live (and to buy) despite the specter of the recession and international tourists who vent their passion for made in Italy riding the wave of favorable changes. «The moment is positive: the desire to buy is back and we are seeing it both in sales in Italy and abroad, especially in Northern Europe and the United States. We hope that this desire to buy lasts – says the CEO – because the months that separate us from the end of 2022 are full of unknowns and obstacles. We are very worried about the growing costs of energy which are reflected on companies but also on final consumers ». Meanwhile, 2023 has already given positive signals: «We have just closed the sales campaign for spring-summer and it has been positive. Despite the concerns expressed earlier, we are confident “