“If we talk about the Inditex Group, we can see that in all its stores they have this category, in addition to makeup. We don’t want to go that far because it would be neglecting our market, but we do want to pamper the consumer with something else and start having different things as added value for the brand”, he reveals.
What they want is to distinguish themselves as a Mexican company that has a range of possibilities and that competes with the big players. Today, Panama has around 220 stores nationwide, of which 70% is made up of franchises and the rest are their own.
When do they arrive and where will the Panama perfumes be sold?
In a first phase, the three perfumes will be available in stores in Mexico City and the State of Mexico, later they will reach all branches in the Mexican Republic. They can also be found in the Panam online store, whose e-commerce grew 35% after the pandemic.
“This collection will champion three elements that we cannot reveal yet, but that are related to Mexican culture. They are unisex because the idea is to continue with the essence of the brand of having a product without labels”, he details.
The launch date also responds to the fact that in June the brand will present its “In full color” campaign, in connection with pride month. Includes the presentation of five tennis models rainbow, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt, as well as an event to support the LGBT+ community. In order not to cannibalize this launch, the brand decided to schedule the launch of its perfumes a month later, in July.
As a brand you should not stop innovating, actively listening to your consumers
Paola Reglin, Marketing and Communications Leader of Panama
Reglin acknowledges that despite the fact that there is a lot of talk about companies using this date for marketing, the LGBT+ community itself is asking for these special and limited-edition models and they are growing 20% in the clothing and accessories category.
is the call pinkwashing, points out Arlán Cruz, a teacher at the Pachuca Banking and Commercial School (EBC) and LGBT+ activist. “Many brands just want to take over the pink market, but they are only colored in June. For us it is very important to feel that accompaniment and that sexual and gender diversity is really represented in advertising”.
Other collaborations
Knowing that 70% of the Panamanian target is millennials and 30% is from generation Z, this year the brand returned to music festivals. In conjunction with Vive Latino, he launched a special edition of footwear and in April, appealing to nostalgia, he presented a Disney collection.
The brand is also preparing an upcoming collaboration with Victoria beer to launch a Day of the Dead edition. This is not the first time it has done so, last October they made 2,000 pairs alluding to the cempasuchil and the hummingbird, which were the iconic elements of the beer brand’s annual campaign, which has creatively appropriated this festivity.
Reglin assures that it is the first time that they will repeat a collaboration, since up to now a brand strategy is to launch special editions that are on sale for no more than three months. Thus they maintain the interest of the consumer; however, the results of the alliance with Victoria led them to repeat the formula.
Another bet of the brand is in comfort products. The marketing leader revealed that in December they will launch the Panam slippers, in a variety of colors, as a response to the growing interest in well-being.
Currently, Panam has an innovation laboratory and has the capacity to produce between 8,000 and 10,000 pairs of sneakers a day at its plant located in Cuautitlán Izcalli, where 30% of the work behind manufacturing is done by hand and the 80% of the talent are women. The expectation they have for the end of 2023 is to have double-digit growth.