NATHAN CRAY has been working with Canada-based brand Aldo for seven years in various capacities. As the current international general manager for Asia Pacific and India, he still finds excitement in his job.
“There are two things that excite me about Aldo. One is the products. If you have to be excited about the business you’re in, you have to be excited about the products. You have to be excited about what you are showcasing, otherwise it kind of rings hollow,” Cray said during his recent visit to Manila for the launch of its Spring/Summer collections, a continuation from Fall/Winter 2016 called #AldoMovesMe.
For the second reason, he recalled a story about a colleague, prefacing it with a tribute to their big man. “When our founder, Aldo Bensadoun, founded the company, he wanted
to run a business, but do so in a different way. Our corporate values are love, respect and integrity. Love as a corporate value is a strange thing,” he stated.
“A person we know from one of our partners was promoted. It was a solid promotion. She sent this lovely thank-you note just to say how thankful and grateful she was working with Aldo and gathering experience that she’s had. An innocuous, sweet note to a handful of people. I got the e-mail and I was so touched by it and forwarded it all the way to Mr. B [their term of endearment for Bensadoun]. And he wrote back. He was so excited. That’s what gets him excited, to see someone halfway around the word being impacted by the company that he started, a culture that he wants to share with the world. And that’s why I’ve stayed at Aldo. For that reason. Retail is a hard business—and demanding. So you need something beyond that. And that’s special.”
There’s a disturbing “trend” happening around the world, and it’s the retail apocalypse. How does Aldo stay afloat and profitable? “We have managed to remain a private company, so we can manage for the long term. More important, we’ve been adapting. Market by market, it varies, but we can’t talk retail and not talk about online [www.aldoshoes.com.ph]. It’s just a fact of retailing today. We started to make investments in that long ago, and we continue to make investments. We’re changing, and we’re adjusting as markets develop. The other is being religiously focused on customers,” Cray assured.
How is the Filipino consumer? “Terrific. Great. The target customer that we focus in, we call ‘The Style Seeker’. That profile of being into fashion and wanting to make bold statements and be forthright in what they wear and how they wear it, but also unique to the situation and adapting to their mood. That’s our customer, and we find that everywhere. We’re in over 95 countries, and you see that in every country that we’re in. In the Philippines, we have great success with the Suyen Corp. Group,” he said.
At the roof-feck of the Bench Tower at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, the collections were presented in a cohesive and interactive manner in collaboration with StyLIZed Studio by Liz Uy.
“What you’re going to see for ladies is pastels. You’re going to see a continuation of one of our iconic styles—the Stessy—in stores. Glass trends, clear trends, blocky heels, Lucite heels and ankle straps are in as well. You’ll see this across all silhouettes. On the men’s side is the continuation of athleisure, which you’ll see profiled in stores. It’s a casual trend overall across categories in men’s,” Cray said.
Aldo Shoes & Accessories opened its first local store in 2007 at The Block in SM City North Edsa. It now has 31 locations and four accessories stores nationwide. Now that it’s on its year 10 in the country, will the brand be celebrating this milestone?
Cray gave a little chuckle. “We’re going to keep you in suspense.”