Nothing says change like the evolution of a company’s C-suite. For Chargeurs PCC Fashion Technologies, the expansion of its leadership team comes into being as the firm drives its strategy for growth centered on making use of its global manufacturing footprint, and focus on sustainability and distinctive digital endeavors.
Chargeurs PCC Fashion Technologies provides end-to-end solutions for fashion apparel brands by designing its technical fabric interlinings that enable garments to retain shape and structure. France-based Chargeurs, its parent company, serves clients in more than 90 countries, with 2,000-plus employees worldwide.
The firm’s chief executive officer, Gianluca Tanzi, joined the team last fall with a vision for change and digital innovations that have since been implemented. Tanzi told WWD that when scouting talent, “we always seek passionate, highly experienced leaders who have an entrepreneurial mind-set and the desire to continually improve and innovate.”
“We recently made several key hires who are experts in manufacturing and sourcing and who have strong brand relationships,” Tanzi said, which includes Fabrizio Vincenzi as chief operating officer; Nico Dapoto as chief supply chain officer; Giorgio Marcarino as general manager, EMEA, and Nadege Lemoine as chief research and product development officer.
Prior to leading Chargeurs, Tanzi was the COO and member of the board at Brooks Brothers, and previously held roles at Luxottica, Benetton and Geox.
Here, Tanzi talks to WWD about expanding its C-suite, leadership in material technologies, and charting a new course for the company.
WWD: What changes and digital innovations can we expect to see at Chargeurs PCC under your leadership?
Gianluca Tanzi: I’m focusing on accelerating our business growth and continuing to build a more sustainable fashion industry through pioneering technologies and manufacturing processes. That includes pursuing more strategic partnerships like our collaboration with CLO Virtual Fashion, which allows designers to easily add our interlining products to their digital iterations, reducing the need for physical sampling.
I’m also looking to strengthen our leadership in materials innovation. We have innovation in our DNA and have pioneered technology in this area for many years, like our patented GMP process that is still the best coating in the market. We also want to continue to create sustainable new products in all categories to power our business growth. Our recently introduced sustainable insulation products made with traceable Nativa wool are a great example of this. The branded fiber was launched by Chargeurs Luxury Materials, our sister company, which I also lead, and Chargeurs PCC is now incorporating this premium fiber into additional products.
Beyond products, we’re looking at innovative ways to improve service levels and tools by leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence, while maintaining our human touch in customer service. In addition, I’ll see to it that our seven world-class manufacturing facilities continue to set the industry standard in terms of digitally driven efficiency and sustainability.
On the marketing front, we’ll be focusing on engaging our customers more deeply and providing more information about all our product collections across our digital channels, including our corporate site, our social media channels and our future e-commerce site.
WWD: How does Chargeurs PCC differentiate in the solutions segment?
G.T.: Chargeurs PCC is a global leader in innovation and sustainability. We’re digitizing our business and helping brands future-proof their own businesses by driving sustainability and flexibility across every stage, from design, development and manufacturing to marketing and selling. We’re building on our early sustainability momentum and partnerships to cement our leadership as a full-circle digital company.
For example, we were the first company to offer interlinings as digital assets that companies can use to design and develop products. By making our digital assets available in the CLO-SET Connect virtual open marketplace, we’re empowering designers with comprehensive 3D rendering and patternmaking capabilities that reduce the need to create and ship physical samples, preventing waste and shortening product development cycles.
We’ve also partnered with Custom Wrkshop, an on-demand platform for customization and made-to-order apparel. The platform enables companies to reduce costs, resource usage and product returns, while increasing their speed to market.
Our product innovations include our Sustainable 360 collection and other biodegradable interlinings, performance products, patented coatings and insulation made with fully traceable Nativa wool.
Gianluca Tanzi, the CEO of Chargeurs PCC.
WWD: Tell us about Chargeurs PCC’s global growth strategy. What do you envision, and what will it entail?
G.T.: Digitizing the supply chain end-to-end is a key enabler of our global growth strategy and a core part of our Leap Forward 2025 program, which is built on three pillars: environmental excellence, digital efficiency and technological intensity. Digitization not only allows us to lead the fashion industry toward a more sustainable future, but also to ensure our own and our customers’ businesses can continue to operate profitably and efficiently amid disruptions.
As part of those efforts, we’ll continue to make improvements at our seven manufacturing facilities across the globe to ensure they are best-in-class in terms of sustainability, transparency and efficiency.
Product innovation is another key to our global growth. Since launching our extensive Sustainable 360 collection of interlinings, we’ve also introduced our Fusion Line, which incorporates high-tech performance materials into garments like suits and dresses to combine style with comfort. In addition, we’ve introduced two sustainable wool padding blends featuring blockchain-backed Nativa wool.
Our R&D team continues to focus on how we can use more recycled polymers in our products, as well as more natural and biodegradable materials to further cement our role as an industry leader in sustainability.
WWD: What’s next for Chargeurs PCC?
G.T.: We will continue to lead the evolution of manufacturing to minimize the impacts of production and ensure that our production capabilities and facilities are a competitive advantage for us. We’ll focus on materials innovation and creating sustainable new products in all categories as we execute our Leap Forward 2025 program, which aims to increase Chargeurs Group’s value and return on capital by 2025 by leveraging technology.
We are also increasing our offer in a very innovative collection called the Fusion Line, which combines performance and comfort, by adding even more films and bonding tapes. This supports our global customers in adding performance features without disrupting the design aesthetic. It supports our activewear and sportswear customers, but also introduces performance materials to customers who may not have used products like these in the past; they can add comfort and ease even to tailored garments. I think this will be a very important area of business development in the future.
Our goal is to drive efficiencies and develop a more circular economy as we, along with the rest of the industry, deal with price volatility in raw materials, supply chain challenges and the urgent need to operate more sustainably. For example, we’ve begun working in partnership with several suppliers and customers to keep used products, components and materials in circulation longer.
We also have several waste reduction projects under way across our supply chain. In addition, our seven highly efficient manufacturing plants across the globe allow us to produce closer to our customers, which helps reduce their shipping and logistics costs.
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