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Milan, the arrival of big brands

17 December, Corriere della Sera

After Expo, Milan had left the rest of the country far behind. The city is not only Italy’s business capital, but it also attracts global multinationals and manufacturing companies.

The city made the leap when it became a hub for Italy as well as the entire Europe due to Brexit that made London less appealing, combined with the capacity of the city of attracting leading global companies.

As a result, Milan was the choice of international brands such as Starbucks (which has in Milan its only European roastery), Uniqlo (the Japanese fashion brand) and Apple (its Milan store is even more scenic than the Manhattan one). The last to come is Nba (National Basketball Association) which has recently opened its first European Nba Store in Milan. Vandana Balachandar, Nbe Eme vice president, global partnerships, said: “The opening of our first Nba Store in Europe shows our commitment to achieving a global fan base. Considering the growing interest in Italy for the official Nba products, our partnership with Epi, the leading company in Italy and Europe in integrated management for sports merchandise, will allow us to provide fans with a wide range of official and exclusive merchandising to celebrate our passion for Nba”.

The store will offer gadgets and merchandise of the various Nba teams as well as vintage and customisable products. For the first time, in fact, in exclusive in Milan, fans will have the possibility to customise products, from shirts to cup. Balachandar continues: “We chose Milan because it’s the symbol of fashion, plus it has a great basketball fan base. For us, it’s the perfect city to open our first European store”.

The Nba merchandise turnover is assessed around 3 billion dollars. It has only two other single-brand stores: the one on the 45th street in New York and the recently-opened store in Doha, the first shop of this type in the Middle East. Nba will make its debut in Europe in Milan through a partnership with Epi srl. Epi Ceo Lorenzo Forte commented: “We’re very happy and excited about this new collaboration. Thanks to the support from Nba and our established team, we’ll create an innovative and engaging store where fans can have a great Nba experience”.

Source: Corriere della Sera

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi