A second Prénatal store is to open in Malta next year following the inauguration of the first in Iklin last Friday, international franchising manager Giorgio Ciullo told The Times Business.
Prénatal, the mother, infant and child brand which first appeared in Milan and Barcelona in 1963, has been brought to Malta under a franchising agreement with A&A Fenech Ltd, a joint venture between Phoenician Glass and Sterling Jewellers. The second store will open at Tigné's The Point in spring.
Internationally, the brand will debut in 13 countries in 2010, including Georgia, Azerbaijan, Morocco, and Bulgaria. Mr Ciullo said Prénatal launched a franchising drive in 2006, after operating on a pure retail model for several years.
Prénatal SpA, in which French group La Redoute was a majority shareholder for 10 years until 1996, is now entirely owned by Artsana SpA, the Lombardy-based baby, health and beauty giant which created the Chicco brand in 1958.
Mr Ciullo explained that Prénatal aimed to share its extensive knowledge of the industry with select international franchisees, mainly mature businesses. Malta, he said, shared several cultural similarities with Italy, particularly fashion sense and brand awareness.
Most Prénatal stores vary in size between 1,000- and 1,500-square metres and display a wide assortment of maternity wear, baby wear, equipment, accessories and nursery furnishings. Under a new strategy, Prénatal aims to consolidate its standing as a one-stop shop for mothers-to-be and parents, and will widen its offering from foodstuffs to all equipment.
The 300-square-metre Iklin store is spread over three floors and displays a considerable assortment from the Prénatal range, including two nursery furnishing options. Maltese customers are able to place orders from the international catalogue which features items not on display in the local store and includes the 50-strong range of nursery furniture sets. Prénatal's major differentiator from other brands in the sector was that it reaped almost 65 per cent of its revenue from goods aimed at babies' first 18 months.
Mr Ciullo said Prénatal's experience in Italy had shown 20 per cent of revenue was derived from maternity wear, 25 per cent from baby equipment, and 20 per cent from products and accessories for newborns.
Less specialised wear for older children up to age eight constituted the rest.
A major Prénatal seller is the Extra Small Collection, a line developed three years ago for premature babies to respond to increased demand for apparel for tiny babies.
Prénatal encompasses several major brands in its in-store range, most of which are exclusive to the group, others which the group is authorised to buy through its network under specific agreements.
Asked about the brand's target customer, Mr Ciullo said Prénatal was particularly sensitive to the needs of first-time mothers and sought to win customers' trust from their initial visit to a store. The brand, he explained, was open to customers' needs as their lifestyles changed with the arrival of a newborn.
Internationally, it was Prénatal custom to hold monthly in-store meetings for first-time mothers, particularly as a way to sound out their needs and to familiarise them with new concepts and products.
Similar meetings will be launched in Prénatal's Malta stores next year.
Mr Ciullo pointed out that the original idea stemmed from the fact that changes in Italian family structures after World War II saw fewer new mothers able to depend on an army of relatives for knowledge and advice. Prénatal sought to fill that void by creating a mini social network in its stores, a concept considered to be unique in Italy at the time.
Mr Ciullo said he was very confident the brand will be received particularly well in Malta.
"It is a pity we have left Malta to others brands for so long," he said.