Text Box: TABLEWARE TODAY INTERVIEW - Mikasa's Michelle Zazzini  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      
 

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Text Box: You’re a senior V.P. at Lifetime Brands responsible for the Mikasa, Calvin Klein, and Nautica brands. For this interview though we’ll just focus on Mikasa which has been having a good year. The economy has certainly affected our business like it has everyone’s, but Mikasa is doing well. We’ve made many changes and figured out ways to shift quickly to stay ahead. We’re paying a lot of attention to the way people live and entertain. Years ago, formal dinnerware was a significant part of our business, but now casual entertaining is our chief focus. To be relevant, it’s important to change with the times. Which is exactly what formal dinnerware companies didn’t do for so long. But Mikasa had been doing that for a while. Even before I got here Mikasa was a great transitional company, covering a full spectrum of designs from traditional to contemporary, formal to casual. Mikasa has always been relevant, but today we have to work even harder to make sure we’re giving consumers what they want and need. You have a lot of experience with that. You spent years at Bloomingdale’s in buying and product development. That’s where I started my career. I’ve developed an extensive background in global sourcing, product development, and marketing. The great thing about being at Bloomingdale’s is that not only did I work with branded companies buying their products, but I traveled to factories developing product. The perfect résumé, really, for what you now do at Mikasa. It is. It’s important to understand buying and merchandising. I was on the retail side so when buyers come to us and say they need product to drive a transitional category and they want us to do that, I know how to do it. A perfect example is Pure Red. We launched this collection four years ago when we started to move into transitional product. We thought it was a very important collection, but didn’t want it to end up on the formal wall. We wanted to create a lifestyle approach which is key to transitional sales. You want to layer on accessories and make an important impact and statement. That’s what we do so well. We knew if it was merchandised correctly, it would look beautiful and be a strong seller. We launched with 18 SKUs and out of the gate it was one of our best sellers and continues to be. Retailers got behind our suggestions and made this a great collection. We really listened to each other. It was a terrific collaboration. That doesn’t happen too often. But it has to. We do a lot of research to find out what consumers want, especially brides. We have someone on our team whose sole responsibility is to travel the world and bring back ideas that demonstrate what consumers want. We know what’s going on in the world. We have a team of creative people working for us who are constantly on the lookout for what people want in their homes. What do they want? What does the younger consumer, especially, want? And how hard are they to figure out? The Mikasa customer is female between 25 and 50. While demographics are constantly changing, we know a lot about our consumers. We talk to them all the time, getting feedback. We host events, we go to bridal fairs, and we grasp as much information as possible to have a finger on the pulse of the market. Strategically, we have a clear understanding of who the Mikasa customer is and what she wants.