Nicolas Santi-Weil of Ami Paris says he believes more in label's potential now than three years ago

Fashion Network

20-05-2025

Ami Paris is present for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival, as a partner of the Semaine de la Critique (critics' week) - Ami Paris prize, which the French label will award to an emerging director on May 22, symbolising its changed status in the fashion landscape. The high-end label founded 14 years ago by Alexandre Mattiussi has close ties with several French cinema personalities, and a strong connection with the creative arts in general. Bolstered by these links, by a more emphatic presence at Paris Fashion Week, and by the opening of new headquarters in Place des Victoires in the French capital and of a 400-square-metre store in the heart of the Marais district, Ami Paris has taken on a new dimension, in France and internationally.
Nicolas Santi-Weil, CEO and shareholder of Ami Paris, received us in his spacious office, which affords a view of the imposing statue of French king Louis XIV riding a prancing horse in celebration of his victories. The latter are an appropriate subject in the home of a label that has multiplied its revenue by a factor of 10 in less than five years. And so is the future, given the uncertain outlook of the global luxury market and of international trade. Santi-Weil spoke to FashionNetwork.com about Ami Paris's majority shareholder, Chinese investment fund Hongshan Capital Group (formerly Sequoia China), which is expecting to sell its stake, about hiring more staff, and about expansion strategies for new product categories. Challenges brought on by the rapid growth of a label that topped the €300 million revenue mark in the last fiscal year.
FashionNetwork.com: This week, Ami Paris will have a visible presence at the Cannes Film Festival. What prompted you to get involved in the event?
Nicolas Santi-Weil: We are particularly proud of this partnership, and of setting up the Grand Prix Ami de la Semaine de la Critique award. I'm looking forward to going to Cannes for the occasion. The prize will recognise directors for their first or second film, and the idea is to forge a connection with these young talents. Of course, we don't have at our disposal the extravagant means certain luxury groups have, but it may be interesting for us to meet creatives like these at a particular time in their career. We share a conviction, a philosophy with Alexandre. We try to create inclusive projects that generate opportunities to meet, promoting dialogue, projects, collaborations. It's very rewarding, a virtuous circle. We did it with the AMIXIFM Entrepreneurship Award, whose fourth edition was held in March, with the Jean Vigo Prize, and this year we'll also sponsor the Pierre Bergé Prize at the Andam [emerging designer competition].
FNW: Beyond Ami Paris's collections and campaigns, these projects bestow a certain status on the label, they are a sign of maturity. How did you achieve this?
NSW: The central idea is fostering expertise, discovering and supporting young talents. We're keen to journey alongside them, to let them know about our successes, and our failures too. We're able to advise young, talented entrepreneurs, designers, directors and musicians. And it helps us too. Because interacting with creatives who are five, 10 or 20 years younger than us teaches us a lot about how they approach issues we too need to deal with in our business. What we're trying to convey is that if you want to be happy in your job, you must do things that make sense. We aren't here just to earn money. We want to do something wonderful, something we like, and that we can share with our staff and with these young talents.
FNW: In 2023, you reached a revenue just shy of €300 million. What was your result in 2024, and what is your retail footprint?
NSW: Our revenue in the last fiscal year exceeded €300 million. And we currently have nearly 80 directly operated stores. We have 60 in Asia, with 26 in China and 22 in Japan, 16 in Europe and four in the USA. The profitability of our China addresses enabled us to open stores in the USA. In the wholesale channel, we went from 800 to 700 clients. We stopped working with clients who didn't follow our label's upward trajectory, with those who were only looking for a logo, and those who didn't give guarantees in terms of payments and regulatory compliance. For a long time, wholesale accounted for over 95% of our business. Our direct retail business now accounts for two-thirds of revenue, with 20% generated online, a channel that we recently began to manage in-house, hiring about 20 people, and which is giving us amazing traction. To such an extent that we'll invest more in e-tail. Nearly 90% of our total revenue is generated outside France, and our revenue has increased tenfold in four years.
'No urgency' for Hongshan's exit
FNW: Such rapid growth, especially in Asia, was possible because you have a Chinese owner, Hongshan, which bought a majority stake in 2021.
NSW: I wouldn't call [Hongshan] our owner, I'd say shareholder, because even if it has a majority stake, we have an agreement that gives us great freedom. It's really Alexandre and myself who are running the company. [Hongshan] is on board with this philosophy. I'm going to be very direct: many people think they've injected a fortune into the label. It isn't the case. Our growth has been funded not by our investors but evidently by the label's profitability. Since we had strong convictions about Asia and especially China, it made a lot of sense to be in business with a Chinese investment fund which, besides, was related to a US one. They trusted us when we told them that if we wanted Ami to become a global luxury brand, we couldn't be oversized in Asia and a phantom presence in Europe and the USA. We also rely on co-investors, like Felix Capital.
FNW: After a period of fast growth, is a new funding round on the cards? And are you, as shareholders, considering exiting?
NSW: Neither Alexandre nor myself are planning to sell our stakes. We love what we're doing. Personally, I believe even more in the project today than I did three or four years ago. I see all the work done and the team we've put together. And we know that the best is ahead of us. Ami Paris is 14 years old. It's up to us to make it a strong, responsible adult, humble but proud for the right reasons. We don't need another investor, the label is profitable, we're working on projects that are remunerative, so everything is fine. But at some point Hongshan will exit, because they've held their stake for more than four years.
FNW: Precisely, [Hongshan] is reportedly keen to sell its 60% stake, and potential buyers have been sounded out, according to [news outlet] Glitz Paris.
NSW: Most investment funds seek to sell their stakes between five and seven years after investing in a company. We're in regular talks with our advisors, who have been with us for years, about possible funding and shareholder options. But there's no urgency. We continue to do well with Hongshan, and they will make a very healthy profit when they exit. The company is earning money, we're indebted with banks like any other business, but our cash position is positive When Hongshan leaves, there are various options, such as a new majority shareholder or several minority ones, all of them safe in the knowledge they can rely on a creative director who's giving his name to the brand, and on a CEO who has been involved with the business for almost 13 years.
FNW: Ami Paris has grown significantly in recent years, and has ventured abroad. How do you define its identity?
NSW: This is a question that has prompted plenty of thinking, and generated a lot of work on brand positioning. Depending on the country, partner, or city, we were considered in turn as affordable luxury, as a designer label, or as a modern contemporary one. We have worked with a sociologist, with a brand philosopher, and a coach to find out if the brand image we projected was correctly understood by consumers. In the end, we decided to embrace our individuality. We made a very strong choice. We're calling it 'friendly luxury'. Of course, the notion of 'friendly', an obvious one for a brand called Ami ('friend' in French), is unifying and universal. And we're 'luxury' because we utilise the same manufacturers as some luxury labels. We have high standards in terms of materials, but we don't want to follow certain luxury houses in driving up prices.
FNW: Does this mean that Ami is a luxury label now?
NSW: Alexandre has always been obsessed with the finest fabrics. Dresses that luxury consumers used to buy for €2,000 now cost €5,000. When we offer quite exceptional items at €1,200 or €1,400, these consumers are interested. Of course, we've come across department store buyers who told us we weren't expensive enough to feature on the luxury floor. But when we did feature, we were a success. Our average price is much lower, but our conversion rate is amazing. Department stores are keen on this, because it allows them to rejuvenate their luxury clientèle. For example, at Galeries Lafayette, we moved from the contemporary floor, where we had the top slot, to the luxury one, in a space twice as small and out of sight, and we trebled revenue in a year. Since then, we have taken over Burberry 's slot in the world's best store. Brand elevation requires a lot of work, it's not just raising prices. It's an effort that we want to translate in the quality with which we welcome customers in-store, in terms of interior décor, size, the music we play, our shop assistants' training and communication, but also in our shows and in our advertising. We want to do wonderful things, and we want to share them, to be inclusive.
FNW: Ami is one of the few high-end labels to have recently succeeded in appealing to a broader public, especially with T-shirts and sweats with the heart logo. What was the impact of this logo for the brand?
NSW: Yes, the Ami de coeur [logo] gave us plenty of visibility. It's a genuine symbol for the label, before becoming a logo it was Alexandre's signature since he was a little boy. [Items with] the red [heart] logo on the chest have accounted for up to 60% of our sales. Now they account for less than half. And we've reproduced it in many different ways, for example tone-on-tone, or embossed it on some fabrics. We think it's important for people who buy Ami to have a mark of belonging. It's like the four little dots used by Margiela a few years ago: a very discreet way of being recognisable.
FNW: Given the logo's power, and the simultaneous brand elevation work you've engaged in, are you planning to create two lines, like a Polo Ralph Lauren, another label with a powerful logo?
NSW: It's a question we've asked ourselves. And we decided we won't do it. Everything we present in our runway shows sells. It may be more or less directional, but everything we do, we believe in. And we're proud of this logo. It's a symbol of optimism, commitment, creativity. Values that people enjoy wearing. On the other hand, we have started setting sales quotas for these products.
Parisian flagship a nod to Ami's roots
FNW: Does the logo feature in department stores and in your new Parisian flagship in the Marais?
NSW: Yes. Especially since in [the Marais] store, extending over more than 400 square metres, we have enough room to showcase menswear, womenswear, leather goods - a category that is beginning to grow a lot - sunglasses, even some homewares. Our previous stores were much smaller. Our store in rue d'Algiers is doing well, but it's too cramped to showcase all of Ami's current range. We now prefer to open fewer stores, but to present the label in a comprehensive way.
FNW: It's a wonderful showcase for the label. Was it as effective in terms of profitability to open in [the Marais] than in avenue Montaigne or Faubourg Saint-Honoré?
NSW: It's an important milestone for the label. It was perhaps a more reasonable investment than opening on rue Saint-Honoré. And avenue Montaigne isn't a fit for us, I think. But [the Marais] made sense because our first store, opened at the end of 2012, was in this neighbourhood. It's where our previous offices were located too. So it was a kind of tribute to the area, to Ami's roots. And so far, it's paying off: not a day goes by when we don't beat our targets. Of course, if we didn't expect to turn a profit in the short or medium term, we wouldn't have opened it. All our stores are profitable. I'm delighted that the risk we took is paying off for the time being. The label was built through the wholesale channel, which remains the best gauge for the market. But for us, direct retail expansion has come in stages, each measured to fit with the means at our disposal.
FNW: Precisely, what are your growth plans?
NSW: I'd rather be careful, and not make rash forecasts given the global economic situation. Yet a tariff war like the one we're experiencing, or the crisis brought on by the invasion of Ukraine or the pandemic, is a potential growth driver for us.
FNW: Why?
NSW: Because some of the main labels won't be able to seize their opportunities. We are smaller and more agile, so we have access to locations and deals that we'd have hardly been able to afford in normal times, if at all. For example, most luxury players have stopped investing in China, while we opened six stores in China in 2024. We express our cultural beliefs, for example recreating a Haussmann-style building in Beijing, or staging a show like we did last year on Suzhou's ancient walls. A well-worked out project is always effective, even more so in times of crisis. Because when you invest while everyone is downsizing, you're making a statement. It's a complex, stressful business because it's risky, but in the end you get a direct return from the market.
FNW: Which resources do you need to tap to become a €500 million or a €1 billion label?
NSW: I see no limits to the label's growth. It's only a matter of how fast we want to grow. One thing is sure: We have several levers to activate. We were initially a men's ready-to-wear label. Now that we have launched leather goods and womenswear, we're booming. Our Carrousel handbag is a winner. In the luxury goods sector, most of your growth and profitability comes from accessories. Some labels make between 60% and 80% of their revenue with this category.
FNW: You aren't there yet ...
NSW: We currently don't even make 10% [with accessories]. I'll let you figure it out. [Accessories] are a major growth driver. And womenswear, which we launched recently, is having a pulling effect on all categories. Secondly, we have huge scope for expansion in the USA, despite the uncertainty triggered by the tariff war. We're taking a step-by-step approach, because it's the world's most competitive country. Everything, from store opening costs to rents and salaries is much more expensive and more competitive in the USA. But the price increases that luxury labels have applied in recent years give us wiggle room in this market. Ami is also gaining traction in the Middle East, where there's a huge appetite for the brand.
FNW: Since consumption is slowing down in China, many players are beginning to take steps to enter India. Are you looking at this market?
NSW: We're already present in India with a partner. For now it's a small presence, but I strongly believe in it. I'm going there soon. A friend who lives in the country showed me that the captain of India's national cricket team [Virat Kohli] wears Ami Paris. Kohli is a superstar with over 300 million followers. Bollywood stars too are wearing Ami. All this while we don't even have a direct presence in the country. We're also looking at a market like Australia. There are many markets we can explore. We're currently making inroads into South-east Asia. We're working with franchisees, and in the last 18 months we have opened in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. We really have a lot of opportunities. Additionally, there's perfume, childrenswear, and cosmetics, which would be a strong extension for a brand called Ami. But the crucial element is that, if we want to bring the brand to the next level, we can't do everything at the same time, we must choose our fights.
Consolidating business, hiring more staff
FNW: What do you mean?
NSW: It means consolidating the growth we have had in recent years. Otherwise, certain levels won't be attainable. We need to know our customers better. And chiefly, we must add to our staff. For example, we have a very big materials R&D team, especially after we launched womenswear, setting up our own atelier in our own offices, something that makes us much more responsive. Of course, it's a gamble. But over the years I have prioritised investing in the right staff, the right products, the right research. Growth also requires working with external partners. We used to have in-house the skills needed to manage our supply chain, but the issues of a €30 million business are different from those faced by an over €300 million one. The key point is that, given the volumes we deal with today, anything we manage poorly will be costly, or become a drag. And we need to remain agile.
One of my challenges as CEO is to stick to these values regardless of our size, and to preserve Ami's brand identity both over time and across regions, from the USA to Europe and Asia.
FNW: With this consistency, where do you see the label in the next three to five years?
NSW: If I'd been asked three years ago if I thought we'd grow from €37 million to €300 million in four years, I'd have never said 'yes'. For me, it's primarily a question of identity. We're aiming to continue to grow while staying firmly anchored in our values, and afterwards we'll see if we can reach €600 million, €800 million or €1 billion.