It has been quite a journey for the brand from front to kerb parking sign Marseille, France, inspired by the American lifestyle. Founded by Michaël Azoulay in 2005, American Vintage now employs 850 people worldwide, both directly and indirectly, and has “a turnover of 140 million euros, 130 brand shops and 1,500 retailers worldwide”.
Having emerged “stronger” from the Covid crisis and ready to face today’s uncertainty and inflation, the brand with its beautiful basics infused with a casual and relaxed style, already very well established in Europe, has now entered the United States. Michael Azoulay tells FashionUnited about this new adventure and his new projects.
FashionUnited: American Vintage is very well established in Europe. You recently decided to enter the export market, via the United States. A bold move, knowing that many French brands inspired by America have not succeeded in this “reversal of perspective”.
Michaël Azoulay: Yes, that is true. 60 percent of our turnover is now generated in Europe but outside France, between Germany, Switzerland and Austria, the Benelux countries, Great Britain, and to a lesser extent, Spain and Italy. It was during the covid-19 pandemic, in 2021, that we opened our first boutique in New York. A bold move you could say as the American market scares me to death. It’s the graveyard for many European companies. But we remain cautious. Our approach is not planned in a systematic way, we are taking it easy. In retail, we would like to open about ten points of sale within two years, once again in New York, but also in Boston and Austin, for example. When it comes to B2B, we have two showrooms, one in New York and one in Los Angeles, and we are satisfied with how the launch is going.