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2013 YEARBOOK YEARBOOK YEARBOOK 2013 1 Colour and joy for everyday life Marimekko is a Finnish textile This time, Marimekko held CONTENTS and clothing design company. The debut fashion shows of new clothing core of its business is the design and collections for the international media 2 manufacture of timeless and individual, and industry professionals in the From the CEO practical and beautiful consumer Nordic countries, at the Stockholm and goods. The array of Marimekko design Copenhagen fashion weeks. On the 4 embraces household products ranging interior decoration side, the year’s most 50 years of Unikko from furnishing fabrics to tableware prominent event was the launch of the as well as clothing, bags and other painterly Sääpäiväkirja series in the 6 accessories for people of all ages. autumn. The year’s debut product From sketch to fabric When Marimekko was founded in was the touching Konkkaronkka 1951, the unparalleled patterns and silverware set. 8 colours of its printed fabrics gave it a From the very beginning, colour 2013 in figures strong and unique identity. A heritage has been one of the fundamental acquired over decades, with its values elements of Marimekko design. It had 12 and legends, is an inexhaustible an even bigger role than usual in the Highlights of 2013 treasure from which it is good to 2013 collections, as Marimekko wanted draw courage and the strength for to remind people of the power of 16 renewal, even today. The meaning of colours and inspire them to use colours Vision, goals and Marimekko design is to create aesthetic boldly and individually. Colours give strategy experiences for every moment in life. you positive energy, but they also bring In 2013, the Marimekko world of calm and restfulness to those who want 18 colour and patterns arrived in mainland this. Colours touch the lives of us all. Sustainability at China and Taiwan. East Asia was also Marimekko in the forefront of shop openings during the year: new Marimekko stores 26 opened in Japan, South Korea and Personnel Hong Kong as well. The new stores in North America were all Marimekko 28 shops opened in classy department Marimekko Village stores. Marimekko opened company- owned stores in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. © Marimekko Corporation Puusepänkatu 4 00880 Helsinki Finland Tel. +358 9 75 871 [email protected] www.marimekko.com 2 ”I believe that Marimekko’s positivity, energy and authenticity are precisely what people want and need.” From the CEO As I write this I reflect on what internet. This change is currently the most important phenomena for very rapid. Especially for smaller fashion and retail trade are right now brands, digitalisation has opened – and what they were in the past up unprecedented opportunities as year of 2013. Four phenomena come the social media and other digital to mind as having primacy: new channels offer even small players a markets opened up by globalisation, cost-effective way to rapidly expand digitalisation, changes in consumers’ globally. values, and the weak state of the Consumers’ attitude to brands and world economy. products is changing permanently. In The opening up of developing this change, perhaps the key role is markets and the rapid growth of today being played by the explosive the population and economy have growth in importance of ecological acted as a colossal driver throughout aspects. Also, consumers are no the business sector. Using cheaper longer so much looking for attractive labour in the fashion business is products and famous brands but rather still commonly considered the most for brands with values and identities were opened, which I am very pleased important expression of globalisation that match their own. with. The most store openings were in in our sector, but I think this The world’s economic trend is Asia, where totally new markets were perspective is too narrow. Along with continuing to be very weak from opened up in mainland China and low cost levels, a perhaps even more the consumer’s viewpoint for the Taiwan. I am also really pleased that significant role has been taken by sixth consecutive year, and no clear we decided some years ago to focus the enrichment of the middle class in improvement is in the offing. With most heavily particularly on Asia, populous countries, which has opened the exception of the weak state of where overall growth in the sector has up unprecedented opportunities of a the global economy, I see these been strongest. totally new scale for trade in fashion great trends in the sector as good In terms of earnings, 2013 was and home products. At first, interest for Marimekko. Our strategy relies a mixed year. We streamlined our was directed at luxury goods, but now precisely on these assumptions for operations, resulting in nonrecurring it is fortunately also being focused on the next few years. expenses, but in 2014 our profitability products in other price categories. In 2013, Marimekko continued to will improve thanks to the Digitalisation is changing grow in spite of the difficult market arrangements made. A drag was also our business sector perhaps more conditions. Our sales were up by exerted on the net result for 2013 by dynamically and rapidly than six percent, which was not at all the losses incurred by our stores in ever before. Online retailing was a bad achievement in view of the the United States which are still partly initially common for sales of prevailing situation in our sector. in the launch phase. It was gratifying travel, electronics and books, for Growth in net sales came in particular that our EBITDA improved markedly example, but increasingly often from openings of new stores. In the because of growth in sales among consumers also want their clothes course of the year, no fewer than 34 other things. and household products from the Marimekko stores and shop-in-shops In 2013, the main thrust in store toimitusjohtajaFROM THE CEOLta 3 Crown prince Haakon of Norway visited Marimekko’s textile printing factory in autumn 2013. openings was on retailer-owned digitalisation will change retailing continues to be turned in particular Marimekko stores as we had already significantly. I do not, however, see to Asia, where there is visibly a still made large investments in our physical shops and e-tailing as mutual growing demand for our products. international network of company- competitors. At Marimekko we are We are also investing in enhancing owned stores in previous years. This building a business model in which digitalisation and we are further also fits in well with the present these two channels support each other raising the ambitions of our design difficult market conditions: it ties up seamlessly and which enables us to and our product development. I expect less of our capital, and retailers who serve all our target groups optimally. a positive trend in our net sales and know their own market area best have There was a debate in Finland earnings, even though I believe good chances of growing profitably. about the originality of design in economic conditions abroad and We also continued our investment 2013, and Marimekko was also especially in our domestic market in in digital business. We opened online involved in this. I believe it is good Finland will continue to be difficult. stores in Sweden and Denmark and we that the subject was widely aired. The world today is quite a brought our brand communications Marimekko´s values include fairness grey place, with much uncertainty in the social media and other to everyone and everything, and we and restlessness. I believe that electronic channels to a new level. We cannot accept any kind of plagiarism. Marimekko’s positivity, energy and already have a large band of faithful It is plain that, in our sector of authenticity are precisely what people Marimekko fans who follow us on business, both companies and want and need. This is why I am Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as designers have a responsibility for the convinced that Marimekko is now well as our own digital Marimekko originality of design. more current than perhaps ever. I see Village. It is our aim to be pioneers, In 2014, we will continue along a bright future for Marimekko. both in e-tailing and in digital brand our chosen path. The aim is to open communications. I am certain that 15–25 new stores, and our gaze Mika Ihamuotila 4 50 years of Unikko In 2014, Marimekko is celebrating the Unikko palette emphasised mellow, its all-time most popular pattern, muted tones which were suited to the Unikko, which has now been browns then predominant in interior blossoming for half a century. design. When designer Maija Isola created In the late 1990s, young designers Unikko in 1964, she could not have became enthused by Unikko and imagined the significance it would Marimekko applied the pattern have. Unikko arose as a protest against more extensively, not just for home Marimekko’s founder Armi Ratia, who decor items but also in the clothing had declared that Marimekko would collections. These new products not print any floral patterns because immediately attracted massive interest, flowers were more beautiful in nature and soon Unikko was pouring into than on fabric. Armi also wanted to the street scene and homes in an create something new and suited unprecedented way. At this time, to modern life instead of repeating Unikko appealed particularly to young the floral themes that were then in adults who had begun to have a fashion. Maija had her way, however, fascination for the clear and colourful and – possibly inspired by the poppies design idiom of the 1960s, but it also growing in her garden – painted Unikko hit the generation whose nostalgic and a whole series of different floral memories of childhood and youth were patterns in spite of the ban.

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