Zimmermann Bets on a 15-City Map and a 2028 Paris Flagship

Zimmermann plans a 15,000-square-foot flagship on Avenue Montaigne in Paris for 2028, the anchor of a growth strategy built on 118 freestanding stores, a 500-door wholesale network and a deliberate push from occasion wear into daily wardrobe categories such as denim, soft accessories, shoes and handbags.

CEO Roberto Eggs set out the plan in an interview with WWD on Tuesday at the brand's SoHo store at 39 Greene Street, alongside cofounders Nicky Zimmermann, creative director, and Simone Zimmermann, chief operating officer. The reported financial backdrop: A$738.7 million, roughly $519.9 million, in total sales for the financial year ended June 30, up 14.4 percent year-on-year, per ragtrader.com.au. Zimmermann officials declined to confirm those figures.

The structural fact behind the story is channel mix. Wholesale accounts for less than one-third of the business; direct-to-consumer is the fastest-growing segment. "I think that the move to direct-to-consumer is something that in luxury is paying off," Eggs said, citing direct client feedback on product. He still sees value in wholesale, noting that key accounts — Net-a-porter since 2006, plus Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue — are moving toward concession models in stores such as Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdale's. Net-a-porter will mark the 20-year relationship with a capsule next spring.

Who owns it, and who runs it

Advent International acquired a majority stake in 2023 from Style Capital, with the family and Style Capital retaining a significant minority. Eggs, who joined as CEO last May after sitting on the board since March 2025, spent 11 years at Moncler and six at Louis Vuitton, including a stint as president of Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. He succeeded Chris Olliver, Nicky Zimmermann's husband, CEO since 2005, who remains executive chairman. "They are quite easy to work with and very supportive," Eggs said of Advent. The company employs 550 people in corporate roles and just under 2,000 in stores.

What does this change for sourcing and retail footprint?

Geographically, quite a lot. The brand entered Mexico this year, is eyeing South America and Canada, and has six stores in China since entering Asia in 2022 — "untapped potential with only six stores," Eggs said, at a moment when peers are struggling there. A second Bangkok store opens at the start of 2027, with Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to follow, and a Jeddah store is planned under the Chalhoub distribution partnership in the Middle East. Stateside, renovations or relocations are underway in Palm Beach, Bal Harbour, Melrose Place and Americana Manhasset; new stores have opened in Chicago, Nashville and San Juan, with Maui, Coral Gables, The Forum in Las Vegas and King of Prussia to come. America, Eggs said, remains the most important market since the first store opened in Los Angeles in 2011. All stores are designed by Don McQualter of Studio McQualter in Sydney and Melbourne.

On the product side, denim priced at $400 to $500 is pulling in a new customer; the "bird jean," first shown in washed denim and recut three times, became a bestseller. Soft accessories grew 132 percent from a small base — an idea that began when Eggs saw Zimmermann-dressed women without Zimmermann scarves at a Mytheresa event on Lake Como. "We shouldn't allow that," he said. A scent is in the works; beauty is not, for now.

Production remains split: a Paris atelier, open four years, handles tailoring and outerwear while learning Zimmermann's print and embroidery methods; accessories run through Europe; Sydney retains the rest. The brand joined the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode this year.

The discipline question

Eggs is explicit about pacing and pricing. "You need to price it the correct way because you have seen this lately, the past couple of years when prices went too high," he said. The stated constraint: "not to grow at a faster pace that the organization can support." Five years out, he wants a stronger brand across the 15 target cities, more of China and Europe — with the Paris flagship doing the visibility work. Growth, on this telling, is a sequence, not a sprint.