"I've got five children between the ages of 26 and 9, so I have a good study area to talk about generation Z, generation X, millennials…”, he jokes Santiago Cucci, Global Director of Dockers , when asked what the firm's strategy is for connecting with the new generations, who relate in a different way to fashion and consumption.
“In my opinion, they look for authenticity, they want to buy less but better, and there we are. We have noticed an increase in Google searches, the interest has grown, ”he adds. This is precisely the focus of the Levi's campaign – buy less, buy better – a firm that is part of the same group as Dockers.
Dockers Lookbook.
“Yes, this is true for denim and for Chinos or khakis – the kind of pants in which the Californian firm specializes. In addition, these new generations are very interested in the brand and appreciate our stories, which seem consistent to them. On the gold side, the value for money is very good, and it is about very travel clothes”, comments Santiago, who always travels by plane with the brand's emblematic Flex, "so comfortable like pajamas."
In the same way that signatures like Tommy Hilfiger (where Santiago previously worked) and Ralph Lauren embody the style of the East Coast American, Cucci is convinced that there was room on the West Coast for a firm like Dockers. “I think it is an authentic Californian cool brand that was born in 1984,” he tells Condé Nast Traveler. in a very correct Spanish during his recent visit to Madrid, on the occasion of the opening of a store in Madrid's Calle de Fuencarral.
Dockers garments are ideal for travelers.
At the beginning of 2020, the company (LS&Co.) decided that there would be teams 100% dedicated to each signature and that's when he was approached to be the president of Dockers, thus becoming responsible for leading the development and implementation of the brand's strategy and overall operational success.
“It was ten weeks of pleasure and then came the pandemicSantiago comments. keeping a good mood, despite everything. “Then we wanted to transmit our history more than ever in an adequate way, connect with the consumer through authenticity,” he explains. "We are leaders in khaki pants but we are also a lifestyle."
A few days ago a Dockers store was opened in Fuencarral, Madrid.
He's lived in California for five years and he's an experienced wave chaser, so he understands this very well surfer spirit, in a white t-shirt and a surfboard. “Perhaps at first people perceived Dockers as a very office firm, but it is much more. You can be a university teacher who goes to see the waves in Ocean Beach, ride a bike, go teach your students and then go out with friends to have a few beers, always with the same outfit and being yourself”.
At the time, Santiago explains, this philosophy was very disruptive. The custom acquired by many American companies to implement the casual friday –going to the office on Fridays without a suit– comes, in fact, from this brand, that he sent a letter to other companies and launched an effective advertising campaign (the slogan: to change the world, you do not need a suit).
Jon Rose, founder of Waves For Water.
THE SOLIDARITY THAT CHANGES THE WORLD
"The affection towards the brand has grown with the pandemic," insists Santiago. The consumer is looking for more authenticity, quality and values, which are our strengths”. In addition to ensuring good practices for employees, Dockers has been involved in philanthropic causes for years.
“In 2020 I started working with the NGO Waves for Water. I love the honesty of its founder, with whom I worked at Quiksilver and am friends with. I have traveled with him to Mexico and I have seen how his filters to purify the water change the lives of people in a palpable way ”, he explains.
“Everything is done with authenticity, not just to take photos at a specific moment and then change the third. Even our employees are involved and proud. Ambassadors share our same values”, he insists.
Joan Duru and Maud Le Car have been other ambassadors for Dockers (and surfers).
A PRO TRAVELER
In addition to surfing, Santiago, who is of French and Spanish descent and speaks English, French and Spanish fluently, he has a pilot's license, as does his daughter. “The most incredible adventure I have experienced was traveling with her when she piloted for the first time, it was in Biarritz and I remember very well the landing, which is the most delicate moment”.
Before moving to California, she lived there, in Biarritz, with her family: “The French Basque Country is one of the most beautiful places in the world, although I also fondly remember an impressive trip piloting to Rio”, says the CEO, who has been living in San Francisco for five years now and recommends us to book at La Mar restaurant. “I'm Latino so I love it, it's a Peruvian place where you can eat fantastic and very healthy, it's incredible”.
Santiago Cucci, global director of Dockers.
He also loves biking through the National Park and touring the road that goes from Muir Beach to Stinson Beach, which also reminds him a lot of the Basque Country, to that part that goes from Hendaye to Saint Jean de Luz.
Is there a surf site that he wants to recommend to us… or are they not mentioned, as the surfing code indicates? "They don't say," he replies between laughs. “But I can say Ocean Beach, because a lot of people already go there. It is an interesting wave, very technical. What I like least is that the water is very cold”, explains this traveler who always he is light in luggage, but “very prepared”.
Golden Gate, San Francisco.
“I know how to expertly pack a suitcase so as not to have to check in – I calculate very well what I am going to need, I am realistic – and I know exactly the corridors of each airport, sometimes I even go faster than the flight attendants. In the backpack I always carry a neck pillow, to sleep during the journey, and the iPad loaded with a lot of movies, because I know that sometimes there can be delays or canceled flights, you never know".
As to whether our travel perspective has changed, he is shown, as in everything else, optimistic and vital: “I think everything is going to be much more humane. Precisely they asked me yesterday if I believe in physical stores. I believe a lot in them. My kids do DJ sets with vinyl, that's amazing, when I ask them why they tell me it's cooler. They want to return to what I have known, to the typical neighborhood store run by a guy who knows and travels a lot, with whom you can talk and learn”.
As for the trip, maybe we are going to travel less but more intensively, to connect locally. Just like you ask me for directions in my city, I I always ask the taxi driver for recommendations, the people I meet at the destinations. We want more authentic experiences. We are not perfect, traveling by plane can be polluting... but the airlines try to do it better and better. For example, the way of approaching the plane to the airport is being optimized, to consume less.
To Santiago you like hotels that connect well with local restaurants, And they are a bit far apart. A very special one? House of Flowers, in Mexico.