Luxury French swimwear brand Vilebrequin has a legacy spanning back over 50 years. Over time the brand has cultivated mutually beneficial relationships within the hospitality industry through their collaborative efforts with their hotel partners. Vilebrequin’s first hotel partner was the Resort Forte Village in Sardinia over 20 years ago, with the partnership still continuing strong to this day. Today, Vilebrequin has expanded to work with over 100+ hotel locations worldwide on both a wholesale and retail basis.
The collaborations between Vilebrequin and their hotel partners are both wildly successful, as well as mutually beneficial. Vilebrequin has continued to adapt to the ever-changing hospitality industry and expand their hotel partnerships over the past two decades. Vilebrequin stands out against its competitors through a multitude of ways, several of which are highlighted below.
EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
Vilebrequin provides an extra-special experience for hotel guests and allows them to make meaningful memories during their travel, while connecting with new customers around the world. Vilebrequin’s matching father & son and mother & daughter prints are fun to buy for the entire family. As Vilebrequin’s CEO Roland Herlory likes to say, ” We are a memory factory. We build long standing vacation memories.” These sentimental purchases create lasting memories you can take home with you after the family vacation ends and hold onto for years to come. Vilebrequin is also able to offer a necessary service to guests visiting remote vacation destinations, adding an extra value of convenience to travelers.
John Cates, franchise owner of the Vilebrequin boutique at the Baha Mar states, “We are proud to be partners with such an iconic brand like Vilebrequin that exudes elegance while remaining fun like a day at the beach. We look for partners that will help to add value to our guests’ vacation experience while also complementing the beautiful tropical setting that we have. Guests come to relax and disconnect from the hustle and bustle, but they also want to feel good and a part of that is a result of what one wears, even when relaxing at the beach…the brand exudes freedom and life and they offer the guests that opportunity to indulge in something of very high quality that also provides them with an increased level of self-esteem and self-image.”
UNIQUE EXPERIENCES AND BESPOKE PROGRAMS
Vilebrequin works to customize their hotel partnerships based on each property and its location, clientele, and specific needs. Vilebrequin has implemented many customization efforts such as cross branding or creating exclusive custom prints and logos. Vilebrequin and their hotel partners’ bespoke personalized services and collaborative efforts are key and resonate with guests to create one-of-a-kind experiences during their travels that they cannot find elsewhere.
One of the hotel partners to introduce a custom co-branded logo on products is Wheat at Four Seasons Anguilla. In terms of added value for the hotel property, Molly Shaheen, Founder of The Wheat Collection says “Four Seasons is the leader in luxury hospitality worldwide and as a result, the guests expect and appreciate that same standard across all touchpoints within the property. Having a high-end custom logo program feels unique and special to the guest. It is something they can’t find anywhere else. The feeling of exclusivity always brings additional value to the shopping experience.”
Vilebrequin also offers unique experiences beyond the product. Vilebrequin provides a variety of their hotel partners with beach pillows and sun umbrellas made with Vilebrequin’s iconic prints, beach games for hotel patrons, and special uniforms the staff
QUALITY THAT STANDS THE TEST OF TIME
Hotel guests expect the highest quality across all touchpoints during their stay. With durable tailoring and playful swimwear design, it’s no surprise that Vilebrequin stands out amongst competitors and has been a leader in the swimwear category for over five decades. The high-quality swimwear perfectly aligns with the target demographic of the high-quality properties that Vilebrequin partners with.
“I have been working with Vilebrequin in several locations since 2007, and the guests continue to love these bathing suits,” says Verena Lasvigne-Fox, the Senior Spa Director of the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center. “The familiarization our guests at The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center have with this brand, along with its exclusive designs and fantastic quality, make it a natural fit for us. In all spas it has been one of our most revenue-driving swimwear brands.”
SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
Driven by innovation, Vilebrequin is focused on developing and implementing sustainable solutions, fabrics, processes, and designs that make an impact on vacation, not on the oceans, to improve hotel guests’ experiences. Vilebrequin seeks hotel partners that share similar sustainability goals and are mindful towards environmentalist efforts.
“Vilebrequin is a very socially conscious brand and they have always made efforts to help conserve and protect our environment and our beautiful sea life. The brand’s passion for the environment and protecting nature is as important to our customers as it is to our company,” says Cates.
The combination of high-quality products, bespoke customization efforts, meaningful emotional connections, and the company’s commitment to sustainability continue to allow Vilebrequin to expand their hotel partnerships and service even more customers across the globe.
As Herlory says, “The luxury traveler is looking for authenticity. They still want to spend, but they want to buy well and right products and services with a meaning, a history and quality.
Vilebrequin has been the expert of beach life for over 50 years and has never forgotten its heritage: the brand is a product of the joy and freedom spirit of St-Tropez vacations in the 1970s but has also never compromised with quality. Quality means for us durability and long-term sustainability. It starts with reparability (we offer repair services so customers can enjoy their swimsuit for a lifetime) and continues with responsibility to the environment (80% of our collections are made of recycled or organic materials), savoir faire and integrity.”
