"We have data on our consumers' tastes let us personalize our range of products"

Elena Carasso is 55 years old and comes from Barcelona, and she has been the Chief Online & Customer Officer at Mango for 32 years.  One of her major professional achievements has been to launch the online sales channel for the Catalan textile company in 1995, when only 0.4% of the world's population had access to the Internet. Carasso is also a firm believer in lifelong learning, which is why some years later, she took the UOC's Master's Degree in Logistics Management, in order to learn about the rapid breakthroughs being made in e-commerce and adapt the company to them. As she explained, "it's essential that physical stores are connected to the online channel, to the central offices, the logistics centre and the customer service centre, to cross-reference all customers' information, needs, tastes and preferences".

- The UOC taught its first online course in 1995. The pioneering university was created at the same time as your proposal to launch the Mango website. How did you come up with that innovative idea?

Innovation is a cornerstone at Mango, where I began working in 1991. Internet connections were very poor and limited in 1995. I had a computer at home, I installed a modem, and that gave me Internet access, and I realized that I could communicate with anyone in the world. It was a great opportunity, so we launched our first Mango website in 1996. The catalogue was very successful, and we received plenty of emails from customers from various markets asking how they could have access to and purchase the products. So, we turned the Mango website into another of our sales outlets, with the distinguishing feature that it let us reach people all over the world. Then, in 2000, we created the e-commerce portal, 10 years ahead of our main competitors. In fact, we were pioneers in e-commerce in the fashion industry in Europe. It was a very simple website, in four languages – Spanish, English, French and German – and in the 15 countries that were members of the European Union at that time. Today, our e-commerce is a benchmark in the fashion industry. It's present in more than 110 markets and has a turnover of nearly €1 billion, which accounts for more than 30% of Mango's total sales, a much higher percentage than the average for the sector.

- More than 70% of Internet users in Spain between 15 and 70 years old now shop online. How do you adapt online sales to changing consumer demands?

Mango aims to respond to our customers' needs at anytime, anywhere and in any format. That's why we have one of the richest distribution ecosystems in the fashion industry, combining face-to-face sales in our own stores, franchises and corners with online sales, through both our own channels and third parties, such as marketplaces. This integration of channels and the high levels of capillarity, combined with an extensive physical presence and a high level of online penetration, means that we know about the client in detail. We have a lot of data about our consumers' tastes and preferences, in different markets and even regions, and we use that information to personalize our range of products, services and experiences.

- The fashion market is changing. How are companies adapting to the emerging trends?

Mango is a global company with design and creativity at the heart of its business model, and a strategy based on constant innovation. Unlike other competitors, 100% of Mango's garments are designed in Barcelona. In 2006 we opened the Hangar Design Centre, at our base in Palau-solità i Plegamans, Barcelona, where we have a team of more than 500 people working in the product area (designers, buyers, etc.). The team has a specific department focusing on capturing trends. To do this, they travel to the leading international fashion capitals to identify changes in style based on what ordinary people are wearing in the street, and to attend the most important fashion shows, like those in New York, Paris and Milan, to find out what the luxury brands are doing, as they exert a great deal of influence in the industry. They also look at new trends in books, and on websites and social media. After they've been identified, Mango's design team draws up designs for upcoming collections. So, we transfer the major trends to our own language and value proposition, and to our consumers' tastes and preferences.

- How can the online experience be improved? What role do you think innovation, personalization and integration with physical stores will play in the future of e-commerce in fashion?

At Mango we see our stores as a special place for meeting our customers, which can offer unique experiences with technology and comprehensive services. Physical stores are crucial within our ecosystem of channels. We've been the fashion company that's opened the most physical stores in recent years, to the extent that we currently have more than 2,700 points of sale in more than 115 markets worldwide, and according to our strategic plan, we'll be opening more than 500 more stores between now and 2026. It's essential that physical stores are connected to the online channel, to the central offices, the logistics centre and the customer service centre, to cross-reference all customers' information, needs, tastes and preferences. For example, when a customer accesses our website we know if they bought some trousers in a Mango store last week, or if they bought them on the website and picked them up at one of our stores, or if they returned them, and we can offer them other alternative clothes and accessories to suit those trousers. We have this differential personalization not only on our website, but also on our devices and online channels, such as the mobile portal and our app.

- Second-hand clothing stores are becoming increasingly popular due to being a more sustainable and affordable option. With that in mind, how can multinational companies implement strategies to remain competitive, especially in terms of the sustainability and accessibility of products?

The product, design, quality and price are the factors that consumers should take into account when deciding what to purchase... But I don't think sustainability is among those factors. Sustainability is a path that the fashion industry must follow so that companies can progressively provide products and services that are increasingly conscious of the planet and society. At Mango, we were pioneers in creating a sustainability department in the early 2000s in order to progress along this path. We're not currently considering entering the business of selling second-hand clothes. We're primarily focusing on three main areas of action: product, planet and people. In other words, we're working to make a product with more sustainable fibres and materials or with a circular design, while reducing our impact on the planet (emissions, our use of water, chemicals and plastics, etc.) and we're improving the transparency and traceability of the entire value chain.

- Female managers accounted for 10% of all managerial positions in Spain in 2017. However, 38% of senior management positions were held by women in 2023. What challenges or opportunities have you experienced as a woman in a management position in the fashion industry?

Throughout my career at Mango (and I've been working here for more than 30 years), I've never experienced any differential treatment or discrimination (either positive or negative) compared to my male managerial colleagues. I've always received support from the management for the projects I've undertaken, and I've been fortunate that this company has helped me a lot to grow professionally, and given me everything that I've needed.

It's true that companies in all sectors (including the fashion industry) have been recruiting more female managers in recent years, but I think that's a natural progression in society. However, I don't believe there's been a turning point that has led to this change of direction.

- You studied a Master's Degree in Logistics Management at the UOC. In the context of fashion, how do you think logistics operations have changed since you completed your master's degree, especially with the changes arising from e-commerce?

Logistics operations have changed as a result of globalization, geopolitics, the rise of e-commerce and new technologies such as big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence... which offer new opportunities such as the use of real-time tracking systems, greater automation, systems to optimize routes...

Companies have responded to these changes, and are making the transition from more manual to more automatic systems, adapting and professionalizing our logistics networks. In 2019 we opened the logistics centre in Lliçà d'Amunt, Barcelona, which is one of the largest in Europe, and where all Mango Barcelona's logistics activity is coordinated for more than 115 markets worldwide. The centre is equipped with the most advanced technologies. It receives all garments and accessories from various production locations, and distributes them to all our points of sale worldwide (B2) and to all our online customers (B2C), processing dispatches of up to 85,000 garments an hour.