In partnership with the Lifestyle-Tech Competence Center (LTCC)  GUESS Europe launches its third GUESS Gen Z Lab initiative.

Bioggio, Switzerland, 20^th September 2022 − GUESS Europe and the Lifestyle-Tech Competence Center announce the launch of the third GUESS Gen Z Lab insight workshops, developed as a co-creation platform for Generation Z.

Following the success of the previous two events, the last of which was held at the brand’s European headquarters on December 14^th, 2021, the 2022 GUESS Gen Z Lab will also see the participation of students from the Akademie Mode & Design (AMD) in Munich; the International Fashion Academy (IFA) in Paris, the Kozminski University in Warsaw; the Manchester Fashion Institute (MFI) in the UK, and IED Milan’s Spanish counterparts, IED Barcelona and IED Madrid.

Through a process of direct engagement and exchange of ideas, the objective of the research platform is to strengthen the brand’s connection with Generation Z consumers, while providing students with an extensive set of tools for working in the fashion marketing industry.

Also known as the iGeneration, or iGen for short, Generation Z are the first generation of true digital natives and the largest generation on the planet. In fact, with an estimated spending power of 44 billion dollars, they account for approximately 2.47 billion (32%) of the Earth’s inhabitants.

“The previous Gen Z Labs have really allowed the brand to get a better understanding of this digitally connected generation and get direct feedback to co-create products and services that have value and meaning for younger people”, states Paul Marciano, Chief Creative Officer for GUESS?, Inc. “This year we’ve extended calls to other universities in Europe and we will now be hosting 36 students from France, Italy, London, Poland, Spain and the UK. This will not only provide our teams with important generational insights but also multi-cultural insights into what young people really want and expect from an international fashion and lifestyle brand.

End-to-end campaign research

GEN Z LAB is a place where GUESS marketing, sales and ecommerce managers can test ideas and get qualitative feedback directly from Gen Z participants on the brand’s campaigns, product launches and initiatives. The Lab provides each university with step-by-step modules tailored to suit their university program, providing a vast array of research tools, including online surveys, design thinking workshops, focus groups, mystery shopping and ecommerce experiences. Over the 3-month course, students will also visit the brand’s headquarters in Switzerland for a 2-day design thinking workshop on the 19^th–20^th September, where they will have the opportunity to work directly with some of GUESS’s senior managers.

Carlo Terreni, the President of Lifestyle Tech Competetnce Center comments:
“Our team at the Lifestyle Tech Competence Center is proud to contribute to the growth of the Guess GenZ Lab project, edition after edition. Specifically this time, we have demonstrated the capability to collaborate successfully with international stakeholders, actively engaging universities from six different countries and bringing them to Ticino. This unique consumer platform created in partnership with Guess is a very efficient way of getting feedback from young generations: we want to keep refining the approach and therefore we are inviting other partners to explore this opportunity together with us and Guess.”

Learning about the fashion industry from within

 During the activities, students get hands on experience of how the fashion industry works, including the analysis of  real-life case studies, social media posts, message ideation and campaign messages. They also participate in ADV, photo shoot, app, ecommerce and instore testing experiences, providing them with invaluable insights into how customer service processes and feedback management are implemented and work within the corporate world.

“Having the opportunity to work alongside Guess in the 2022 Gen Z Lab has been incredible. It has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience to understand the processes involved in marketing and consumer engagement, meet new people across Europe from different university courses and with different knowledge bases, and have insight into the innerworkings of a brand such as Guess. It is brilliant to bring together multiple universities to collaborate, share ideas, and build connections.” Hannah Perry, Fashion Buying and Merchandising at Manchester Metropolitan University.

“It was thrilling to get an in-depth perspective on the inner workings of a fashion house and collaborate with students from different countries and backgrounds, getting to know young and interesting individuals from the industry field. The Lugano workshop gave us a fantastic possibility to work with some of GUESS’ managers while having to brainstorm ideas sessions and get hands-on experience with a big-name fashion brand. We are really grateful for this enriching opportunity.” Alice Cantamessa, Fashion Marketing student at IFA Paris.

About GUESS?, Inc.

Guess?, Inc. designs, markets, distributes and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, eyewear, footwear and other related consumer products. Guess? products are distributed through branded Guess? stores as well as better department and specialty stores around the world. As of April 30, 2022, the Company directly operated 1,073 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Company’s partners and distributors operated 565 additional retail stores worldwide. As of April 30, 2022, the Company and its partners and distributors operated in approximately 100 countries worldwide. For more information about the Company, please visit www.guess.com.