Thinking Mu recruits David Meire as board member, targets €20 million by 2024

Translated by

Roberta HERRERA

Thinking Mu was founded as a sustainable fashion brand, a groundbreaking concept for the time period, by Pepe

Facade of Thinking Mu’s store in Barcelona – Thinking Mu

Shortly before the pandemic, in 2019, Thinking Mu sensed the need to add a financial profile to its ranks, capable of articulating a system of economically sustainable growth as the firm was increasing its sales, but ran the risk of not being able to meet that demand.

It was then that Cinthia Miralles appeared on the scene, who previously worked as a financial manager at Desigual

Meanwhile, additional talent from Desigual joined the project: Eri Velázquez has been leading the brand’s commercial management since the end of 2020, while María Muntaner has been leading the marketing department since 2022.

However, the star recruit at the end of last year was David Meire. The now co-owner of HurleyNike

A retail-led strategy to scale up the business

After restructuring its shareholding and organizational chart in just two years, Thinking Mu is now in the midst of executing its expansion plan.

“If it weren’t for Covid-19, we would have had our first store in 2020, but we focused on wholesale that year, which represents 80% of our sales, and on building customer loyalty. Of course, we closed 2021 knowing that we would open in 2022,” explained Barguñó to FashionNetwork.com

Pepe Barguñó and Miquel Castells, co-founders of the brand – Thinking Mu

That first store opened its doors a few days ago on Madrazo street in Barcelona. The shop that covers only 25 square meters is, for the company, the ideal place for experimentation.

“Our goal is to learn how to conceptualize a store, what to offer customers, and to learn about window dressing and management in order to be able to replicate the concept in different retail formats,” said Barguñó.

Looking to open a second store in Barcelona and already in contact with department stores such as Galeries Lafayette

The brand currently has 450 multi-brand points-of-sale in 20 countries – Thinking Mu

With the wholesale channel as a lever, together with the development of its online channel (which accounts for 18% of its sales), Thinking Mu is aiming to close 2021 with a turnover of 6 million euros, a considerable increase compared to 4.2 million in 2021. Its medium-term objective? To more than triple its sales and reach 20 million euros in two years.

More than a just a sustainable company: a regenerative company

“We are where we are because we have always been ahead of social sensitivities. On the issue of sustainability, our predictions have been fully met. The good thing about it being a widespread issue is that people want to take part in it; the bad thing is that there is not enough knowledge or tools to differentiate between what is truly sustainable and what is not,” said the co-founder of Thinking Mu.

“From our side, we are trying to be very instructive, although our ability to differentiate is becoming more and more limited,” he added. “Today, we are focusing on helping the consumer become more and more demanding. Going forward, we believe that sustainability will become a concept of the past. It’s no longer good enough to pollute less; you must have zero impact,” he continued.

By 2030, Barguñó predicts, “we will start to talk about regenerative companies. We are there, observing processes to ensure that a textile company can be one, which will lead us to evaluate the concept of branding and go one step further,” he concluded