Pablo López (Silbon), the most versatile businessman in men's fashion: "Success is in the brand image"

Pablo López is not just any businessman. Trained in finance, he wanted to make his dream come true and be able to combine his profession with his other passions: fashion and sports. That is why the co-owner, CEO and image of Silbon launched 12 years ago to create his own fashion brand with a versatile style and different lines to celebrate important moments in life, be it a wedding, an important date or a test. special sports. As Pablo tells us, this vision is being a complete success and he has already opened 27 stores in Spain... And it continues to grow!

Where does your passion for fashion come from?

My great-grandfather and grandfather were tailors, and from a young age I inherited a taste for fashion from my father. The idea of ​​setting up a business arose in adolescence, but we did not manage to give it shape until several years had passed. It was at that moment that Rafael Díaz and I got together to start the Silbon adventure. We both had a hard time finding clothes we liked at a reasonable price on the market.

Adrián Perea

You go further and you are not only co-owner and CEO, but you are also a brand image and creative director. How did you achieve this versatility?

I consider myself a lucky person, who has been lucky in life to discover and dedicate myself to my two passions, which are complementary, on the one hand, business management, and on the other, fashion. Regarding being Silbon's image, it was not something that was foreseen, but today a clothing brand has to go beyond being a mere commercial product, it has to convey values, a lifestyle, and after almost 12 years shaping the brand with my decisions, without a doubt I also have to be its ambassador.

In addition, your son is also beginning to do his first steps as a model, what does he say to you when he gets in front of a camera?

Or rather, my children, I have three and they are all delighted with that facet. It is something that amuses them. I see myself reflected in them when in my childhood I loved doing activities with my father. The middle one, who is the most "scoundrel", always tells me to pay him, that he is making me earn a lot of money by posing... haha.

What is the secret to success?

Success has been a mixture of hard work and intuition. Now people are willing to pay a premium to wear embroidered rackets on their shirt, but that hasn't happened overnight. The basic premise is that clothing must have a good balance between quality and price, but the key is in the brand image, something that we have worked hard on and we had the vision to see in the digital world a possibility to differentiate ourselves from the rest. In addition, we have increased our environmental commitment. We are going to have many products in 100% organic cotton fabric, and we have eliminated plastic from packaging.

SILBON

What do you want to achieve with your brand clothing?

We seek to make people happy. Fashion is joy, and people dress to look good and to please those close to them. It is a great pride that men use SILBON for important moments in their lives, from the teenager who puts on a sweatshirt for his first date, to the man who buys a jacket for dinner with his partner or the father who chooses a morning suit to be godfather

In this difficult last year, Silbon has continued to grow with new stores, what has been the secret?

We are very happy with the results obtained. Sales have only fallen by 10% and the company's ebitda has improved by 18%. When COVID arrived, we marked out a very ambitious strategic plan, and the vast majority of decisions were correct. It also worked in our favor that we had the tasks done beforehand, the financial situation of the company was very good before all this happened, and the digital part of our business was very mature, both things have helped us a lot.

Silbon

You also have sports collections, since when do you practice it?

I've always played sports. When I was young I practiced almost all sports, but where I focused the most was on cycling where as a teenager I got to compete in the cadet and youth category. One day it occurred to me to record some rackets on a cycling jersey, and people, seeing it on social networks, wanted to know where to buy it. That encouraged me to launch the first technical collection. We created the running line this year because people demanded it a lot, luckily the sport is booming and at SILBON we couldn't stay behind.

What does the rackets logo mean?

It has its history, it arose after a photo session we did in 2010 in an old pediment. We took the spirit of that session to the first store by painting it on a wall and decorating it with crossed vintage rackets. Since people kept telling us what they liked about that wall, in the end it occurred to me to combine the clothes and the rackets, a decision that was a complete success.

And you have renewed with Cisco García, runner-up in Spain in chair tennis, as brand ambassador. What do you most admire about him?

Cisco García, apart from being an ambassador, has been a personal friend for many years. What I value most about him is his ability to face challenges, when he gets something between his eyebrows and eyebrows he doesn't stop until he gets it, he is a fighter in all aspects of life. How good it would be for society if the new generations had part of that combative spirit.

In February you received the Andalusian Flag of the Economy and Business for your work and solidarity, what do you already have in mind?

We have been thinking a lot about how to approach the expansion of the brand. Our online market share is over 30% of our total sales, which could make us think that the future is 100% online, but at the same time 85% of everything that is sold online is sold in the provinces where We have a physical store. The latter makes us continue betting on physical stores in territories where SILBON is not known, since in our case both things go hand in hand, people want a website and the security and experience of the point of sale. Now we are going to bet on small points of sale, well located, but not necessarily in prime areas, where the customer has a very digital experience and the physical merges with the online. The first project of this type is already open in Cádiz, and between now and summer we hope to replicate it in Salamanca and Oviedo.

Men's collections, sportswear, children's clothing, but when will one for women?

Good question, the release is already scheduled for September 9 this year. This first commitment to women is going to be a "capsule collection", made up of 50 very varied items from footwear to coats, sweatshirts, blouses, dresses, jeans, etc. It will be sold in our online store and in our flagship stores in Madrid and Córdoba.

Silbon

You allocate a percentage of the profits to charity projects, which one are you most proud of?

I feel very proud of everyone, the first one in 2015 in favor of the inclusion of people with Down's was very nice and marked a before and after in the company. But the construction of the town of Thirumalapuram (India), 24 houses and a school, is undoubtedly our biggest project. With it we have changed the lives of almost 100 people and we have empowered the women of this town located in one of the poorest areas of India. The houses have been deeded in the name of 24 mothers, and today they and all their families live in houses with all possible sanitary conditions in one of the most disadvantaged areas of the world, this is something that will last in the future. time and demonstrates SILBON's strong commitment to society.

Do you set any other goals for yourself? what would your dream be?

The main goal is to enjoy the day to day of the project, sometimes my level of self-demand prevents me, the level of responsibility is very great, and that often makes me lose perspective of what we are achieving. When those moments come I need to stop and say to myself, Pablo you have to live more in the moment, when have you dreamed of seeing yourself as you see yourself? A dream is to see my children grow up healthy, and who knows if in the future they still like the world of fashion and are attracted to business management, I would love to be able to work side by side with them.

And what is your philosophy of life?

We are lucky and our obligation is to live and enjoy everything good that surrounds us. Another thing that I try not to do is regret past decisions or acts that no longer have a solution.

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