Moa started out as an accessories distributor to large retail chains, and today the French retailer is an international chain in its own right. Moa opened its first store in 2002, in Paris, providing accessories to girls and women between the ages of 15 and 25. Today the client range is 15 to 35, and last year Moa introduced a children’s line. As of the end of last year, there are 180 Moa stores across 18 countries. Only 35 are corporate-owned, all of which operate in France. The retail arm of Bistar, created in 1997 by Cyrille Tarica and Sébatien Bismuth to import and distribute fashion accessories, runs Moa.
“We have evolved since our birth, with a market repositioning and by seeking sophisticated female shoppers,” said Santiago Martínez Sanz, Moa’s Madrid-based business development manager for Spain, Portugal and Latin America. “We renovated our store concept by making it more contemporary, attractive and qualitative.”
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the chain operates five stores — in Curaçao, French Guyana, the French Antilles and Panama. At press time the company was negotiating to open through franchising in Mexico and Central America, where it is aiming to have roughly four or five stores this coming year. Its global goal is to open about 30 stores per year. “Other markets of interest are Peru and Colombia, though we do not rule out others if the right partner comes along,” said Martínez. “Latin America is a geographic area of interest for us owing to its potential as one of the favorable markets for fashion accessories.”
Martínez points out that some Latin American markets are offering higher growth rates for retailers, particularly when compared to a mature retail market like Europe. “We also think the Latin American consumer is more inclined to use fashion accessories and complements,” he said.
The franchising started in 2006, after France’s Etam Group, an international retailer of women’s fashion, accessories and similar merchandise, bought a 35 per cent stake in Moa. The transaction took place a year after Moa opened corner shops in Etam’s stores. In 2007 Moa agreed to open stores in France’s train stations, in a venture with Relay Group. That year the company also entered Spain.
The retailer’s average sales ticket is €18, and the average price of its goods is half that. It typically operates out of 80-square-metre stores, mainly in shopping centres and downtown retail areas. Nearly 40 per cent of its sales are costume jewellery, followed by leather goods (at 19 per cent) and shoes (15 per cent). The rest is textiles, hair accessories and belts.