Marcella Wartenberg on Hackett London’s regional expansion, alliance with Apparel Group
AWWG Group’s CEO reveals how a strategic alliance with Apparel Group is driving Hackett London’s aggressive expansion and digital evolution across the GCC
15 February, 2026
TT
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In fashion, expansion is easy. Alignment is rare. Marcella Wartenberg knows the difference. “I wanted to really make a plan with someone that could become a partner,” she tells me, her gaze steady. “Not just a businessperson, not just a business company, but really a partner.”
I met Wartenberg at the Dubai launch of Hackett London’s A/W 2025 campaign, an evening that brought Formula 1 royalty to the Emirates in December to celebrate British menswear. But for Wartenberg, the CEO of AWWG Group, the parent company behind Hackett London, Pepe Jeans, and Façonnable, the event represented something more fundamental: the regional alliance with Apparel Group and how it has reshaped how the Gulf experiences the brand.
It is a partnership built on shared values, she explains, and one with an aggressive vision: a new Hackett London store opening every six to eight weeks across the GCC for the next three years.
Wartenberg is precise about what she sought in a regional partner. “Apparel Group brings that to the table,” she says. The scope of the partnership extends far beyond the UAE. “It was very important to have a partner here in the GCC that could support the brand, not just in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but also Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia,” she explains.
Crucially, Apparel Group serves as more than a distribution channel. “They could also be a voice of what the product and consumer needs were,” Wartenberg notes. The collaboration involves working closely on product requirements, delivery timing, and identifying gaps in the collection — “really finding the right balance between a global brand with local needs.”
Ambassadors with appeal
The evening’s centrepiece was the campaign featuring Carlos Sainz Sr, the legendary rally champion, alongside his son Carlos Sainz Jr, the Formula 1 driver. The pairing is deliberate. “For a long time, the brand has been thought of as very classic, very traditional,” Wartenberg explains. “And I feel that the consumer is moving to much more modernity, contemporary innovation.”
The Sainz duo embodies this evolution. “I don’t lose the tradition, but I can mix it with modernity, with a new generation, where I can talk about craftsmanship,” she says. “They love precision, they like speed, both of them, but they also like quality, and they’re always thinking about details. It is a very nice combination.”
The campaign rolled out simultaneously across the GCC, Europe, and Latin America. But having Carlos Sainz present in Dubai holds particular weight.
“It’s like getting closer to the consumers, really making some noise,” Wartenberg says, “but also showcasing what that combination of dad and son means.”
Changing consumer tastes
The early results exceeded expectations. “I looked at the results of the last eight weeks,” Wartenberg shares, “and the results in the GCC, it’s amazing how the consumers are accepting the brands, the trends, the quality, same results that we have in Europe.”
What excites her most is the consumer profile. “In other regions, the consumer is looking for innovation, but they are still very traditional,” she observes.
“They want to feel luxury, but at the same time, they want to have accessibility. And it’s a consumer that’s moving very fast, faster than other regions in the world.”
This velocity demands attention. “That’s why I think that we need to, as a global brand, look at what’s happening in the Middle East,” she says. “For me, it’s very important because it really is the foundation of growth for a new consumer.”
She notes an interesting paradox: despite being a global brand with a strong British heritage, the GCC consumer often wants exactly what European consumers want. “Localisation is so important because we are global,” she reflects, “but the consumer here, on many occasions, requires the same things as in Europe.”
The differences are often calendar-driven, such as holidays that fall at different times, but the fundamental desire to feel part of a global brand remains constant.
The smart casual revolution
The shift in menswear is significant, and Wartenberg has watched it closely. “The new generation has moved from a tailoring mindset to smart casual,” she observes. “They want to look smart, but they want to be casual. You see them everywhere, in the airports, in restaurants, in business meetings. Men today want to “feel” smart yet casual. They want to be impeccable, but at the same time, they want to be comfortable.”
The collection has adapted accordingly. “We have added a lot of things that are moving out of the tailor to half-constructed garments, technical fabrics for innovation, comfort,” she explains. “We always try to find a percentage of stretch in the product that can give that comfort feel without losing the luxury, without missing the natural fibres, the natural fabrics.”
The details matter enormously: silhouettes, colours that avoid becoming “too classic and boring,” and that distinctive British quirkiness. “A little bit of the unexpected colour,” she adds. “People are looking for personalisation and to feel unique.”
The 2026 imperative
Wartenberg sees clear trends emerging for 2026. “People are becoming much more conscious of feeling ‘unique’,” she says. “They want service. They want personalisation. You go to a store, you want to feel that you have an experience, without missing the digital part.”
Digital, she insists, is non-negotiable, even for luxury. “We always think luxury doesn’t need digitalisation. I think the opposite,” she says firmly. “You can have a luxury experience, service, but you need to have digital assets, loyalty, and know how to find the product, how to experience even a website. How do we look in e-commerce? How do we look in our images? Because it’s the first window to the brand.”
But Wartenberg is pragmatic about how e-commerce functions differently across brands. “It depends on the brand,” she explains. “In the case of Hackett, e-commerce plays two important roles. One is it’s a brand window, so we need to showcase beautiful images from social media all the way to our own e-commerce. And they will translate into easier categories to buy: shirts, sweaters, pants, polos.” She pauses. “The younger the brand, like other brands in the portfolio, then you need to think about quick speed and conversion. It’s very different.”
When I ask her to distill her 2026 strategy into three phrases, she is ready: “Consumer first. Digital daring, digital means AI, e-commerce, we need to dare. And operational excellence.”
People are daring to buy newness
The metrics tell a story Wartenberg finds encouraging. “One of the big pluses is that we see the brand is growing, not only in like-for-like, but also in new territories,” she says. But what excites her most isn’t just the numbers. “I like to see that people are daring to buy newness. People are not just buying the basics. People are daring to buy new. People want to renew themselves.” She leans forward slightly. “It’s very good to see that we are now a brand with a new proposition for the consumer. And we are being chosen for that.”
As a woman leading a portfolio of men’s brands, Wartenberg has developed a distinctive approach. “As a female leader in a very male-dominated world, it’s interesting because I can play more of my neutral part,” she reflects. “It’s not personal. I just think about what the business needs. Sometimes it’s easy to find that balance between the sensitivity of a woman with a business mindset,” she continues. “That combination, sensitivity with more pragmatic thinking, I think it works.”
Her advice is universal. “The big lesson is that everyone can achieve everything,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man, but you need to believe. You need to believe in the dream that you have, that you can make it, and you need to work hard. Like everyone else.”
Values, she emphasises, are not abstract ideals but practical tools. “Sometimes we forget that as a leader, we need to make tough decisions,” she says. “But if you have values, you know how to balance them. You know there’s a crisis somewhere, but it helps you to really make the right decisions.” She’s quiet for a moment, then adds: “You need to believe in the dream that you have, that you can make it, and you need to work hard. Like everyone else.”
Defining the Hackett man
“Who is the Hackett customer?” I ask Wartenberg. “The Hackett man is a global person,” she explains. “He likes to read about things happening around the world. He travels, for pleasure or business, but he travels. He likes to know what’s happening in the news. He’s empowered, from a creative angle, a business angle, a financial angle. He’s a man who wants to feel good.”
She pauses. “I think it’s a man who just wants that thing I was talking about, modernity, comfort, relaxation, but still very stylish. The stylish part is very important.”
And increasingly, she notes, boundaries are blurring. “The whole gender thing is almost neutral,” she observes. “Men are wearing colours traditionally seen as women’s, and women are wearing men’s silhouettes. It’s interesting how everything is crossing over.”
As our conversation draws to a close, Wartenberg returns to the theme of connection. “We believe that you can create an emotional connection with the consumer,” she says. “That is the first step to create loyalty. And gaining new consumers costs a lot for any company. So, once you gain them, you need to keep them.”
How? “Spoiling them,” she says simply. “Giving them a good experience. Giving them the right product. Giving them the feeling that they need to buy more and come back. And that they always think of you as a brand.”
She pauses, then smiles. “That’s global. It’s not a regional thing. All men, all women, everyone, consumers want to feel that way.”
With Apparel Group as their partner and a store opening nearly every month across the Gulf, Hackett London is betting big on the region.
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