The Fashion Digital Lab is opening

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Ticino is the perfect location to lead the fashion industry into the future

The Fashion Digital Lab is opening

The Fashion Digital Lab, will be located in Lugano,
Aimed at developing what Switzerland does best:
fashion, innovation and digital technologies. 

A hotbed of dozens of the world’s greatest fashion brands and powerful innovation spilling out from Zurich and fostered by NetComm Suisse, Fondazione Agire and a host of others such as Accenture Interactive, PostFinance SA, Swiss Post, Keros Digital, intarget, ECRM GROUP.

• Inside the Fashion Digital Lab, a real bridge with Zurich2025, will be:
• "The NetComm Suisse Digital Academy" supported by Canton Ticino and Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI)
• The PostFinance SA Startup Square, supported also by Swiss Post
• The Fashion Permanent Observatory
• A connection to Silicon Valley and Europe via Mind the Bridge

Lugano, 18 April 2016 – The Fashion Digital Lab, announced today, is a totally new ecosystem of innovation and contents, designed exclusively to offer top fashion brands, merchants and digital innovators the chance to come together to build the synergies and connections, the tools and the systems which will enable the success of these companies and the industry tomorrow.

The Fashion Digital Lab will host dozens of the world’s greatest fashion brands, fostered by NetComm Suisse, Fondazione Agire and myriad others. Inside the Fashion Digital Lab will be the "NetComm Suisse Digital Academy" supported by Canton Ticino and Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI). Investments from public and private operators worth over 2 million CHF will be raised.

“We’re very proud to welcome today The Fashion Digital Lab during  our main event devoted to the Fashion industry in Lugano – said Carlo Terreni, General Director of the NetComm Suisse e-Commerce Association. The Lab’s mission is absolutely clear: to transform the digital fashion landscape and allow it to nurture and grow the very finest brands in the fashion sector so as to make Ticino part of the digital revolution and a melting pot for the latest innovations in the worlds of fashion and technology. Whether the brands are interested in e-Commerce, wearable technology, analytics, software or the CRM of Things, our ecosystem helps all the companies stride towards the future through training, coaching and cross-pollination of ideas. The Hub is also a stepping-stone between the digital powerhouse of Zurich and the world’s greatest fashion brands in Milan, Ticino is the ideal location for fashion companies to locate and innovate, also thanks to the strategic support of PostFinance SA and its Startup Square.
The Fashion Digital Lab obviously will avail itself of all the best practices, involving NetComm Suisse Associates and partners who are involved in cutting-edge digital topics, all to speed up and to grow what Switzerland does best: fashion, innovation and digital technologies”.

The companies and institutions within The Fashion Digital Lab

The Lab will host the greatest names in fashion in a singular, unique location where the future is being crafted today. But it will be also part of an ecosystem of innovation, sales and intelligence, enabling the community to better leverage advanced production techniques, CRM, advanced logistics as well as digital and e-Commerce themes. All the companies will be inspired by a network of like-minded entrepreneurs and experts, where training, coaching and courses developed by the NetComm Suisse Digital Academy, supported by Dipartimento delle Fiannze e dell'Economia, Divisione dell'Economia del Canton Ticino and the Startup Square with PostFianceSA. The Academy will be supported on the technology side by ElmecSuisse.

Also Accenture Interactive looks with great interest to The Fashion Digital Lab’s creation and will be a strategic partner in the NetComm Suisse Digital Academy in order to develop digital skills in the Ticino area with its know how, grants and skills.

The Fashion Permanent Observatory in collaboration with ContactLab will be a skills hub in terms of surveys and researches focused on future trends and developments linked with fashion, innovation and the very latest technologies.

Fashion Digital Lab firms that will set up into the building:

"Our commitment for the Fashion Digital Lab is enthusiastic - commented Leonardo Pecchioli, Founder & CEO at Keros Digital. We'll support the NetComm Suisse Digital Academy providing knowledge, on-the-job training and internship opportunities to professional profiles keen to improve their competences and skills in the technology scenario".

"Our experience in the Fashion field, working alongside clients such as Dolce&Gabbana, Moncler, Benetton and many more, was key to making us consider this amazing opportunity - said Nicola Tanzini, President and CEO of intarget.  Our presence in the Fashion Digial Lab represents a great occasion to showcase to prospects and clients our 18 years’ expertise and know-how in the creation and management of digital marketing strategies for multinational companies focusing on the Fashion, Luxury, Automotive, Finance and Tourism sectors. Our data driven approach is the best way to bring quality to our projects and to offer clients the most efficient and stunning services".

"The possibility to take part in the Lugano Fashion Digital Lab is absolutely in line with our strategies and perspectives - commented Fabio Regazzoni and Andrea Verri Founders of ECRM GROUP. We'll be involved in the hub in order to build a CRM competence center in Switzerland to speed up digital development. Our skills and technology in the Italian digital gift card market could be a starting point to develop an international business taking advantage of the local knowhow and the network of excellence provided by the Lab".

NetComm Suisse Digital Academy

“The impact of online communication in the Fashion industry is not a passing trend and it needs to be supported by research and training courses that make it possible to study its deepest dynamics and to prepare the most suitable profiles in a context of global competition - said Lorenzo Cantoni, Director of the Institute for Communication Technologies of the Faculty of Communication Sciences at USI, the University of Southern Switzerland. On April 19th - he continued - we will organize our first workshop with the heads of the eCommerce departments of companies in this sector, with the aim of increasing the knowledge and expertise required in this area in relation to digital communication".

"In Ticino many fashion companies have long asked the USI Career Service for qualified profiles, from sales to marketing, from controlling and, today more and more, in eCommerce and digital areas - added Silvia Invrea, Director - Career Service and Alumni at USI. Fashion companies are for sure becoming the main recruiter of young new graduates, also in terms of appeal. Just in Ticino there are about 60 graduates from our university who found a job in fashion companies. A great change for our territory: 10 years ago it was almost exclusively companies from the Financial sector which attended our Career Forum; today more and more fashion players contact us looking for hires, names like Gucci, Michael Kors, VF International (Timberland, Vans, The North Face, as portfolio brands), Hugo Boss, Guess, Labelux Global Business Services (that includes brands such as Bally, Belstaff and Jimmy Choo), Zegna, Rossimoda and Pianoforte Holding (which controls brands such as Carpisa and Yamamay).

"The project powered by NetComm Suisse perfectly and consistently fits the context of the broader economic development strategy that our Canton started, being the perfect complement for Fondazione Agire in its mission to coordinate the regional system of innovation. - said Lorenzo Leoni, Director of Fondazione Agire. Moreover, the project represents an important step forward for the nomination of Ticino as the headquarter of the "Swiss Innovation Park", which has been was very well evaluated in the last year and that we'd like to propose again". 

"The NetComm Suisse Digital Academy initiative is very close to our hearts. We are strongly committed to supporting the Fashion Digital Lab precisely in order to improve skills and training within the digital sphere, something which is not easy to find on the market currently - said Carlo Torrani CDO - Head of digital marketing and communication at Missoni.

"The big shift towards digital that the whole economy is tackling requires appropriate skills which are scarce on the market - commented Stefano Zoia CEO Tinext. The foundation of the Academy is a solid investment for the future development of a digital competence centre in this area. We’ve been a first hour supporter of the initiative as we strongly believe in the vision and we trust the usual quality delivered by NetComm Suisse".

"Digital communications technologies are one of the fundamental areas for development within the Canton of Ticino and the wider region, as recognized by a recent BAK study - said Milena Folletti, Head of Program and Picture Manager at RSI. RSI is already investing a lot of energy into the digital future and we look forward t o all local initiatives of this type. A collaboration in this area could prove most interesting and stimulating".

"The companies are now facing the digital transformation challenge - said Luca Mascaro, CEO at Sketchin - and they have to develop a lot of innovative internal resources to stay competitive and generate value. That's why it is of particular value contributing to the "NetComm Suisse Digital Academy", an institution that can boost the digital competence of the local firms".  

The Academy will be connected to Silicon Valley and the rest of Europe thanks to an exclusive partnership with Mind the Bridge, the organization that bridges the most innovative start-up ecosystems in the world to Silicon Valley.

“We are working to creating a strong link- said Alberto Onetti, Chairman Mind The Bridge -  between the NetComm Suisse Digital Academy and our educational programs for start-ups, scale-ups, corporates and investors we run in San Francisco. Additionally we will involve the stakeholders of NetComm Suisse in the Startup Europe Partnership open innovation platform Mind the Bridge leads on behalf of the European Commission.”

Observatory NetComm Suisse

"We are very proud to join forces with NetComm Suisse in the Digital Academy - explained Massimo Fubini, founder and CEO of ContactLab. Our company will open the new Swiss office in order to bring our deep expertise in customer engagement for luxury and fashion on the Swiss market, and support brands to develop innovative and highly individualized digital marketing programs. I'm convinced that our Switzerland team based in Lugano will enable the best synergies with a positive impact for all the companies in the fashion and luxury field".

“The last few years have seen incredible change within the fashion and luxury industries. With NetComm Suisse ContactLab has developed an observatory on e-Commerce and fashion digital behaviours to discover and monitor the quick changes in the consumer’s journey paths. Thanks to this privileged point of view, we help brands to plan and execute digital communication programs successfully, to enable personalized marketing and to unlock demand while building lasting customer relationships”.

Startup Square thanks to:

"In our strategy to support entrepreneurship in Ticino area there is of course the capability of supporting the new startups - said Daniele Petrucci, Head of Ticino Region Sales Corporate Customers at PostFinance SA. This is the reason why we found Fashion Digital Lab as the perfect place where we can build our area called Start-Up Square, that will be at the disposal of the more relevant business ideas related to fashion and technology. We will set up a way to put in direct contact the top managers of Ticino fashion companies and startups, which will be selected and incubated in order to become the businesses of the future.

“The opportunity to take part in the Fashion Digital Lab it’s very important for our company - said Fabio Gianfreda, Product Consultant at Swiss Post. We're happy to support NetComm and PostFinance in this Project together with all the e-Commerce ecosystem. For our part we'll have the chance to widen our logistic capabilities and to help develop the Swiss start-up environment in a specific Square devoted to innovative ideas".

The Fashion Digital Lab

The Fashion Digital Lab will be a totally new ecosystem of innovation and contents, designed exclusively to offer top fashion brands, merchants and digital innovators the chance to come together to build the synergies and connections, the tools and the systems which will enable the success of these companies and the industry tomorrow.

The Fashion Digital Lab will host dozens of the world’s greatest fashion brands, fostered by NetComm Suisse, Fondazione Agire and myriad others. Inside the Fashion Digital Lab will be the "NetComm Suisse Digital Academy" supported by Canton Ticino and Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI). It is based in Lugano, easily connected with motorway junctions and is just 10 minutes away from the city center. 


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Uploaded on 18/04/2016

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Fashion Dgital Lab

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E-commerce meets fashion in the "Ticino Fashion Valley" 2016

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