French womenswear label Grace & Mila is thriving at independent retailers and department stores, while the domestic ready-to-wear market remains weak. The label was founded in 2011 by the family trio of Julie, Patricia and Patrick Chou. It’s positioned in the mid-market segment, and has changed its business model from immediately available collections to a classic commercial calendar in order to attract more retailers, especially outside France. Its international sales have grown from 7% of its revenue five years ago to 40% today.

Grace & Mila is currently distributed via nearly 2,000 retailers in 39 countries (including 600 stores in France). A few years ago, it began to attract retailers outside France, in Belgium and Spain, before gradually expanding elsewhere in Europe, notably in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. The label recently exhibited at the CIFF trade show in Copenhagen, and has opened a shop-in-shop at the Sokos department store in Finland.

North America came next, and Grace & Mila now operates seven showrooms in the USA and Canada. The label is also present in various airport duty-free shops, after partnering with Lagardère Travel Retail. Asia is also on the map: Grace & Mila has a growing presence in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand, and is mulling entering China, a huge market where the label has offices from where it supervises its collections’ production. In Africa, Grace & Mila recently set foot in Morocco, where it has inked a partnership deal to open a series of retail corners.

“By switching a year ago from immediately available products sold through the wholesale channel to a pre-collection model, with retailers placing their orders ahead of the season, the label has a collection rhythm and a product range that are better suited to the retail channel, enabling us to reach new clients. Also, we’ve been told in many countries that our French touch is reflected in the assortment, and is very much appreciated, after so many seasons of Scandinavian minimalism, of which some are rather weary,” said Julie Gedeon, head of domestic and international sales at Grace & Mila. In addition to trade shows, the label is relying on social media and influencer marketing to expand abroad. “We’ve signed up a retailer in Norway who spotted us on Instagram,” she added.

Grace & Mila’s strength is “value for money. The products are extremely affordable (tops at €49, dresses at €89), but we make an effort with the fabrics, which are 70% natural,” said Gedeon. The new business model has enabled Grace & Mila to broaden its range of sizes (from XS to XL rather than from S to L), and to introduce new, more sophisticated items with slightly higher prices, “without touching entry-level items.”

Thanks to its new clients and partners, the label recorded a 70% revenue rise with the winter collection, and a 30% one with summer 2025, producing an “exceptional” 50% increase in annual revenue, whose value it didn’t disclose. “Our goal for 2025 is to open our first monobrand store abroad,” said Gedeon without revealing the destination, but adding that “for sure, a first opening will then lead to others.”

In France, where the wholesale market is rather flat, the label has two objectives: Firstly, to convince retailers to open Grace & Mila corners in their shops, and secondly to consider converting into a monobrand store. “When we have room to showcase our brand image and our visuals, sales are twice as high,” said Gedeon. Retail-wise, the goal is to gradually expand the label’s monobrand fleet in France, currently comprising five addresses, including a store opened in Bayonne in 2024. “We’re already present in Paris and Lyon, and we’re targeting other cities such as Toulouse and Marseilles,” said Gedeon, adding that the label is continuing to expand in department stores too, having entered the BHV Marais last year.

Grace & Mila’s growth is going hand in hand with new hires at headquarters, in marketing, sales, and the design office. The current premises in the town of Pantin have become too small, and the label will soon move its staff of about one hundred to new offices in Paris.

In 2025, Grace & Mila is also planning to improve its brand platform and boost online sales (worth approximately 10% of revenue), with Gedeon forecasting a 30% sales growth in 2025. Indeed, there is no crisis for Grace & Mila.