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Category: Fashion

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Fashion news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Rebecca Minkoff plans Asian assault

    Rebecca Minkoff plans Asian assault

    Fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff plans to open up to six stores in Hong Kong by 2018 as part of a broader Asian rollout.

    The new 585 sqft store in Hong Kong’s Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui marks not only its standalone store debut, but the first step in a planned Greater China entrance.

    It will also expand its stores in Korea and within the next 18 months open in the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

    At the same time it is targeting the US, with a Los Angeles stores planned by June this year and another in Chicago by year’s end.

    “We want to focus on these really great supercities and Hong Kong is definitely one of them,” Minkoff said in an interview with WWD.

    “I love the fashion here. It’s a very edited view and I think they take more risks.”

    Japan has marked the only blemish to date in the brand’s Asian ambition. While it has 12 points of sale there it had to close its flagship in Tokyo’s Ginza last year.

    “We found that’s not the right location for our customer. That’s a very Fifth Avenue-type of customer whereas we [attract] a more [Greenwich] Village and SoHo-type customer,” Minkoff said.

  • Pull&Bear Shanghai opens new flagship

    Pull&Bear Shanghai opens new flagship

    Inditex Group-owned youth fashion brand Pull&Bear opened its new two-storey East Nanjing Rd flagship this week.

    Pull&Bear features in 70 markets worldwide with a network of over 900 stores. The new Shanghai store is the first in the city to present the brand’s new image, which draws inspiration from the Californian atmosphere of Palm Springs.

    The 700 sqm store displays Pull&Bear’s collections on two floors. The ground floor, which can be entered either from the street or from the Mosaic Plaza shopping centre, sells womenswear and the first floor is devoted to menswear.

    The striking facade uses traditional glass bricks and LED lighting to project the brand anfd welcome customers with an air of light and transparency. Instead of a traditional display windows, the facade features visual projections, inviting passersby to come into the shop and discover the new space.

    Once inside, materials typical of DIY or building projects, such as painted concrete, OSB, pine wood and textured paint combine to create a richly varied setting of colours, materials and textures.

    This opening enhances Pull&Bear’s presence in China, the brand’s third market by number of stores (only behind Spain and Russia), with 63 points of sales open throughout the country’s major cities. It is the fourth Shanghai store for the brand.

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  • Lingerie icon calls time

    Lingerie icon calls time

    Frederick’s of Hollywood, the 69-year old lingerie retailer, has closed all of its stores and sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

    The company has placed a notice on its website saying it will now only sell products online.

    It is the second time since 2000 Frederick’s has filed for bankruptcy protection.

    After a three year long restructure which saw it strengthen its balance sheet, reinvigorate its product range and return to profitability, the retailer emerged from the last one in 2003.

    But it suffered a body blow last year from Californian legislation requiring companies to disclose if any carcinogens were present in their products. Frederick’s was thus required to disclose its bras might contain lead and some analysts have suggested this may have driven customers away.

    Last year, a group of investors, including private equity investor Harbinger Group, bought the business for a modest US$24.8 million. In February, Frederick’s of Hollywood said it would close one third of its stores and inventory liquidation specialist Great American Group was engaged to sell off stock.

    US media reports suggest a buyer is waiting in the wings to rescue the company, most likely reshaping it as an online only brand.

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  • Korea’s CJ seals Vera Wang Asia deal

    Korea’s CJ seals Vera Wang Asia deal

    South Korean retail and industrial conglomerate CJ Group has signed an exclusive deal to develop lifestyle brands with US fashion designer Vera Wang.

    The group’s TV shopping subsidiary, CJ O’Shopping, will start launching products this month, the first a lingerie brand Vera Wang Intimates.

    That will be followed by Vera Wang Home, linen and homewares lines, in May before a broader roll-out of apparel, accessories and cosmetics in September, branded VW Vera Wang.

    News reports from Korea say CJ hopes to generate US$366 million in sales of the branded lines during the next five years through Vera Wang Asia – not just from its TV shopping unit, but through department stores and other retail channels.

    “Working with Vera Wang will take us to the global shopping company status with quality products and design competitiveness,” said Lee In-su, VP of the TV shopping channel.

    Wang, best known for her bridal wear, was named Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2005 by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and has more recently broadened her focus to ready-to-wear ranges.

    Born in New York to Shanghainese parents, she is a former figure skater and Olympian, before working as design director for Ralph Lauren, and opening her first store in New York in 1990.

    In June 2012, opened her first Australian store, Vera Wang Bride in Sydney and her first Asian flagship Vera Wang Bridal Korea, in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong neighbourhood.

    CJ group has widespread business interests throughout Asia and beyond, including parent of Tous Le Jours retail bakery and cafe chains, and multiplex cinemas.

     

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  • Tunique Hong Kong eyes Paris

    Tunique Hong Kong eyes Paris

    Paris-raised jewellery designer Amandine de Mascarel is plans to take her unique Hong Kong retail concept back to the home of fashion.

    de Mascarel already has three Tunique boutiques in Hong Kong and says a fourth will open in Causeway Bay in about one month from now.

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    And she has revealed to Inside Retail Asia she wants to open a store in Paris, one of her home countries – she was born in Korea, raised in France and now lives in Hong Kong where she is building a retail brand.

    She describes Uber Tunique – the brand of her larger showcase stores – as a “one-stop, multi-trend lifestyle shop where ethnic chic meets edginess, glam, bohemian and kitsch”.

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    Uber Tunique is “an emporium of stylistic exploration that defines the very essence of founder Amandine de Mascarel and her natural instinct for creativity and style”.

    Prior to opening her stores, de Mascarel worked with global brands including Louis Vuitton and L’Oreal in Paris.

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    While starting with affordable jewellery, de Mascarel has expanded her concept to include home products, décor, fragrances and textiles, allowing customers to create one-off costume jewellery pieces, as well as a coordinated home environment that truly defines their own individual style. She wants Uber Tunique to be known as ‘the’ Hong Kong gift destination.

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    The first Uber Tunique lifestyle concept stores opened last year in Central and Wanchai along with a Tunique Jewellery and Accessories store in Repulse Bay.

    The new store in nearby Causeway Bay will take the network to four.

    The stores are at: Uber Tunique: Central: 7 Mee Lun St, Shop B; Wanchai: 3 St. Francis St; Tunique: 28 Beach Rd, The Pulse Mall, Repulse Bay.

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  • Burberry Hong Kong blights sales

    Burberry Hong Kong blights sales

    Burberry says its first half sales rose nine per cent – with double digit growth in the US making up for declining sales in Hong Kong.

    “Asia Pacific delivered low single-digit percentage comparable sales growth,” the company said in a statement.

    Within this, China and Korea grew by a mid single-digit percentage, while Burberry Hong Kong, a high margin market, decelerated further during the period, resulting in a mid single-digit percentage decline in comparable sales in the half.

    Hong Kong’s performance was so bad, it dragged the overall Asia market growth (excluding Japan) to a mere four per cent, by far it lowest performing region.

    “Digital again outperformed in all regions.”

    Burberry’s revenue for the six months to March 31 totalled £1.4 billion. Sales growth was in the double digits for North America and the combined Europe, Middle East, India and Africa region.

    Sales by the company’s own retail channels rose by 13 per cent – significantly outperforming total revenue growth.

    CEO and creative director Christopher Bailey described the half year performance as “robust” despite the Burberry Hong Kong disappointment.

    During the second half, Burberry opened seven mainline stores and closed nine. Openings included a flagship in Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles, a store in the Miami Design District, as well as a second dedicated Beauty store globally, in Seoul, Korea.

    Due to the phasing out of the Japan license arrangement, the company’s licensing sales were down by 40 per cent, but sales from directly-operated stores in the nation rose by more than 30 per cent.

    During the six months, Burberry opened a flagship in Osaka, its fifth free-standing store in Japan, relocated the store in Omotesando, Tokyo, and opened three concessions, taking the network 13.

    Concluded Bailey: “We anticipate external challenges will continue in the current year, but remain confident in our long-term strategy to build the Burberry brand and business globally.”

    At the end of March, Burberry had 214 retail stores globally, 213 concessions, 57 outlets and 67 franchised stores.

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  • Stuart Weitzman names Alyssa Mishcon President of Global Retail

    Stuart Weitzman names Alyssa Mishcon President of Global Retail

    Luxury shoe brand Stuart Weitzman named Alyssa Mishcon President of Global Retail on Monday. Mishcon will oversee all aspects of the global retail business including customer experience and relationship management, strategic operations development, merchandising and international retail growth. She will report directly to Wayne Kulkin, CEO, and will be based out of international headquarters in New York City.

    Mishcon brings more than 15 years of experience in multi-channel luxury brands, working most recently as President of Thomas Pink Inc., LVMH Fashion Group and then previously as Vice President Strategy, Merchandising & Retail at TAG Heuer, LVHM Watch & Jewelry Division.

    Stuart Weitzman operates 45 retail stores across the US. It also has 75 international stores, 14 international shop-in-shops, and e-commerce sites in the United States, Canada, Europe and Hong Kong. Stuart Weitzman footwear and accessories are sold in more than 70 countries.

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  • Arvind Brands to open 25 Calvin Klein innerwear stores in India in 3yrs

    Arvind Brands to open 25 Calvin Klein innerwear stores in India in 3yrs

    Arvind Brands will open 25 Calvin Klein standalone innerwear outlets in three years as it sees the category growing by 25-30 percent annually.

    Arvind Brands, which bagged rights to market Calvin Klein products in India in March last year, will also launch Calvin Klein’s formal and casual wear by mid-2016.

    “We plan to open 20-25 standalone Calvin Klein underwear outlets in three years. Underwear category in India is pegged at USD1.2 billion and we expect the segment to grow by 25-30 percent for the next few years,” Arvind Lifestyle Brands Managing Director J Suresh told PTI.

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  • Kalyan Jewellers to set up 22 stores in India during current fiscal

    Kalyan Jewellers to set up 22 stores in India during current fiscal

    US-based PE fund Warburg Pincus-backed Kalyan Jewellers to invest around INR800 crore (INR8 billion, USD128.3 million) during the current fiscal. The Kerala-based jewellery brand said that it will open 22 showrooms during the current fiscal.

    T S Kalyanaraman, chairman and managing director, Kalyan Jewellers, who was in Chennai to announce Kalyan Jewellers new showroom, which he claims is the world’s largest jewellery showroom, said that with the new showroom in Chennai number of Kalyan Jewellers showroom will be increased to 78 and by end of this fiscal this it will be increased to 100.

    The new showroom, which will spread over in 40,000 sq ft in Chennai, was set up at a cost of around INR200 crore. “This will be the largest investment by us in a single store,” said Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director, Kalyan Jewellers.

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  • Global Fashion Group names CEO, CFO

    Global Fashion Group names CEO, CFO

    Global Fashion Group, a fashion e-commerce group formed by five emerging market fashion sites Dafiti, Lamoda, Jabong, Zalora and Namshi, on Wednesday named Romain Voog as CEO and Nils Chrestin as CFO.

    Voog and Chrestin will be responsible for the overall strategic and operational development of GFG as well as the various group functions.

    Romain Voog joins GFG with 13 years of online and offline retail experience and a background as a strategy consultant. He spent the last seven years at Amazon, most recently as the company’s President and Managing Director for France. Prior to Amazon, he spent 6 years at Carrefour in various leadership roles and is a former strategy consultant from Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company in Europe and in Asia.

    Nils Chrestin has spent the last two years as Managing Director and CFO of Lamoda in Moscow prior to becoming GFG’s CFO in January 2015. Prior to his role at Lamoda Nils was a private equity investor at Morgan Stanley Private Equity.

    Last month, GFG received an additional EUR32 million investment from existing shareholders Tengelmann Ventures and Verlinvest. The investment, completed at the same valuation as the one used for the merger and creation of GFG, implies a post- money valuation of EUR2.8 billion. Pro forma for the transaction Kinnevik owns 25.4 percent and Rocket Internet owns 23 percent of the company.

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  • Gap’s key sales metric up 2pc in March

    Gap’s key sales metric up 2pc in March

    Gap Inc. reported a 2 percent increase in a key revenue metric for March as surging business at Old Navy offset sales declines at its namesake division and its Banana Republic stores.

    The results, which were released after the regular markets closed on Thursday, beat estimates for a 0.6 percent increase in sales in stores open at least a year, according to Thompson Reuters. But the figure was compared to a 6 percent drop in the same year-ago period. Shares fell in after-hours trading.

    Revenue from stores open at least a year is considered a key indicator of retail performance because it strips away the impact of recently opened or closed stores.

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  • Maison Valentino Hong Kong

    Maison Valentino Hong Kong

    Subtle gray tones, ‘cracked’ floor effects and strong lighting ensure Valentino’s boldly coloured fashion take centrestage in the newly opened Maison Valentino Hong Kong flagship.

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    The new store, formally opened in February, was designed by the Italian brand’s creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli in partnership with architect David Chipperfield.

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    Located on Canton Rd, the 900sqm flagship store takes up two floors at the base of a modern office tower.

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    It’s ultra modern, stylish yet minimalist and the combination of strong architectural lines, discrete materials in contrasting greys and stylish visual merchandising make the store a standout amongst its many peers in the heart of Hong Kong’s luxury precinct.

    The store’s lower level features the Maison’s complete collections, including both womenswear and menswear ready-to-wear and accessories.

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    The stairwell is lined with mannequins striking different poses, each wearing contrasting, brightly-coloured Valentino creations.

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    Upstairs is a more ‘curated’ area, almost of gallery style.

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    The Hong Kong store is one of two opened by Valentino in February – the other in the Kingdom Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, further expanding the brand’s global footprint.

    Valentino Maison Hong Kong 315 4

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  • Fast fashion future for Victoria’s Secret

    Fast fashion future for Victoria’s Secret

    The stunning global success of European fast fashion experts Zara and H&M is promoting a shift in strategy for what is possibly the world’s best known lingerie brand, Victoria’s Secret.

    According to a report by Business Insider, Victoria’s Secret is getting into fast fashion.

    The US-based brand revealed in a conference call with analysts the company plans to hasten its design and re-stocking process

    “Basically almost all of our panties today are on some kind of speed program,” CEO Sharen Turneysaid in the conference call.

    “And those speed programs allow us to read the business on a Monday and be back in stock in the stores within 15 to 25 days.”

    It also wants to shorten the timeline between design and shelf, the report said.

    “We’ve already taken probably four months out of our development time and believe there is probably another two months to continue to work in,” Turney said.

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  • Sandro Paris embraces China

    Sandro Paris embraces China

    French designer Sandro Paris is planning to make greater China a key retail market.

    To date, the Paris-based company has store in France, the UK and the US. But it is attracted to China by the growing desire amongst Chinese consumers for foreign brands and products.

    Already it has opened 15 stores in China, including Hong Kong; two of them last month. A further 10 are planned during the remainder of the year.

    A flagship store is in planning for Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay precinct, one of the territory’s fashion hubs.

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    Sandro Paris was created by husband and wife team Evelyne and Didier Chetrite.

    Growing up in Morocco, Evelyne was drawn to fashion and when her family moved to Paris as a teenager, she was inspired by the window displays of department stores near her home.

    Later she met Didier, a young entrepreneur who had launched a ready-to-wear business

    Their first successful collaboration was “a series of dresses in patterned patchwork with bubble sleeves that were bohemian chic, loose but with a real style and presence”.

    After that, Didier expanded his office and hired a designer to work with Evelyne. The Sandro brand was born in 1984 and opened its first boutique on Rue Vieille du Temple in the heart of the Marais. It has grown to be a label known for feminine, versatile dressing. Today, Sandro has 202 boutiques worldwide.

    Sandro Men first launched in the Marais and Saint Germain des Pres areas, its shops likened to a jewel box combined with simple and trendy features. The stores have herringbone floors, painted mirrors and more than 190 styles, along with a selection of art books and music, “providing the comfort of a British club, while offering it pieces of the season”, according to the company’s website.

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  • New Prada Bangkok store unveiled

    New Prada Bangkok store unveiled

    Prada has strengthened its Bangkok presence opening a new 440 sqm store in The Mall Group’s new EmQuartier shopping centre.

    The store, designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, comprises a single level destination and houses the women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories and footwear collections.

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    The external façade stretches some 40 metres and blends into the mall’s modern architectural composition: a white canvas curtain enclosed in a crystal box and flanked by large light boxes creates a sophisticated atmosphere. Slim strips of black granite with polished steel profiles frame the large entrances, windows and light boxes.

    The first entrance, defined by the signature black-and-white marble chequered flooring, opens on an area housing the women’s leather goods and accessories collections. The space is characterised by green fabric-clad walls with sleek polished steel and crystal display cases. Polished steel counters with drawers covered in coloured saffiano leather complete the furnishing.

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    The next space is defined by an intimate atmosphere, with green fabric-clad walls and transparent perspex display units exalting the display of the women’s ready-to-wear collections. The footwear collections are nestled in elegant alcoves that recall Prada’s trademark display niches. Green velvet ‘Clover Leaf’ sofas, designed by Verner Panton and reproduced exclusively for Prada, crystal tables and display counters embellished with coloured saffiano leather elements enrich the space.

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    The entrance to the area devoted to men leads to a space characterised by the distinctive black-and-white marble chequered flooring and ebony-clad walls with precious polished steel display cases, hosting the men’s leather goods and accessories collections. The area dedicated to the ready-to-wear and footwear collections is defined by ebony floorboards and walls, ‘pony skin carpeting’ and coloured ostrich leather sofas.

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    Additional furnishings, such as polished steel display units and counters with drawers covered in coloured saffiano leather, complete the setting.

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