British luxury brand Burberry warned on Wednesday that a fall in sales in the key market of Hong Kong in the last quarter of 2014 could impact its full-year margin. Pro-democracy protests began choking parts of the Asia financial center in late September, disrupting business in one of the world’s top markets for luxury companies, which accounts for about USD9.7 billion of global luxury sales, or 4 percent of the total, according to estimates by Bernstein Research.
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.
-
Prada opens third KL store
Prada recently opened its third store at The Gardens Mall in Kuala, Lumpur. Designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, store covers a total area of approximately 390 square metres on a single level and houses the women’s and men’s leather goods, accessories and footwear collections as well as the men’s ready-to-wear collection.
The area dedicated to the women’s collections has the signature black-and-white marble chequered flooring and green fabric-clad walls with polished steel display counters covered in coloured saffiano leather and green velvet sofas.
Meanwhile, the space devoted to men discloses masculine materials and finishes. The first room, dedicated to leather goods and accessories, features black marble-clad walls with elegant polished steel display cases.
-
UK footwear brand Church’s entering India through tie-up
UK luxury footwear brand Church’s will now be available in India, priced at up to Rs. 72,000 (USD1,159.72), following an exclusive distribution tie-up with multi-brand retailer Heel & Buckle. “UK’s iconic luxury footwear brand Church’s is entering into India as a result of an exclusive distribution tie-up with Heel & Buckle. Churches will be available at Heel & Buckle’s outlets,” Heel & Buckle Managing Director of Heel & Buckle Dhiraj Bathija told PTI.
-
Hermès reports 10pc revenue increase for 2014
Hermès maintains course in 2014 with a healthy 10 percent increase in its turnover, at constant exchange rates – according to Guillaume de Seynes , managing director manufacturing division & equity investments of the Group of luxury. Interviewed by the German newspaper Handelsblatt , De Seynes said that the House wants to expand in Germany , expanding the spaces in cities where it is already present.
-
Tiffany & Co debuts its first same-sex couple ad campaign
American jeweler Tiffany & Co makes its first foray into featuring same-sex couples in its advertising with its new engagement campaign for 2015. A rep for the jeweler didn’t release the guys’ names because despite being extremely attractive, they are not professional models.
-
COACH to acquire Stuart Weitzman for USD574m
COACH will pay Sycamore Partners a hefty USD574 million for Stuart Weitzman — their women’s footwear brand — in a move that is no doubt designed to diversify their sales portfolio considering 55 percent of their USD4.8 million in sales last year came from women’s handbags with only 9 percent coming from auxiliary items like jewelry, accessories, footwear and the likes.
-
Olivia Wilde is the face of H&M’s Conscious Exclusive campaign
Known for her commitment to sustainability and her engagement for environmental causes, actress Olivia Wilde, will be the face of H&M’s Conscious Exclusive campaign, set to be unveiled in around 200 H&M stores worldwide and online on 16 April.
“Sustainability is one of my biggest passions. I’m proud to be the face of H&M Conscious Exclusive, a collection which shows the stylishness of sustainability,” she said in a statement posted in the H&M website.
H&M said this year’s Conscious Exclusive collection draws inspiration from African, Asian and Indian cultures in both cut and detail. Dresses are a focus, along with hand-drawn prints created especially for the collection.
“The pieces are full of character with the most beautiful prints, all made from more sustainable materials,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s head of design for new development.
-
HK still world’s most expensive retail market
Hong Kong ranks as the world’s most expensive high-street retail destination, surpassing New York, Paris, London and Tokyo by a substantial margin, according to the latest research from CBRE.
CBRE’s regular quarterly ranking of the world’s prime global retail markets saw little change in the third quarter of 2014, with global and hot-growth markets continuing to lead the rankings.
It said this is the third consecutive year that Hong Kong has ranked top of the global list.
According to CBRE, Hong Kong (USD4,327 per sq. ft. per annum) maintained a wide lead over the number-two market, New York (USD3,570 per sq. ft. per annum) where prime rents along Fifth Avenue are at record levels.
“The Occupy Central protest, which began late in Q3, has not yet materially impacted retail rents in Hong Kong as most prime retail shops are located beyond protest areas,” said Joe Lin, Executive Director, Retail Services, CBRE Hong Kong.
While the top four cities continue to hold their leading positions, there was some movement lower in the top ten rankings. Rents rose in Tokyo (USD1,076 per sq. ft. per annum), and fell in Zurich (USD895 per sq. ft. per annum) and Sydney (USD730 per sq. ft. per annum), resulting in the cities changing positions this quarter.
In Q3 2014, Tokyo continued to lead rental growth in Asia-Pacific, with the continued lack of space in major high-street retail locations pushing up retail rents 7.7 percent quarter-over-quarter.
Strong rental growth was also recorded in a number of emerging markets in the region, particularly in India and Vietnam, reflecting the recent resumption of structural economic reforms following the general lack of progress over the past few years. Highlights included a strong 5.9% quarter-over-quarter rental growth in Ho Chi Minh City and a 4 percent quarter-over-quarter rental growth in Mumbai.
-
Adidos and Hotwind? In China, brands get names to show foreign flair
Chrisdien Deny, a retail chain with more than 500 locations across China, sells belts, shoes and clothing with an “Italian style” – and a logo with the same font as Christian Dior’s.
Helen Keller, named for the deaf-blind American humanitarian, offers trendy sunglasses and classic spectacles at over 80 stores, with the motto “you see the world, the world sees you.”
Frognie Zila, a clothing brand sold in 120 stores in China, boasts that its “international” selection is “one of the first choices of successful politicians and businessmen” and features pictures on its website of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Venetian canals.
Eager to glaze their products with the sheen of international sophistication, many homegrown retail brands have hit upon a similar formula: Choose a non-Chinese name that gives the impression of being foreign.
-
Puma eyes top spot in India through store expansion, new brands
Puma, the global brand known for its lifestyle sports apparel and shoes, is looking to strengthen its position in India. It is eyeing the top slot in the segment via a nationwide network expansion as well as the launch of its global brands pitched at the Indian sports enthusiast. Abhishek Ganguly, the new managing director of PUMA India, is looking to reposition the brand in the country. Puma is currently in the second spot behind Adidas in India’s INR5000-crore (INR50 billion, USD785.3 million) sportswear market, followed by Nike.
“We are in process of creating a strong brand awareness through various marketing and product launch initiative,” Ganguly said. “We are bullish on India and we have seen a major shift to high end products by Indian consumers. Hence, we want to bring our global sports assets to India shortly.”
From its global kitty, Puma has already launched two leading shoe brands, Mobium and Faas, in India. The Mobium Ride, priced at about INR9,000, is built for the more traditional heel striker looking for an everyday running shoe. The company also launched the Nightcat Powered edition under Mobium brand. The Faas 600 S is priced in the INR8,000 range in India.
-
Thailand’s Siam Center, Siam Discovery launch Siam Gift Card for easy gift giving
Siam Piwat Co. Ltd., the owner of Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery, recently launched the Siam Gift Card, which will provide shoppers a greater shopping convenience and make it easy to send or receive gifts.
Mayuree Chaipromprasith, Senior Vice President of Siam Piwat, based on their consumer survey on shopping behavior at year end, many customers buy products as New Year gifts.
“Therefore, in late November, Digimedia Marketing Co., Ltd., subsidiary of Siam Piwat Group, introduced the Siam Gift Card, which offers better benefits than other cards in the market so that the customers can use it themselves or give it as a gift,” she said.
The Siam Gift Card serves as cash card that allows the customers to top up the minimum of THB1,000 (USD30.3) to purchase any products from more than 50 leading fashion boutiques, cosmetic flagship stores and many more in Siam Center and Siam Discovery. It integrates the strategy of seasonal marketing, solution marketing, E-payment and CEM (Customer Experience Management).
In addition, the card keeps record of the customer behavior so that the company can come up with the marketing promotion activities that truly meet their needs.
For security purposes, customers must key their own code every time they buy products at the stores. Besides reward points, the shopping history will be recorded in the database so that customers will receive customized news about new arrivals and promotion that fit their own needs in the future.
Mayuree said Digimedia Marketing Co. Ltd. invested more than THB15 million (USD455,843.31) in the Siam Gift Card campaign and expects to sell more than 20,000 cards in the first three months.
-
Australia no longer sweet spot for Asos
Australia was once Asos’ largest market outside Britain. In 2012, the British online fashion retailer was flying four jumbo jets of clothing to this country each week.
But Asos revealed this week international sales, comprising 57 percent of its total sales, were down 2 percent in the first quarter to GBP145.5 million (USD228.6m).
And “rest of world” sales, of which Australia is estimated to comprise half, fell by 6 percent to GP58.5 million in the three months ended November 30.
-
Fossil to invest USD6.3m to open 25 outlets in India
US-based watchmaker Fossil will invest up to INR40 crore (INR400 million, USD6.3m) to open 25 retail outlets in India by 2017 as it aims to reposition itself from a watch brand to a fashion lifestyle brand.
The company, known for its range of watches, will sell non-watch products such as leather bags for women and men, wallets, eye-wear and jewellery through its retail outlets in the country.
“We want to re-position Fossil from a watch brand to a fashion lifestyle brand. We will focus on developing non-watch categories. We will sell these products only through our retail stores. We plan to open 25 outlets by 2017 and will invest INR35-40 crore,” Fossil India Brand Head Sumit Ghosh told PTI.
-
Fashion SMEs in Thailand to get boost
The Industry Ministry of Thailand has earmarked THB120 million to support small and medium-sized fashion enterprises wanting to explore opportunities in neighbouring countries next year.
Thailand’s fashion cluster, covering apparel, jewellery and leather products, has the potential to compete with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, says Arthit Wuthikaro, director-general of the Industrial Development Department.
“SMEs in other industry clusters will obtain the same support for expanding business abroad, notably in ASEAN, if they have strong business potential,” he said.
-
China’s JD.com vying with Alibaba to woo Western brands
China’s JD.com Inc has partnered Gap Inc to sell the US clothing retailer’s apparel online in China, as the Beijing-based e-commerce company goes head to head with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to woo big foreign fashion names.
Alibaba and JD.com, China’s number one and two e-commerce companies respectively, are vying to ink deals with some of the world’s most recognised brands, which offer big boosts in both sales and image at home and overseas.
By announcing its partnership with JD.com in a joint statement on Thursday, Gap, which already has a store on Alibaba’s Tmall website, would be the latest foreign company to sign with some of China’s biggest Internet firms, including Tencent Holdings Ltd.