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Tag: Emporium

  • Greyhound Cafe expands to Singapore

    Greyhound Cafe expands to Singapore

    Thailand’s Greyhound Cafe has opened its 13th international outlet, marking its debut in Singapore.

    It has 14 cafes in Bangkok plus outlets in Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai.

    For Greyhound, the cafe was actually an afterthought to complement to brand’s fashion line. In 1997, founder Bhanu Inkawat was offered an empty unit next to Greyhound’s store at Emporium shopping complex in Bangkok to sell coffee and food.

    greyhound-cafe-paragon-singapore-1

    “We had no knowledge about food, but we thought, ‘Let’s just do it’,” says Inkawat, who is also Greyhound’s executive creative director. “We served a full food menu from the beginning. Yes, we were ambitious.”

    Now the cafe chain is more successful and recognisable than the brand’s fashion business.

    Inkawat and his Thai team attended the opening of the 100-seat Greyhound Cafe at Paragon in Orchard Road, introduced by Singapore F&B company JC Global Concepts.

    Greyhound’s menu is a collection of the childhood memories and travel experiences of the founders, based on old Thai recipes and ingredients. For example, Inkawat grew up eating the cafe’s Complicated Noodle, which involves diners wrapping minced pork and chilli sauce with noodle sheets and lettuce. The other signature item, Greyhound Famous Fried Chicken Wings, is based on a recipe from the grandmother of Greyhound Cafe’s MD Pornsiri Rojmeta.

    greyhound-cafe-paragon-singapore

    Street food twist

    “We know that no matter how beautiful your restaurant is, the food is important,” says Inkawat.

    “In Bangkok we are known as a trendy cafe, so it doesn’t really matter what we serve as long as it is trendy. But when you open outside of Thailand and people know we are from Bangkok, they think we are a typical Thai restaurant. So we present Thai street food in a hip way, but it’s not your traditional Thai food.”

    An exclusive dish to Singapore is the Crispy Pork Leg with Surprisingly Curry Paste, a German- style crispy pork leg marinated with Thai herbs and served with tamarind chilli paste, Jaew sauce (dipping sauce from northeast Thailand) and sticky rice.

    Another four or five Greyhound Cafes will be opened in Singapore within the next five years, including a stand-alone. Hong Kong will gain a seventh outlet, and the company is considering new markets – Indonesia, Taiwan and London.

    For now, there are no plans to expand Greyhound’s sister brands – Sweet Hound, Another Hound, and EverythingHound – beyond Bangkok.

  • Kumamon arrives in Thailand

    Kumamon arrives in Thailand

    The first official theme stores of Japanese bear character Kumamon have opened in Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok.

    Kumamon is a mascot created by the government of Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan. It was created in 2010 for a campaign called to draw tourists to the region after the Kyushu Shinkansen line opened. Now it has grown into an internationally-recognised character, especially in Southeast Asia where Japanese and Korean cartoon and animated characters, and fashion trends, are quickly adopted.

    The first Kumamon store opened on the third floor of Siam Paragon shopping centre, at B-Trends in late July. That was followed by a more recent opening at Studio B Trend in the Emporium shopping centre.

    The Thai rights to Kumamon have been acquired by ICC International, who invited Kumamon’s creators to visit Thailand during a recent trade fair.

    ICC says it plans to open more themed stores inside premium department stores in Bangkok and in other Thai provinces.

  • Studio City retail tenants revealed

    Studio City retail tenants revealed

    Studio City and Taubman Asia, have revealed the lineup of fashion brands that will open inside The Boulevard at Studio City.

    A mix of fashion-forward labels and internationally-renowned luxury brands include Macau’s first Balmain, Macau’s first Belstaff, and Tom Ford’s largest store in Asia, amongst many others. The selection was assembled by Taubman Asia and Melco Crown Entertainment’s combined team of retail specialists to meet Chinese consumers’ increasing desire to express their individuality through high quality, expertly crafted clothing and accessories. Bespoke and personal services will be offered to ensure our shoppers take center stage.

    Taubman says The Boulevard at Studio City will bring “an unparalleled shopping experience” to Studio City.

    “Unlike any retail offering to be found in Asia, the unique 35,000 sqm ‘immersive’ retail entertainment environment brings shopping to life by ‘transporting’ visitors to high-energy street-scapes and entertaining them at every turn with featured streets and squares inspired by iconic shopping and entertainment locations, including New York’s Times Square and Hollywood’s Beverly Hills,” Taubman said in a statement.

    “At the futuristic Times Square Macau, inside The Boulevard at Studio City, a variety of entertainment from ‘virtual’ musicians to film stars will be shown through holographic projections.

    “Leveraging our global expertise increating extraordinary retail environments, and our exceptional relationships with the world’s leading brands, our talented team in Asia has brought together an exciting mix of brands for The Boulevard at Studio City,” said René Tremblay, president of Taubman Asia.

    “Our merchandising and management services are the industry standard for performance and excellence. We are thrilled to welcome these brands to our latest project and are committed to supporting them for the long term.”

    List of brands:

    Aeronautica Militare
    Balmain
    Bank of China
    Belstaff
    Boss
    Bottega Veneta
    Bulgari
    Cigar Emporium
    Coach
    Cosmos Food Station
    Din Tai Fung
    Dunhill
    Emporio Armani
    Fendi
    Girard-Perregaux
    Givenchy
    Glashutte Original
    Graff
    Gucci
    Hide Yamamoto
    Hublot
    ICBC
    Trattoria Il Mulino
    Image Digital
    IWC Schaffhausen
    Jaeger-LeCoultre
    Jaquet Droz
    kate spade new york
    Kenzo
    Longines
    McCafe
    McDonald’s
    MCM
    Michael Kors
    Montblanc
    Philipp Plein
    Piaget
    Prada
    Rainbow
    Rimowa
    Roberto Cavalli
    Saint Laurent Paris
    Shiki Hot Pot Restaurant
    Starbucks
    Tag Heuer
    T Galleria Beauty by DFS
    Tiffany & Co.
    Tom Ford
    UM
    Vacheron Constantin
    Valentino
    Van Cleef & Arpels
    Versace Collection
    Ermenegildo Zegna
    Zenith

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  • Massive light show marks Em District opening

    Massive light show marks Em District opening

    Bangkok’s newest shopping showcase The Em District has commissioned a stunning 3D Mapping performance to mark its formal launch on Sukhumvit.

    The Emporium Group, managers of The Emporium and The EmQuartier, said the company invested 200 million baht  (nearly $US6 million)  to hold “The World Extraordinaire” under ‘The Grand Celebration That Bangkok Has Never Experience Before’ concept.

    The show made its debut at a World Extraordinaire launch party attended by thousands of invited guests.

    The new Em District retail precinct comprises the refurbished and expanded Emporium shopping centre and the newly constructed EmQuartier.

    Every day at 7pm the 3D Mapping Extraordinaire performance is repeated with images projected onto The Emporium and The EmQuartier’s facades.

    For the gala opening celebration, the light show was accompanied by a fireworks show accompanied by music from symphony orchestras.

    Slated as “the biggest World Mapping Showcase in Asia” it is held in collaboration with Advanced Info Service, Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Airways, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, Muang Thai Life Assurance and Oishi Group.

    The 3D Mapping Extraordinaire was created by Moment Factory a new media and entertainment studio which has previously worked with Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, amongst others.

    The Em District is positioning itself as Thailand’s newest ‘one stop retail destination’ that attracts tourists and locals alike.

    To mark the opening, The Em District is holding a campaign ‘Shopping Extraordinaire’ which offers customers a chance to win one of four grand prizes worth a total of 30 million baht ($891,000) with every 2000 baht ($59) spent.  Prizes include an apartment (Condominium Park 24), Porsche Macan; Mercedes-Benz CLS 250, a Veranda Residence at Pattaya Condominium and holiday packages from Bangkok Airways and the Dusit Thani.

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  • Thailand cost-effective destination for luxury brands

    Thailand cost-effective destination for luxury brands

    “During the last two years, more than 100 new global brands have entered Thailand. That has approximately doubled the number of stores [in this category] compared with 2012,” he said.

    The top brands are from Italy, Britain, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sweden.

    The cost of investment for luxury brands setting up in Hong Kong is about double that of Thailand, and Singapore costs 1.5 times as much. Costs here are also much lower than in many Western countries.

    Kriengsak said Thailand was also popular with international brands because of the size of the market, with a 70-million local population and tens of millions of tourists. “There are also more than 500 million people in the region. As such, top international brands are looking at expanding throughout the region from their stores in Thailand.”

    Another key reason for the fast growth in luxury brands’ presence here is the fact that tourism has recovered after suffering a huge drop last year during the political crisis. Meanwhile developers have new unique venues in place.

    Kriengsak said retail business would continue to grow during the rest of the year. However, he urged government to promote the country as a shopping destination as well as to assure foreigners that Thailand is a safe place to visit.

    “When The EM District, which is so far consists of The Emporium and EmQuartier, is fully opened, including the Bhiraj Tower, we expect 200,000 customers per day.”

    This year, it is forecast that visitors from other Asean countries will contribute Bt10 billion in sales, helping increase The Mall Group’s sales by Bt53 billion or 6 per cent from 2014.

    At EmQuartier, about 90 per cent of retailers have opened their doors. More world-class brands will open outlets soon: the first and only branch in Thailand of New York jewellery store Tiffany & Co; French jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels; separate Dior boutiques for women and men, Lady Dior and Dior Homme; Burberry; Emporio Armani; Issey Miyake; Tod’s; Canali; Patek Philippe; Rolex; and Hublot.

    The Mall Group plans to open a new shopping mall called Bluport in Hua Hin next year, followed by another Bluport in Phuket in 2018, and Emsphere in The EM District in 2019.

  • Charlotte Olympia Thailand launches

    Charlotte Olympia Thailand launches

    Exclusive UK footwear designer Charlotte Olympia has opened her first store in Thailand, the second Asia market in its steadily growing international footprint. Charlotte Olympia plans to open four boutiques this year, the others in Las Vegas, South Coast Plaza in southern California and a second in London.

    “I’m so excited to be opening four new Charlotte Olympia stores this year. Our expanding global retail footprint marks a significant milestone in the development and growth of the brand,” said Charlotte Olympia Dellal, CEO and creative director, in a statement.

    “I’m delighted to be able to showcase my collections in environments which distinguish our offering.”

    Charlotte Olympia Bangkok 315

    The Bangkok store is on the ground floor of the Emporium shopping centre on Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Rd.

    The distinctive stores feature a design inspired by Hollywood glamour: leopard print seating, brass panelling and mirrored walls.

    Charlotte Olympia launched her first footwear collection at London Fashion Week in February 2008 and her first boutique store followed on Maddox St, London, two years later. New York followed in 2011 and Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills in 2013. Last year she opened three stores – in Hong Kong, Miami and Dubai.

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