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Tag: expansion

  • Thomas Sabo Hong Kong opens flagship

    Thomas Sabo Hong Kong opens flagship

    Thomas Sabo Hong Kong has opened a flagship store at Hong Kong Ocean Terminal, with the German jewellery brand’s founder/designer Thomas Sabo officiating at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

    He was helped by guest of honour Korean pop star CL, and also in attendance was Korean singer/celebrity Lee Chae Lin.

    The boutique’s fresh colour palette of warmer and lighter colours marks a new era of shop-fitting for Thomas Sabo stores in Asia. Its new design concepts incorporate mid-century elements with simplistic decoration, says the company.

    After the official opening, guests were given a special preview of the exclusive Dragon Nights Edition, available from next month. The collection’s key pieces include dragons as a sign of happiness and the “Shou” sign as a symbol of long life.

    Decorated with feathered dragon heads and intertwined ornaments, the handcrafted collection draws on Far Eastern mythology and is also available at selected Thomas Sabo shops in Hong Kong.

    Established in 1984, Thomas Sabo has about 300 branded shops across all five continents and also collaborates globally with about 2800 trade partners as well as airlines and cruise companies.

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  • Thailand’s Jim Thompson plans global expansion

    Thailand’s Jim Thompson plans global expansion

    A Jim Thompson flagship store will open in Bangkok’s Siam Paragon tomorrow as a preliminary step in a five-year global expansion plan.

    Similar flagship stores have been announced for Hong Kong and Singapore, and other major international retail destinations.

    The luxury brand’s first flagship, it is next to Bombyx, one of Jim Thompson’s five restaurants, and integrates touchscreens to give customers access to the catalogue as well as animated representations of its designs.

    These adaptations reflect the brand’s commitment to going digital (just two years ago it did not have a website or sell products online). It plans to launch it first online store soon in Thailand, to be followed by online stores abroad following the establishment of physical retail locations.

    Jim Thompson’s expansion plans have been presented to the board of the owner, The Thai Silk Co, by its first chief executive Gerald Mazzalovo, who has been seeking new locations and partners taking charge two years ago. He was formerly chief executive of fashion labels Bally, Clergerie and Loewe, and group president of Salvatore Ferragamo.

    The Thai Silk Co already exhibits its Jim Thompson, No.9, Fox Linton and Studio B home-furnishing products in five countries but for now offers its clothing and personal goods only in Bangkok, Malaysia and Singapore.

    Mazzalovo says Bangkok is an obvious choice for the first flagship store, given that the brand’s history and identity are so closely connected to the Thai capital. Within the next five years the company will set up similar flagship locations in London, Paris, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai – in that order, says Mazzalovo.

    His idea is that expansion to Europe first will help it build its reputation as a global brand before
    moving into the Chinese market.

    He says China is one of the most profitable opportunities for the brand, but the market there is much more likely to welcome the brand when it has established a name in Europe, rather than only in Southeast Asia.

    Global ambition

    Mazzalovo believes the company has all the makings of an international fashion house.
    “We have the ambition of going global because we have a lot of the prerequisites needed, including more than 70 years of heritage, know-how and historical anecdotes,” he says.

    The company’s values of authenticity and mystery are still anchored in its founder Jim Thompson, a Princeton and University of Pennsylvania graduate who arrived in Thailand in 1946 after working in Southeast Asia for a US wartime intelligence agency. He disappeared mysteriously in Malaysia in 1967.

    Meanwhile, the company opened a fabric showroom this year in Bangkok and will open a high-end contemporary restaurant in the next few months.

    Mazzalovo says the firm is highly profitable despite competing against brands like Chanel, Ferragamo, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada. He considers the company to be closest to Hermes in terms of product and brand management.

    In this first year with the company he recruited 15 designers and assistants from Korea, Italy, France, Finland and Thailand. The company employs 3000 people and has nearly 40 boutiques around Thailand.

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  • Hublot Japan launches Kyoto townhouse outlet

    Hublot Japan launches Kyoto townhouse outlet

    Hublot Japan has opened a shop in Kyoto’s Gion district, its third directly run outlet.

    The Swiss luxury watchmaker has a store in Tokyo’s Ginza district and another in Osaka. The latest location is in Kyoto’s second Daimaru department store, which has just opened in a traditional Kyoto-style townhouse.

    Hublot Boutique Kyoto is on the ground floor of the two-storey townhouse store in Gion’s main street. A Japanese tearoom on the upper floor can be used for hosting events.

    Founded in Switzerland in 1980, Hublot mainly targets men in their late 30s and early 40s. The Kyoto shop will primarily carry timepieces priced at around ¥1 million (US$9080) to ¥2 million. The shop is a mixture of traditional Japan and 1970s US. A noren (traditional Japanese curtain) printed with the shop’s logo hangs at the entrance; inside, the walls are decorated with American pop art. The sofa is made from Nishijin-ori (a traditional Kyoto textile) while take-zaiku (bamboo crafts) and washi (Japanese paper) are also used in the shop.

    The shop carries some limited-edition items such as the Spirit of Big Bang All Black model.

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  • Old Navy Vietnam opens second store

    Old Navy Vietnam opens second store

    Old Navy Vietnam has opened its first store in Hanoi, three months after its debut in the country.

    The 655sqm store is located in Vincom Nguyen Chi Thanh and offers collections for men, women, kids and babies.

    Melissa Fehlman, GM of Old Navy Vietnam, said the brand aims to open more stores throughout Vietnam in coming years, with Ho Chi Minh City’s second shop scheduled this month.

    Acknowledging that Vietnamese customers are trendy, Old Navy commits to refreshing 70-80 per cent of its products every three months, alongside core, long-term lines such as denim wear.

    Old Navy came to Vietnam under a franchise agreement between Gap Inc and Vietnam IPP’s subsidiaries ACFC and CMFC, which also hold the Gap and Banana Republic franchises in Vietnam.

    The nation’s fashion market is booming, buoyed by the recent arrival of international brands, including Pull&Bear and Stradivarius on September 1.

    H&M opens its first store in Ho Chi Minh City on September 9 and Zara will open its first Hanoi store next month.

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  • Vietnamese retailers look to foreign retail markets

    Vietnamese retailers look to foreign retail markets

     

    In late June, The Gioi Di Dong JSC, which owns the largest mobile phone distribution chain in Vietnam, opened its first shop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The shop in Cambodia is named BigPhone, but it has a brand identity like The Gioi Di Dong shops in Vietnam.

    The Gioi Di Dong hopes it can earn $100,000 a month from the first shop, and plans to open 10-15 shops in Cambodia this year.

    A senior executive of Pico, a home appliance distribution chain, in early 2016 told the press that the chain was considering penetrating markets like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Of the neighboring markets, Myanmar is the first choice because of favorable conditions of the market: it is easy to find retail premises, and there is less competition.

    Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, when he was chair of Saigon Co-op, affirmed the importance of foreign markets for Saigon Co-op, saying that the retail chain targets Laos and Cambodia for its plan to expand the network.

    “The most important thing in implementing the expansion plan is that Saigon Co-op find reliable partners in doing business overseas,” he said.

    A senior executive of Pico said he can see that there would be both economic and non-economic barriers in the Cambodia and Myanmar markets. He said it would take time to learn about the consumption habits, local culture, the laws and economic factors of the target markets.

    Ho Viet Dong, CEO of The Gioi Di Dong in Cambodia, said though the retail chain has good relations with mobile phone manufacturers, it still faces difficulties in doing business in Cambodia.

    “The mobile phone market here is very complicated,” he said. “Besides, the training of the labor force for long-term business plan also needs consideration.”

    Meanwhile, according to Saigon Co-op’s CEO Nguyen Thanh Nhan, the plan to open a supermarket in Cambodia has been delayed because of the change of the Cambodian partner.

     

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  • Sunglass Hut Opens New Store In Hangzhou

    Sunglass Hut Opens New Store In Hangzhou

    International sunglasses retailer Sunglass Hut opened a new store in Hangzhou’s Intime Wulin store, which is the brand’s third store in the city following the ones in Hangzhou Kerry Centre and Hangzhou Bailian Outlets.

    Sunglass Hut has reached cooperation with many first-tier brands, including Ray-Ban, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Tiffany & Co., and Coach.

    It started as a small independent store in Miami in 1971 and it developed 100 chain stores in Miami by 1986, reaching annual sales of USD24 million. By 1991, Sunglass Hut’s annual sales exceeded USD100 million and by 1996, the company seized 30% share of the American sunglasses market.

    By the end of 2016, Sunglass Hut already opened 3,269 retail stores in 28 countries and regions around the world, including 3,104 retail stores in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, South Africa, and Latin America; and 165 authorized retail stores in Middle East and India.

    For the Greater China region, Sunglass Hut had nearly 40 retail stores, including 13 in Hong Kong, seven in Shanghai, and three in Beijing.

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  • Mizuno Experience Center opens in US

    Mizuno Experience Center opens in US

    Japanese sports brand Mizuno has launched into the US, unveiling the Mizuno Experience Center at The Battery Atlanta in Georgia.

    Designed to be an immersive environment that tells the Mizuno story through its gear, the center offers interactive displays using RFID technology with specialised labs for each sport. Customers can touch and test items, which are then customised for their fit.

    “Our goal is to provide a personalised and customised experience in a premium, one-of-a-kind environment,” says Mizuno US president Mark O’Brien.

    “The centre gives athletes the ability to find the right gear to optimise their performance and meet their personal preferences,” says O’Brien. “This is the only Mizuno centre of its kind in the western hemisphere.”

    Throughout the year, the Mizuno Experience Center will host public and private events with professional athlete appearances as well as visits by Mizuno craftsman (gloves and bats).

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  • Miniso US making debut in California

    Miniso US making debut in California

    Miniso US is opening its inaugural store on Friday, in Southern California.

    Known for launching new products every seven days, the four-year-old Chinese discount retailer, which positions itself as a “Japanese lifestyle brand” will have a weekend of celebration to mark the opening of Miniso Pasadena.

    Highlights of the opening will include a taiko drumming performance, goodie bags for the first 200 customers and Miniso headphones for the first 60 shoppers who spend at least $30.

    As an industry disruptor, Miniso combines fashion, lifestyle and low prices. On average, the retailer opens 80 to 100 stores monthly with an anticipated 6000 outlets worldwide by 2020 and global revenues of US$9 billion.

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  • Fred Segal opens Kobe store

    Fred Segal opens Kobe store

    American fashion retailer Fred Segal has opened its third store in Kobe, expanding its footprint in Japan.

    Spread over the first and second floors of a Daimaru affiliated shop in Shosen Mitsui Building, Kyu-kyoryuchi area, the 1175 sqm store features an all-white interior.

    Fred Segal Japan Kobe 1

    Fred Segal brings exclusive lines from the US such as SMN jeans, Jaguar Design shirts, Delfina Balda skirt and tops, Thomas Wylde swimwear and scarves, and Sigerson Morrison shoes.

    Brands such as LA’s Atelier & Repairs, Buaiso are displayed in the “Sunset” showroom along with “La Cienega” VIP salon.

    Fred Segal Japan Kobe 2

    The store’s second floor offers a new dining concept called The Cellar at Fred Segal with a wine bar and restaurant featuring more than 200 varieties of California wine and cuisine.

    The Cellar mirrors the experiential retail trend with a focus on dining, and California flavours specifically, which, like its fashion, is considered an enviable novelty in Asia.

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  • China still on radar for Lotte Group

    China still on radar for Lotte Group

    A Lotte Group executive says the retail giant will continue to invest in its China business despite diplomatic tensions.

    Chinese authorities last month closed dozens of Lotte stores following inspections, ramping up pressure on South Korea’s fifth-largest family-run conglomerate after it agreed to provide land for the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile system outside Seoul.

    South Korea and the US say the system is designed to thwart North Korea’s nuclear missile threat, but Beijing says the system’s radar can also reach far into China. This led to Chinese state media calling for a boycott of Lotte businesses.

    “We plan to continue to invest in our China business and continue to strengthen it,” executive Hwang Kag-gyu says. He is the head of Lotte Corporate Innovation Office and is regarded as the second-highest executive next to chairman Shin Dong-bin.

    “It has been 20 years since Lotte entered the China market. We believe the China business is still in an investment period,” he says.

    Out of 99 Lotte hypermarkets in China, 75 have been closed by Chinese authorities. Hwang says the company is working to fix the problems raised by Chinese regulators.

    China is Lotte’s biggest overseas market, generating more than 3 trillion won (US$2.7 billion) in annual revenue in 2015. It is also one of four strategic markets along with Indonesia, Russia and Vietnam that Lotte has been focussing on.

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  • Jollibee Foods JV to open door to Europe

    Jollibee Foods JV to open door to Europe

    Philippine foodservice giant Jollibee Foods (JFC) has entered into a JV agreement with Singapore-based Blackbird Holdings to take the Jollibee brand to the European market.

    JFC’s wholly owned subsidiary Golden Plate has signed the deal with Blackbird to own and run the first Jollibee store in Italy. Golden Plate and Blackbird will incorporate a Singapore company, a 75:25 JV, with Golden Plate holding the controlling stake. The two companies are looking at investing more than US$1 million in the JV.

    Established in 2014, Blackbird has investments both in Singapore and the Philippines in the F&B and other sectors.
    Jollibee says Golden Plate will have full management control of the JV and the first store. Jollibee’s strategy is still to find a territorial franchisee for Italy with the capability to develop and expand the brand there.

    Jollibee has the largest foodservice network in the Philippines and has more than 3290 stores worldwide including such brands as Burger King, Chowking and Red Ribbon. In China it has Dunkin Donuts, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Jollibee and Yonghe King.

    JFC has Jollibee stores in Vietnam (86), Brunei (14), Singapore (4), Hong Kong (3).

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  • Carrefour China opens 27th store

    Carrefour China opens 27th store

    Carrefour China has opened its 27th Easy Carrefour Store in Shanghai.

    On Long Dong Avenue, the 332 sqm store offers more than 4000 items.

    The French multinational retailer opened its first convenience store under the Easy banner in 2004.

    Meanwhile, Carrefour China has launched an app that allows customers to shop online, receive discount coupons, check their loyalty accounts, win gifts and find store information such as opening hours and how to get to them. The app is available for Android and iOS.

  • Miniso US launching in California

    Miniso US launching in California

    Miniso US opens its first store on April 21, in Pasadena, California.

    Established in 2013, Miniso is a variety store founded by Japanese designer Miyake Junya and Chinese entrepreneur Ye Guofu. The store offers designer-quality products including cosmetics, home furnishings, electronics and accessories.

    More than 80 per cent of the products are designed and developed in China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Singapore. New products are launched every seven days.

    On average, Miniso opens 80 to 100 stores monthly and is anticipated to have 6000 stores by 2020 with global revenues of US$9 billion.

    The company has signed agreements in more than 40 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore.

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  • Mulberry Asia launches with Challice as partner

    Mulberry Asia launches with Challice as partner

    English luxury brand Mulberry Group has launched Mulberry Asia in partnership with Challice, which will run its business in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

    Mulberry Asia will start trading in Hong Kong from April 3, with a subsidiary in China and a branch office in Taiwan expected to follow this year.

    Mulberry owns 60 per cent of the share capital of Mulberry Asia, with Challice holding the balance.

    There will initially be four stores: two in China, one in Hong Kong and one in Taiwan. The new JV will also manage regional wholesale sales. A Chinese-language Mulberry.com site will be launched along with a regional omni-channel platform, with the partners planning “significant” marketing investment in north Asia.

    Mulberry plans to invest about £3 million (US$3.7 million) in additional support over the next two years to build brand awareness in the region.

    In the near term, a store will be opened in Shanghai, while stores in Beijing and Hong Kong will be relocated.

    Founded in the UK in 1971, Mulberry is best known for its leather goods.

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  • Apple opens new stores in China, Germany

    Apple opens new stores in China, Germany

    While Apple’s retail team is currently remodelling all its stores, the company expanded its reach with three new stores in China, Germany and the US. More than 350 store employees at the new stores in Nanjing (China), Cologne (Germany) and Miami (US) welcomed thousands of customers at the grand openings. “Each store complements the local architecture, from the restored facade in Schildergasse to the 90-by-30-foot glass entryway of Apple Nanjing,” the company said in a statement on Saturday. For the first time in each city, customers can explore The Forum — a place where the local community can gather and learn.

    All the three stores also feature The Boardroom — a space for local entrepreneurs, developers and business customers to get hands-on advice and training. On March 12, Apple reopened its store in St. Johns Town Center in Florida — the 35th store company updated to its latest design in the US. Apple opened its first store on May 15, 2001, at the Tysons Corner Center mall, Virginia.