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Tag: france

  • Altelier D’Auchel Hong Kong store opens

    Altelier D’Auchel Hong Kong store opens

    French leather goods brand Altelier D’Auchel has opened its first retail store in the territory.

    Altelier D’Auchel Hong Kong is located on the 14th floor of Lyndhurst Tower, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace in Central.

    The label makes leather goods to order, with price tags ranging from HK$40,000 to $300,000, depending on the materials, style and colours chosen. Once ordered, a bag takes anywher from a fortnight to a month to be created.

    A truly artisan brand, Altelier D’Auchel employs craftsmen who have trained in the traditional techniques at the Compagnons du Devoirs, which is a French apprentice training organisation dating back to the Middle Ages where master craftsmen and artisans train apprentices in a craft. After qualifying, the designers have to spend another 10 years at a name atelier to make the grade.

    Altelier D’Auchel sent master craftsmen from France to Hong Kong to celebrate the exclusive store’s opening and to provide a live demonstration of the art of making fine handbags.

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  • France’s Groupe SMCP finds favour in China

    France’s Groupe SMCP finds favour in China

    Parisian fashion label Groupe SMCP says its ‘affordable luxury’ positioning is luring growing numbers of Chinese shoppers.

    SMCP is 70 per cent owned by private equity group KKR (one of the companies linked to a bid for Tesco’s US$6 billion Korean operations).

    In an interview with Bloomberg, SMCP CEO Daniel Lalonde said the company is witnessing “an incredible demand” for its products in Hong Kong, and he suspects the reason is the brand’s ‘affordable luxury’ positioning.

    “Chinese consumers love the brands – they like the fit,” he said.

    In Greater China – including the mainland – Groupe SMCP’s same store sales rose in the high double digits in 2014, over 2013. The growth rate is showing little sign of slowing in the first months of this year.

    Chinese shoppers now account for about 10 per cent of Groupe SMCP’s global sales. An increasing number of Chinese travellers are shopping in the company’s European stores, Lalonde told Bloomberg.

    Besides its own label, the retailer sells Claudie Pierlot, Maje and Sandro brands, all targeting “modern and elegant women”.

    Groupe SMCP currently has eight stores trading in Hong Kong and plans to open as many as five more this year. It also plans more stores in Macau.

    While Hong Kong’s retail sales have fallen by more than two per cent so far this year, largely due to the bottom falling out of the luxury watch and expensive jewellery markets, Lalonde told Bloomberg his stores have not noticed any downturn.

    “This is what I read and what I’m told – we haven’t been able to see that at all. We’ve seen very strong sales in all our stores that have been here more than two and a half years.”

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  • Laduree to open in Philippines

    Laduree to open in Philippines

    French patisserie Laduree has confirmed its entry into the Philippines.

    The Parisian retailer – well-known for its macarons, will open in Rockwell at Makati Metropolis in larger Manila on July 19.

    The model is being delivered to the Philippines by franchisee H&F Retail Ideas, whose MD Mark Gonzalez says the shop will promote macarons flown into the nation from Paris.

    The primary Laduree retailer will take up simply 55 sqm of retail area. It is going to be adopted by a Laduree salon de the tea salon and patisserie in one other Manila location subsequent yr.

    Based in 1862, Laduree pioneered the macaron which has in recent times turn out to be a cult meals merchandise, superseding the cupcake craze.

    H&F’s owns the Philippines franchises for retail manufacturers together with Balenciaga, Fred Perry, Pylones and operates multi-brand boutiques buying and selling underneath the the Univers and homme et femme banners.

  • Garuda to open flight to Germany and France

    Garuda to open flight to Germany and France

    PT Garuda Indoanesia Tbk. plans to open new routes to France and Germany this year to boost its income, Finance Director I.G.N. Askhara Dananiputra stated here on Tuesday.

    He noted that the routes would become operational between the second and third quarter this year after the delivery of the Boeing 777 that the national flag carrier has ordered.

    “We have ordered the Boeing 777 as in the same cost we would be more efficient if we use it to serve long-haul destinations rather than short- or middle-range destinations,” he pointed out after attending the signing of a hedging agreement between the company and four banks.

    The companys President Director, M. Arif Wibowo, noted that Germany and France had been chosen as the countries economic growth is more stable as compared to other European countries.

    “The European growth is still two to three percent with the biggest growth recorded by Germany and France. Frances growth is still lower than Germanys,” he elaborated.

    He noted that Garuda would fly to Paris in France and Frankfurt in Germany for the time being.

    He admitted to still calculating the possibility of operating direct flights due to the capability of runways in Indonesia which are not yet able to accommodate Boeing 777 maximally.

    In Indonesia, the take-off weight for a Boeing 777 class aircraft is only 329 tons while the maximum capability of the Boeing 777 reaches 351 tons.

    “Economically, this is not feasible. We are still calculating and finding ways with regard to destinations to get a higher income,” he remarked.

    To support the European routes, Garuda would deploy 10 aircraft providing dual and first class travel options on 18 aircraft to be delivered this year, he emphasized.

    Apart from opening new routes, Arif noted that Garuda would also increase the frequency. He further added that there will be four flights per week for destinations in France and Germany while there will be daily flights for the existing route such as to the Netherlands and England.

    With a capacity of 300 passengers, the Boeing 777 is expected to increase the number of passengers by 1.2 thousand per week or 62.4 thousand per year.

    “Apart from opening new routes in Europe, China and the Middle East, we will also expand our networks and streamline our operation schedules,” he added.

  • Bagllerina Hong Kong opens in Sogo

    Bagllerina Hong Kong opens in Sogo

    French ballerina shoe brand Bagllerina has opened its first store in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay.

    Founded in 2011 by Christine Natkin, Bagllerina specialises in handmade, foldable ballerina shoes that are comfortable, simple and elegant made from 100 per cent leather.

    Observes fashion blogger Butterboom: “We are big advocates of comfortable shoes especially with the amount of walking we do in Hong Kong. You can slip your heels in a matching leather small bag while wearing a pair of Bagllerina, and slip out of them once you’ve arrived at your destination to switch to your heels.”

    Bagllerina Hong Kong has opened on level B1 of the Sogo shopping centre at 555 Hennessy Rd.

    Bagllerina shoes come in more than 70 colours and three different cuts, with a new version, the Summerfeet cut, described as ‘sandals with a bit of hell” due soon.

    For more details of the range, and images from Bagllerina, read Butterboom’s report.

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  • La Cure Gourmande lands in Asia

    La Cure Gourmande lands in Asia

    French confectionery brand La Cure Gourmande has chosen Korea for its Asian market debut.

    The sweets specialist has opened its first outlet in the continent inside the Lotte Department Store Sogong-dong downtown Seoul.

    The 36 sqm bright yellow coloured store offers more than 30 kinds of candies, cookies, caramels and chocolates, all imported from France. The Korea Herald reports that on its first day of trading, it grossed the highest sales in the department store’s food section.

    Customers are encouraged to taste and inspect the candies, with store staff named “Sunshine” offering samples.

    “We want people to feel nostalgic when they enter the store, bring back their memories of going to an old candy store and sticking their noses into the cookies and caramels,” said Edouard Hennebert, the company’s founder.

    La Cure Gourmande plans two more stores-in-stores inside department stores in southern Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and says it will offer up to 150 kinds of product by the end of the year.

    The French company’s debut in Korea is the result of Lotte staff seeking unique brands to create a point of difference from rival department stores Shinsegae and Hyundai.

    “Lotte Department Store was searching for dessert brands that could cement their market status as a high-end and luxury retail channel, just like what Louis Vuitton and Chanel used to three decades ago,” said Stephane Lo, CEO of La Cure Gourmande Korea.

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