Retail News CRM

Tag: interior design

  • New Celine store design was made for Asia

    New Celine store design was made for Asia

    The new Celine store design unveiled in New York City is destined for China and Japan in the early stages of a global rollout. The white and grey dominated, minimalist design illustrated here in official photographs released by the luxury fashion brand, was conceived by the label’s creative director Hedi Slimane. The first store, which has opened at 650 Madison Avenue, takes up 5000sqft, making it Celine’s largest store yet anywhere in the world.

    According to company sources, the new look will be implemented next in Los Angeles, Paris and Milan before being launched in Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo.

    Slimane uses natural materials as a contrast to stark white walls and polished railings.

    He used natural stones like basaltina on the floors and ginger and cream-streaked black granite on walls and some shelving together with a combination of marbles and grey travertine.

    Contrasting yet complementing the stone, reclaimed oak, polished stainless steel, brass, gold, and concrete are used and in the case of the Madison Avenue store, a large rock creates a focal point in the store.

    Celine says future stores will feature commissioned artworks relevant to the locations. Commissioned artists include Jose Davila, Oscar Tuazon, Elaine Cameron Weir and James Balmforth.

    The stores will also feature furniture designed by Slimane, such as wooden benches, tanned leather chairs and brass side table.

    The timeline for the rollout of the new Celine store design has not yet been released.

  • Ikea to open Vietnam store with US$450 million investment

    Ikea to open Vietnam store with US$450 million investment

    Ikea Vietnam plans to invest US$450 million on a retail centre and warehouse system in Hanoi, according to a government official. Nguyen Duc Chung, chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, told a recent conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade that the Swedish furniture giant’s local subsidiary is well advanced with plans to launch in the country.

    Once completed, the centre will be Ikea’s main supply hub for its Southeast Asian market.

    “At present, all parties involved are [in] the process of negotiation,” Chung added.
    The centre is expected to boost Ikea’s e-commerce business in the region.

    During an interview in 2017, Torbjorn Loof, chairman and CEO of Inter Ikea Holdings said the company was planning potential expansion in Vietnam “within five years”.

    Ikea is steadily expanding its Southeast Asian footprint, the latest largest store planned in Philippines.

    Founded in 1943, Ikea is the world’s largest furniture retailer with 400 stores in 49 countries all over the world.

    In recent years, Vietnam has been a potential hub for retailers to build warehouses. Last November, Lazada finished a 4000sqm warehouse in Danang.

  • Asia becomes Laura Ashley’s last hope

    Asia becomes Laura Ashley’s last hope

    Fashion and home furnishings brand Laura Ashley will close 40 stores in the UK as it prepares to expand into the Chinese market. The firm has already gone through a round of 40 closures since 2015 against flagging interest from British consumers, which has seen a reported 14 shops closing every day in the territory.

    Laura Ashley runs a regional office in Singapore focused purely on e-commerce into China, with plans to look at physical stores rollout after establishing a significant foothold in digital retail there.

    According to Khoo, the company is “moving to Asia in a much bigger way”.

    The brand is wholly owned by Malayan United Industries (MUI), which is currently restructuring parts of its business and rationalising assets. The brand will be expanding the 120 British Laura Ashley stores that remain following the closures to better showcase the brand.

    MUI’s executive chairman Andrew Khoo Boo Yeow said: “It doesn’t really matter if [customers] buy online or offline, we just want them to get inspired … It’s a challenging environment and it could become more challenging”.

    In Australia, the remaining 16 Laura Ashley stores will close this month after the company failed to find a buyer for the business, which was run under a licence. It was placed in administration for the second time in two years on December 3.

  • Foreign names dominate Vietnam’s high-end home interiors market

    Foreign names dominate Vietnam’s high-end home interiors market

    Foreign home interior brands and designers are present in force and dominating the increasingly affluent Vietnamese market. Brands like Cassina, Badari Lighting, Cantori, Diemme Cucine, Formitalia, and Versace Home have entered the high-end interior market in recent years.

    According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), some 80 percent of luxury woodwork and interior decoration items is imported from Europe, with local players making up the small remaining portion. The market is valued at $2.5 billion.

    Ly Qui Trung, general director of AKA Furniture Group, said the expansion of the “middle and affluent class” has boosted demand for luxury interior items.

    “It is no wonder that many high-end international interior brands have started rushing into the Vietnamese market.”

    The middle and affluent class, categorized as those earning $714 a month or more, would double to 33 million, about a third of the population, between 2014 and 2020, the Nikkei Asian Review reported recently citing a study by the Boston Consulting Group.

    Market research firm Nielsen estimates the number of middle and affluent class Vietnamese to reach 44 million by 2020 and 95 million by 2030.

    Paolo Lemma, Italian trade commissioner to Vietnam, believes there will be higher demand for interior design items in future due to the booming real estate market.

    According to the HCMC Handicraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA), woodwork furniture consumption last year was estimated at over $3.2 billion and that number is expected to reach $4 billion this year.

    Huynh Van Hanh, vice chairman of HAWA, said the industry’s average growth rate has been 8 percent in the last seven years, and his association encouraged domestic manufactures to enter this growing market.

    Trung said his company would seek to tap the growing high-end segment in future, and expected fierce competition between domestic and foreign brands.

    Last year Vietnam exported $8 billion worth of wood and forestry products and has a target of $9 billion this year.