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Shanghai Tang, part of the Richemont group, offers women’s, men’s and children’s ready-to-wear, homewares, fragrances and accessories, including bags, scarves and travel items |
HONG KONG. Chinese lifestyle brand Shanghai Tang, part of the Richemont luxury goods group, is seeking to expand its travel retail presence with standalone stores in major airports.
That is the crystal-clear strategy of Executive Chairman Raphaël le Masne de Chermont, who gave an exclusive interview to The Moodie Report at the TFWA Asia Pacific show in Singapore, where the Hong Kong-based company exhibited for the first time.
Shanghai Tang, founded in 1994 by Hong Kong tycoon David Tang, offers women’s, men’s and children’s ready-to-wear, homewares, fragrances and accessories, including bags, scarves and travel items.
“Shanghai Tang is the first lifestyle brand to emerge from China,” French-born Le Masne told The Moodie Report. “China is the topic of the moment and our hub is in Hong Kong, so it is a natural opportunity for us to get into travel retail.
“We have revamped the brand to make it wearable and relevant to the global market,” he added.
Shanghai Tang in domestic and travel retail markets
Shanghai Tang currently has 15 boutiques globally and flagship locations in Shanghai, New York, Paris, London, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The company started in the travel retail channel two-and-a-half years ago with a standalone boutique at Hong Kong International Airport. “We are among the top ten brands at HKIA with revenues of US$4,200 per square foot,” Le Masne said proudly. “We performed so well, they gave us another boutique.”
At Beijing Airport, where the company has a 55sq m store, Shanghai Tang is the number three brand overall in the airport, according to Le Masne.
Singapore Changi Airport is next on the firm’s expansion hit-list, as are Chinese airports including Shanghai and Taipei.
In two years time the company is likely to have a retail presence in both the domestic and travel retail markets in Europe, according to Le Masne. Currently, there are flagship domestic boutiques in Paris, London and Zurich (the latter in the Globus department store).
In the Americas the company has boutiques in Honolulu, Hawaii and on Madison Avenue, New York. Further openings are part of the future strategy, though US travel retail is not, said Le Masne.
The Middle East is another target. In October 2006 the brand is opening its first downtown shop in Dubai, covering 2,000sq ft.
Le Masne stressed that he would only consider stand-alone shops in the travel retail sector, adding that the company had not yet begun any wholesale business.
Shanghai Tang product range
Product wise, the company generates 55-60% of its turnover in apparel – although accessories is the fastest-growing category. “We have doubled our revenue in bags in the past 18 months,” he said. Cufflinks are also a best-selling line.
Expansion into watches and jewellery is in the pipeline. As the former CEO of Panerai, Piaget and Baume & Mercier watch brands (also part of the Richemont group) in Asia for four years, Le Masne knows this business inside out.
Shanghai Tang is also stepping into the footwear category, following the recent hiring of Spanish designer Carlo Puig, who previously worked for French fashion brand Maud Frizon.
The company boasts 18 designers, some in-house and some acting as consultants. Hong Kong-born Chinese American Joanne Ooi is the Head Designer.
Ooi comes up with the seasonal fashion themes, which for Spring/Summer 2006 is Chinese Pop Art. For the first time the company will have an annual theme for Autumn/Winter 2006/07 and Spring/Summer 2007, called Shanghai Redux, which will hark back to Shanghai in the 1930s.
About Raphaël le Masne de Chermont
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Executive Chairman of Shanghai Tang, Raphaël le Masne de Chermont |
Raphaël le Masne de Chermont has been Executive Chairman of Shanghai Tang since September 2001 and is the driving force behind the brand’s global expansion and positioning as the first Chinese luxury lifestyle brand. Le Masne de Chermont is a veteran of Asia and has over 17 years’ experience in the luxury goods sector. Prior to Shanghai Tang, he held executive-level positions at brands within the Richemont Luxury Group: Piaget, Baume & Mercier, Officine Panerai and Cartier, where he joined its London operations in January 1988. Le Masne de Chermont is a graduate of l’Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Nantes Atlantique, France.
For details on Shanghai Tang, contact 23rd Floor, Guangdong Investment Tower, 148 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong, tel: +852 2808 1880, e-mail raphael.le.masne@shanghaitang.com Visit www.shanghaitang.com
