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John McLennan of Indigo with Kelly Hoppen at the global launch of Ms Hoppen’s first home collection, held in Hong Kong
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In a boon for Hong Kong retailers, an increasing number of top-name homeware and furniture designers are launching collections in Hong Kong. Kelly Hoppen, Alexander McQueen, Nigella Lawson and Gordon Ramsay are just some of the headline names among an international who’s who now selling their products in Hong Kong.
According to John McLennan, Managing Director of interiors store Indigo Living, it’s about time. “Asia is the future of retail,” he said. “People are looking at the statistics – some sooner than later – and bringing their brands and design to market here.”
Late last year, Indigo hosted the world premiere of a home collection by celebrated British interior designer Kelly Hoppen. Mr McLennan said the choice of Hong Kong for the launch of Kelly Hoppen Home reflects its importance as a market. “In the past, the first markets for designers would have been New York, Paris and Tokyo. As we go forward, it will be Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.”
Brand Recognition
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Cookware by Nigella Lawson has a strong following at The Pan-Handler in Central
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He added that as the design industry shifts to Asia, Hong Kong is key for brand recognition.
“The world focus is moving away from the United States and Europe, and Hong Kong is the key to the puzzle. Hong Kong has been Asia's centre for luxury for a long time. People feel comfortable buying here. They know it is a developed market and a jumping off point to the Chinese mainland.
“Hong Kong has world-class shopping malls in prime locations. Players are seeing that they need to be in Asia, and Hong Kong offers them automatic credibility.”
Ms Hoppen has been to Hong Kong several times, and understands the market, according to Mr McLennan. “She realises Hong Kong is the best first step for her in Asia.”
In Hong Kong to launch her collection last September, Ms Hoppen said that Asia had been the backbone of her global business since the recession. “We’re working in 42 countries, but 70 per cent of our business for the past two years has been in Asia,” she told CNBC Asia. Remarking that all of her furniture is now being made in China, Ms Hoppen said she was “very excited” to launch her new collection in Hong Kong.
Esquire Targets Home
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Esquire Home, by New York’s Esquire Magazine, targets Hong Kong executives
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Esquire Home, a new brand of furnishing and accessories by New York-based Esquire Magazine, has also been introduced by Indigo. Mr McLennan said the range, primarily aimed at men, targets Hong Kong’s executive set.
In another recent arrival to the Hong Kong interior design scene, department store Lane Crawford has started selling the first interiors collection by the late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen. When The Rug Company introduced his work at Lane Crawford last November, it was only his third showing globally, after Los Angeles and Toronto.
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Kelly Hoppen's east meets west aesthetic is now available at Indigo Living, Hong Kong |
Bradley Caine, Managing Director of The Pan-Handler, a gourmet kitchenware shop in Central, said the Hong Kong homeware and interior design market has reached a new level of sophistication. The Pan-Handler represents brands, including celebrity chefs Nigella Lawson and Gordon Ramsay, whose cookware products would have struggled to find a market here a few years ago. Today, they’re hot sellers in what Mr Caine believes is a follow-on from Hong Kong’s increasingly upscale dining scene.
Furniture World
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From left: Kevin O'Malley, Vice-President and Publisher, Esquire Magazine; Serge Gander, Managing Director, Halo Licensing; and Stephen Jacoby, Associate Publisher, Marketing, Esquire Magazine, at the Hong Kong launch of Ms Hoppen’s first home collection
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Fine furniture manufacturer Halo, a long-established British company, says Hong Kong offers designer brands a “phenomenal” global platform. “From our headquarters here in Hong Kong, we are reaching out to more than 60 countries worldwide,” said Serge Gander, Managing Director of Halo Licensing, the group’s private label arm. “We are really at the centre of the furniture world.”
Halo manufacturers for Kelly Hoppen and Esquire Home, and is in negotiations with other leading names looking to tap the Asian market. Brands partnering with Halo also benefit from Hong Kong’s advantages.
“They gain access to Chinese manufacturing, but that’s only part of it for us,” Mr Gander said. “We go to China for capacity, great manpower and, today, great quality. Chinese manufacturing is today of very good quality, especially when you have close cooperation.”
Halo calls its manufacturing facilities in Guangdong Province “Easy Street.” Employing 2,000 workers, the factory is craftsman-driven, with importance placed on the intrinsic value of its products.
Centrepiece of Asia
Under the supervision of British craftsmen and Creative Director Tim Oulton, son of Halo’s founder, the workers produce classical wood and leather furniture in as small a number as customers require. It also uses reclaimed wood from Scotland, and makes furniture from old Chinese fishing boats, giving new life to ancient timber.
Mr Gander said Hong Kong is pivotal to the company’s business. “It is the perfect centrepiece of Asia, close to our manufacturing facility, and commercially very dynamic. Hong Kong is our platform to the world.”
Related Links
Halo
Indigo Living
Lane Crawford
The Pan-Handler
