HONG KONG — Etro has opened its third store in Hong Kong, a 1,060-square-foot boutique in Central’s upscale IFC shopping mall.
Fabio Gnocchi, commercial director for the Italian brand, said the company has been looking for a spot in Central. “We have been trying for a long time to get into IFC,” he said. “This store has great windows, but it’s a little small inside with unusual space, so we took our time deciding on the layout.”
Etro’s other Hong Kong stores are across the harbor in Kowloon, although the brand was available in Central in a dedicated corner at Lane Crawford.
The IFC mall is home to Lane Crawford’s flagship and freestanding units from the likes of Valentino, Tiffany & Co., Versace, Escada and Kate Spade. Acquiring retail space here is competitive.
Adrienne Ma, president of Joyce Boutique Holdings Ltd., which operates Etro stores in Hong Kong and has exclusive rights to franchise the brand in China, said that it all boiled down to relationships. “We opened Hugo Boss here when IFC first opened when SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] happened,” recalled Ma of the 2003 health crisis. “We didn’t retreat then and we have built a real collaboration [with the landlords],” she said of the consortium of property developers who run IFC.
Although the new shop is Etro’s smallest in Hong Kong, Ma said she expects it to be the best performing: “The volume of footfall and the profile of the traffic is right — these are customers who can be Etro people.” She declined to estimate first-year sales.
Italian architect Alberto Brugi designed the interior, which is divided evenly between men’s wear and women’s fashion, and features simple geometric design as well as Etro’s signature orange and fuchsia palette.
Gnocchi said the store symbolizes Etro’s expansion strategy. “We are really focusing our energy on outside markets,” he said. “Joyce has already opened three stores in Hong Kong and we have seven in China in just three years. It’s growing very rapidly.”
This year, Etro expects to reach sales of 300 million euros, about $408 million at current exchange rates. “This is just wholesale of a first line,” said Gnocchi. “We haven’t developed any licensing — no fragrances or diffusion lines. We have a lot of room for growth.”
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Gnocchi said that ready-to-wear accounts for 70 percent of sales, and the company will pay more attention to accessories in the future.
It’s a strategy that has Ma’s backing. Although there are no immediate plans to open more stores in Hong Kong, China is another story – and accessories may be key.
“We’re in six cities in China now, with two in Beijing, but there is potential for this to be a very developable brand,” said Ma. “Men’s wear is strong, as is women’s wear, and the accessories line is really growing with everything from small leather goods to handbags to luggage. In China we can go with an accessories-only store or a full flagship shop. There are many possibilities.”