HONG KONG – Famed fashion retailer Joyce Ma is stepping down.
The woman who launched numerous Western designer brands in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the Far East said Wednesday that she will retire on Monday, as will her husband, Walter Ma, who is her company’s chairman, and her daughter, Adrienne, its president. Adrienne Ma, reached by telephone, said the decision for all three to leave simultaneously was made mutually: “My father is chairman, but if my mother decides to retire and I decide to spread my wings, he’s not staying without us.”
Joyce Ma founded her Hong Kong business in the early Seventies. Most recently the company has been expanding its China business with the opening of several monobrand stores as well as a Joyce multibrand boutique, which opened in Shanghai in May. Also in May the company unveiled a new, expanded flagship in Hong Kong. Currently there are four Joyce stores and 44 monobrand shops operated by the company.
A controlling interest in the company was acquired by Peter Woo in 2000. Since 2003 the company has been part of the Lane Crawford Joyce Group.
For complete coverage, see Thursday’s issue of WWD.