10 International Herald Tribune
Tuesday, December 7, 2004 S T Y L E
The road to China?
A soft approach
By Jessica Michault
HONG KONG
t’s about how we touch the heart,
Photographs by Karl Prouse for the IHT
‘I not now many stores we have,’’
said the executive vice president
of Hermès. ‘‘We want to learn
and listen to China and share the cul-
ture with them.’’ Christian Blanckaert’s
comments summed up the tug of war
At the Hong Kong conference, from the left above: Alber Elbaz, designer between a corporate clout and a softly-
for the French house Lanvin, with the model Ling Tan, and Yves Carcelle, softly approach to China that was at the
CEO of Louis Vuitton; Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH Moët center of the International Herald
Hennessy Louis Vuitton, with Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s Tribune conference here last week.
chief executive, and the singer Kelly Chen; and Paul Smith, chairman Although ‘‘Luxury 2004: The Lure of
of Paul Smith Limited, with a rubber chicken. Asia,’’ often aroused passionate discus-
7, rue Royale, Paris. Tel: (33) 1 40 17 07 40 • 137, New Bond Street, London. Tel: (44) 207 499 7555
sion about the family approach versus
multi-brand strategies, the duel was not
between public and private companies,
but was a clash of attitudes.
The British designer Paul Smith,
whose major market is Japan, chose an
endearingly kooky presentation, as he
scampered around the podium conjur-
ing up a series of surprises. He de-
scribed his individualist spirit as
‘‘child-like, but not childish.’’
‘‘You should be consistently unpre-
dictable, but loyal to your roots, and
your customer will trust you,’’ Smith
said, adding that companies should
‘‘make room to break the rules.’’
*
For Blanckaert, there are no rules for
entering China’s markets, but he cited
the dangers, led by the urge to rush in,
rather than ‘‘to take our time.’’
‘‘Luxury roads have become high-
ways,’’ he said, ‘‘and the road to luxury
is very difficult, full of dead bodies.’’
He cited the historic love of the horse in
Chinese culture as a synergy with Her-
mès and said that he saw the nation
‘‘more of a key source of inspiration
than a market’’ for the next 20 years.
For Francis Gouten, regional direc-
tor of Richemont, China is already a
reality. His group, which has a portfolio
of watch companies as well as such
high end brands as Dupont and Chloe,
has seen a 38 percent sales growth in
the first six months of the year. He
called Richemont’s Shanghai Tang ‘‘the
first global Chinese luxury brand.’’
‘‘I have never seen such a fast-grow-
ing economy,’’ said Gouten.
Burberry found opportunity in
small things — kids’ clothes — said the
company’s chief financial officer, Sta-
cey Cartwright. ‘‘The Asians take such
pride in what their children wear,’’ she
said, explaining that 5 percent of sales
in South Korea are in that category.
Overall, Asian sales for Burberry are
up 29 percent this year, she said, and
make up 50 percent of Burberry’s glob-
al sales. Cartwright emphasized the
importance of working with partners
who understand the Chinese market. A
new product, rolled out especially for
the Chinese New Year on Feb. 9, will be
the fragrance Brit Red, in lacquer red.
Ralph Toledano, Chloe’s chief exec-
utive, warned against commercial op-
portunism. In a speech that got to the
heart of several issues, he listed six
key factors for brand success, starting
with talent, as long as the designer
respected the brand. He said a com-
pany needs to have the support of
smart business people and a commit-
ment from the shareholders for at least
the five years needed to build the
brand. Also on the list were such ba-
sics as a strong design team and a ded-
ication to hard work. But he said the
most important ingredient for a suc-
cessful company was that it have a
family atmosphere: ‘‘I do not believe in
a corporate kind of management.’’
The idea of operating on a human
scale was also emphasized by Adrienne
Ma, managing director of Joyce
boutiques, who talked about educating
the new consumer, especially from
mainland China. In catchy phases she
summed up the changing spirit that has
led some Chinese to look to jewelry
‘‘bling bling’’ rather than the traditional
Ping Pong. ‘‘Yesterday’s fashion victim is
today’s information victim,’’ Ma said, re-
ferring to the fact that Hong Kong con-
sumers were feeling fashion fatigue as
the Internet and an increasing number
of magazine titles brought them the look
of the season way before deliveries.
For Diego della Valle, chief executive
of Tod’s, a brand must eschew look-
alike stores across the world and offer
products specific to various cities. His
‘‘dream’’ to create the first couture ac-
cessories house in the Paris-based Ro-
ger Vivier suggested that a new upper
tier of super luxury is in his sights.
A trio of Italian companies talked
about expanding their brands, with
Rosita Missoni and her son Vittorio
discussing the new creativity the
founding mother of the company was
putting into homewares and how it had
pushed that category forward. Laudo-
mia Pucci, like many speakers, empha-
sized the importance of respecting the
‘‘DNA’’ of the brand and explained how
the current launch of Pucci skiwear
was coherent with her father’s roots.
For Giorgio Armani, who already has
Armani Casa free-standing stores, ho-
tels are his new adventure in brand ex-
tension. John Hooks, Armani’s com-
mercial director, said that the first
Armani hotel would not open its doors
until 2008.
The serious problem of counterfeit-
ing, which is rife in China, was a sub-
text of the two-day conference.
An intellectual property specialist,
Tan Loke Khoon, author of ‘‘Pirates in
the Middle Kingdom,’’ an examination
of trademark wars, joined a general call
to arms. ‘‘Zero tolerance’’ was essential,
he said and luxury companies must ‘‘do
something quick’’ to protect their intel-
lectual property. Although counter-
feited luxury goods might mean a com-
pany is hot, it is ‘‘flattery of the worst
kind’’ and he said the quality of coun-
terfeit bags was so good that even he, as Speaking at the
an expert, occasionally had trouble conference were, from
telling the difference. top: Rosita Missoni,
The conference was surrounded by a founder of and designer
series of events, including a reception at Missoni S.p.A.;
at Government House, where Tung Stacey Cartwright,
Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s chief execu- chief financial officer
tive, invited Hong Kong designers to at Burberry Group;
meet leaders of the luxury industry, Laudomia Pucci,
among them Bernard Arnault, chair- image director at
man of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Emilio Pucci; Umberto
Vuitton. Angeloni, CEO of
International Herald Tribune Bironi Group.