China’s Ports 1961 Opens NYC Boutique

Ports 1961 1, originally uploaded by tutti dolce.

On Valentine’s Day, Ports 1961 opened it’s second U.S. boutique in New York City’s meatpacking district. To be honest, this is the first time that I have ever heard of this international luxury fashion label from China. Looking at the lifestyle shots from its ad campaign, I think that I am in love with this line! There’s a classic, almost vintage, look to their collection and pale, dusty color palate is so pretty!!

I did some research and found that this brand has a pretty interesting history (see here for the extended business story in Forbes). Originally a Canadian company when it was founded in 1961, Ports Design Ltd. experienced moderate success in North America in the 1980s; however, the recession and over-expansion led to its bankruptcy in 1994. To save the company, CEO Alfred Chan decided to move everything to Xiaman, China. Now when I say everything, this includes design, manufacturing, marketing, finance and the target customer base. The company then rebuilt itself thanks to the growing buying power of China’s neo rich. The Ports 1961 line was later launched in 2005, which has a higher price point than the Ports label.

As a side note, I can’t help but wonder if February 2009 wasn’t the best time to expand Port 1961′s American presence from L.A. to New York. The current state of the economy is very likely to hinder people from spending much on luxury goods, let alone a relatively unknown luxury brand. Mei Fong of The Wall Street Journal posed a similar question in her China Journal blog post in which she asked “Does making it in American retail matter anymore?” Only time will tell.

Filed under: Fashion, Retail, Asian, China, Fashion, Hong Kong, New York, Ports 1961, Retail

Link of the Week: Hong Kong Hustle

Beautiful Hong Kong, originally uploaded by cblee.

Hong Kong Hustle
Hong Kong nightlife, street fashion, culture and cool
(www.hongkonghustle.com)

This is probably one of my favorite blogosphere finds in recent weeks. With this blog, you and I can live in HK vicariously and pretend that we part of the cool crowd….one of the people who always know where and when all the “it”parties are happening. Since 2005, Hong Kong Hustle has been offering an alternative glimpse into HK’s urban life and nightlife, very different than the often cutesy and squeaky clean image (though Edison Chen pretty much shattered that earlier this year) that is portrayed in the media. The unnamed blogger covers everything from art & design, food, local culture, music & DJs, parties & events and people.

Hong Kong Hustle screen capture, originally uploaded by hongkonghustle.com

Side Note: As I do my usual, sit at home and find an interesting blog to read routine, I’ll be sharing my favorite finds each Friday beginning today. As you can probably guess, I am trying to add a little more structure (i.e. editorial calendar) to my blog; however, I am still working out what I will be posting on the other days…..just like Disneyland, this blog will always be under construction. Enjoy!

Filed under: Web, Art, DJ, Entertainment, Events, Fashion, Food, HK, Hong Kong, Links, Music, Nightlife, Street Fashion, Web Site

Coach and Diesel Launch New HK Flagship Stores

IMG_2228, originally uploaded by 曼妮的閒晃世界Mani ‘s lounging world.

In the same week (week of May 29), Coach and Diesel launched their new flagship stores with some very hipster parties and fashion shows, which no doubt spared no expenses. This will be Coach’s third store in HK and Diesel’s first. Looks like those HK’ers can now have all the luxury leather purses and high-end jeans that they can afford (that is, if they prefer the authentic stuff…hehe).

Checkout Hong Kong Hustle for more photos and tidbits about the Coach party and the Diesel party.

Filed under: Fashion, Retail, Coach, Diesel, Fashion, Fashion Show, Flagship Stores, HK, Hong Kong, Retail

Third Time’s A Charm For Shanghai Tang (NYC)

 

Shanghai Tang, originally uploaded by sun55585w.

Shanghai Tang, China’s premier luxury brand, has opened a new 3,200 square foot boutique on 600 Madison Avenue in New York City according to WWD.com. This is the Hong Kong-based fashion retailer’s third attempt at a brick and mortar store in the Big Apple.

Shanghai Tang made its first debut in New York (which was a PR disaster) with a 12,500 square foot store on Madison Avenue in 1997. Needless to say, it closed it in less than two years mainly due to poor sales and having misjudge the New York market for high end Asian apparel and products. After this less than stellar start, the retailer quietly moved to a smaller location. (So small, I haven’t been able to find the address now that it doesn’t exist anymore).

Perhaps Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, which has held major ownership since 1998, will have learned from David Tang‘s mistakes and do better this time around. Though in this economy, I highly doubt that the market for expensive Chinese chic fashion and accessories has grown that much since 1997. Only time will tell.

Though one thing’s for sure—they have since hired a really good PR agency to build their branding and messaging as a luxury brand. While I can’t say with 100% certainty that a publicist was behind the good press (since I wasn’t there), but in my professional opinion, these top-tier business placements did not just magically appear out of no where:

• BusinessWeek: “China Goes Luxury” By Reena Jana
• CNN: “Designing A Global Brand” By Samantha Broun
• Fast Company: “The Gucci Killers” By Linda Tischler

Filed under: Fashion, Retail, China, David Tang, Fashion, Hong Kong, Luxury, Public Relations, Retail, Shanghai Tang