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ECCO, a leading Danish manufacturer and retailer of footwear, expanded its presence in Hong Kong during the height of the SARS outbreak. This demonstrates foreign retailers' strong interest and confidence in Hong Kong, as well as a continuing favourable trend in the retail sector.
ECCO opened its first concept shop and one shop-in-shop in the territory in March and April respectively despite the SARS outbreak. The company also expanded its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong.
The Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Simon Galpin, today (July 8) met with the ECCO group Vice Chairman, Mr Karsten Borch and the Regional Managing Director of ECCO Asia Ltd, Mr Michael Sorensen at ECCO's regional headquarters and showroom in Wan Chai.
Mr Borch said: "It is only 17 months since ECCO opened its Asia-Pacific headquarter in Hong Kong. We started with three staff and expand to twenty people in a very short time. Our export to Asia increased by 80 per cent in 2002, with Hong Kong growing by 50 per cent in the same year. And until now this year we have already reached 80 per cent of the 2002 turnover. With such result and not least the tremendous effect by a very competent local staff, there is no doubt we took the right decision to set up our regional base in Hong Kong and we will continue to expand here in the coming future."
On ECCO's expansion in Hong Kong, Mr Sorensen said: "We will open our second concept shop in the International Finance Centre - Phase II in October. We plan to open more shops in the future.
"In June we relocated our regional headquarters to larger offices, and are hiring five additional staff. They include a Business Development Manager, a Retail Manager, a Customer Service Assistant, a Visual Merchandiser and a Sales Representative (Sport Division)."
Mr Sorensen said that ECCO Asia Hong Kong plans further expansion in China. Taiwan and Korea are also in its development plan for this year. "We expect the turnover in the Asia Pacific to account for 15 per cent of the ECCO group worldwide sales in 2003 but believe this can be increased to 25 per cent within relatively few years," said Mr Sorensen.
Mr Galpin welcomed ECCO's establishment of its regional headquarters in Hong Kong for retail, sales, sourcing, distribution and general management functions.
He said: "The fact that ECCO expanded its presence in Hong Kong during the height of the SARS outbreak is a great vote of confidence in our city."
Mr Galpin explained: "Hong Kong is clearly the retail capital of Asia, offering a wide range of quality products and brands in an exciting and enjoyable shopping environment.
"With excellent business infrastructure, a highly qualified workforce, free flow of goods, capital and information and a transparent regulatory system, Hong Kong is an ideal location for retailers to establish their regional operations. Our proximity to Mainland China provides an opportunity to effectively and competitively source products from a variety of industries and manufacturers in a convenient way."
ECCO is the world's seventh largest producer of casual shoes, selling more than 13 million pairs to 46 countries annually.
Invest Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government department tasked with attracting and assisting foreign-owned and Mainland companies to set up here. It supports potential investors by facilitating their investment planning, implementation and expansion processes in the territory.
End/Tuesday, July 8, 2003
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