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Investors continue to show confidence in the long term potential of the retail market in Hong Kong. Leading Spanish fashion brand ZARA announced the opening of its first store in Hong Kong.
The Managing Director of ZARA Asia Ltd., Mr David Konn, said, "We are very excited about the opening of our first store in Hong Kong. We are also extremely confident about the future business development here, and have already employed four managers and 50 staff for the shop. We also found consumers here very sophisticated and receptive to fashion, which is one of the key considerations for leading brands like ZARA in deciding where to set up our business."
"By applying the most advanced technology, we are able to offer reasonably priced items for our customers worldwide. We have more than 200 designers in-house, producing over 20,000 new items every year in order to stay on the top of the latest fashion trends. We renew our collections and ship new items for the Hong Kong store at least twice a week. All the essentials for successful sourcing are available here - a sophisticated supply chain system, quality of goods, expertise in fashion and textiles." said Mr Konn.
The new ZARA shop will be opened officially tomorrow (May 21). It occupies a space of 15,000 sq ft at the ifc Mall, with interior design consistent with the latest ZARA layout worldwide. All interior furnishing and craftsmanship are from Spain. The shop will showcase a full collection for women, men, kids and new-borns, as well as accessories. ZARA has 640 stores in 47 countries, all situated in prime sites in the main commercial areas of cities across Europe, America and Asia.
ZARA belongs to Industria de Diseno Textil ("Inditex"), one of the largest fashion retail groups worldwide. The Spanish designer-cum-retailer has 2,000 shops in 49 countries under its six banners.
The Hong Kong store will also be the first wholly owned and managed ZARA store in Asia by its parent company Inditex. The group has a long history in sourcing in the region through Hong Kong; it set up Inditex Asia Ltd in Hong Kong seven years ago as a sourcing office.
The Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Simon Galpin, congratulated ZARA on the opening of its first shop in Hong Kong.
He said, "Fashion retailers with high sales volume and ongoing restocking of products, like ZARA, count on a well-developed logistics structure to allow timely delivery of goods with highly controlled costs. The supply chain will also need to be flexible enough to adapt to any rapid change in industry trends. These are all the competitive advantages of Hong Kong, explaining why companies choose to set up their supply management base here for the region.
"Moreover, Hong Kong's leading position as the freest economy in the world, a leading banking and financial centre in Asia-Pacific, developed transportation network, central location in the heart of Asia, as well as the known expertise in fashion and textiles industry - are key factors for successful just-in-time delivery required by today's retail market."
Invest Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government department charged with encouraging and facilitating foreign investment into the city by providing all the support needed to establish a business presence here.
Ends/Thursday, May 20, 2004
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