AdnKronos, 12 April 2016: Design, it's time to invest in Asia!
For the design sector there are now unique opportunities to invest in Asia, which will last until next year. While the demand in the Indonesian market was not at best, Japan and Korea were more stable markets in the design sector. Opportunities can be especially seized by companies with a turnover of at least 50 million euros, Andrea Bonardi says, as Managing Partner at Texere Advisors, a consulting company which assists brands in their expansion into Asia.
“In Asia, the design sector has the greatest potential growth. On the contrary, since fashion is a mature sector, fashion companies need to propose very innovative products to successfully enter into the emerging markets. Any brand has to choose between entering directly into the market (since malls have flexible conditions in this period of crisis) and waiting for the economy recovery (but with higher costs for the brand launching). My personal advice for companies which have at least 50-60 million euros turnover is to seize these opportunities, now!
The Asian market is a great opportunity for any brand endowed with financial resources and Hong Kong and Singapore are definitely the best places to invest in.
On the other hand, brands which are not solid financially with a turnover lower than 50-60 million euros should wait to invest because Asia is an extremely competitive and demanding market. Meanwhile, these companies should acquire well-prepared employees in order to grow and to face more and more complex economic situations. I personally believe that these great opportunities in the design sector will last until next year when luxury purchases will raise again (Asia is a dynamic market!). Finally, I think the most important point when entering into Asia is to hire an efficient customer service.
Among Texere Advisors’ clients, one of the most prestigious Italian design brand is Moroso. “We are supporting our client in a restructuring market process, in commercial area and for regional dealers as well. We have initiated for Moroso a lot of new activities, such as continuous learning, marketing events, press support and our personal events proposal. We were able to double Moroso turnover in just 18 months!”. Moreover, in a few months, a representative office will be opened in Japan in order to closely follow the business in that area.
Texere Advisors assists also Potocco, a major Italian furniture brand, implementing the same expansion strategy thought up for Moroso, in Asia and in India as well. “During Salone del Mobile in Milan, we should conclude 3 exclusive distribution agreements in Peking, Singapore and India. Moroso and Potocco need a channel of furniture distribution which is usually not provided by Asian malls, which are more suitable for luxury brands. A virtuous result we obtained for Moroso in Asia was the opening of a stunning showroom in Seoul in a three-storey building, close to Hermes’ flagship”, Bonardi says.
“Another important Italian brand assisted by Texere Advisors is Frette. We are currently studying the opening of some monobrand shops in South East Asia, Japan and especially in China where we have planned to meet a well-known bedding sector company”.
Furthermore, Texere Advisors manages the retail development for Fabiana Filippi in Hong Kong and in Singapore as well. “Asian malls are desperately looking for new brands to change their product mix which is currently composed by Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Since consumers have changed their tastes, Fabiana Filippi could probably be a good brand to change malls’ offer”, Bonardi says.
