''I used to buy ties and things like that for DFS, but you wouldn't really call me a fashion buyer,'' Mr Shek said.

''I wanted to become more involved in the fashion buying area and so I made the move to Lane Crawford.'' Before that time, Mr Shek said he and his friends did their buying in designer boutiques, looking for something a little different but not too outrageous.

''Now, my friends are happy to shop in Lane Crawford,'' Mr Shek said.

''The prices are affordable, the styles aren't too crazy and we have a wide choice.'' Indeed, what could Mr Shek say, considering he is the one behind it all? But he has more than words to back up the truth in what he says.

He has his reputation and his customers. Lane Crawford has the figures and the labels.

In the past, Mr Shek said, the biggest department in the store had been given over to women's fashions and accessories but that gap had closed.

The first label Lane Crawford set out to corner was Hugo Boss. The popular, ''commercial'' menswear label was sold at two other outlets in Hongkong.

But within two years, Lane Crawford had secured exclusivity to sell the Hugo Boss brand. It established free-standing boutiques and also opened five shop-in-shop locations at its department stores. In the past three years, it has opened two more, at its Pacific Place store and in the Hongkong Hotel.

''Hugo Boss is our hottest label, price-wise, for design and the variety,'' Mr Shek said.

Next, it concentrated on the Italian designs of Pal Zileri. It already had exclusivity but worked to promote this tailored look label and now has five corners devoted to Pal Zileri.

''Everyone talks about having an exclusive boutique. In Hongkong, it is hard to control when sales are held and who can sell which brands,'' Mr Shek said.

''So we have based our strength on our own brands.'' Another name which is popular in Lane Crawford is Reporter, an Italian label similar in mood to the German Hugo Boss.

''It falls into our casual suit category,'' Mr Shek said.

''We sell about 10,000 suits every season.

''The average price is $12,000 for those in the upper style range and about $3,000 for the leisure wear designs.'' It is no wonder, then, that the menswear department alone reports a $350 million annual turnover.

''But we can't focus on the higher range suits only because we are, after all, a department store.

''That is especially true for our store in Central, where we are catering to a more diverse selection of people.'' Canali is another Italian favourite with Mr Shek, who said he preferred the Italian styles to any other.

''Italian designs are easily recognised by their fine quality workmanship,'' Mr Shek said.

''The fabric and the cut are superb.

''The suits are better constructed with a 'non-fused' lining which moves independently of the jacket.

''Italians believe that the separate pieces of a suit have their own life.

''They also pay a lot of attention to details, such as the stitching and linings.

''German brands may be mass-produced and they tend to make fused pieces.

''Of course, they are also 30 per cent cheaper.'' Mr Shek said that brands such as Hugo Boss, however, were successful, having built up a reputation for style over the years.

Needless to say, Mr Shek spends much of his time travelling to Italy and Germany for those labels and makes occasional trips to London, too, for the Burberry and Dunhill lines.

In Italy, he attends the Bitti Uomo shows looking for younger designs. In Paris, it is the Sehm men's show and in Germany, the big Cologne show.

In future, he will be heading off to the United States, attending the Magic Show in Las Vegas and buying for Lane Crawford Singapore store.

This is a new venture for Mr Shek and Singapore will enjoy the results of his first buying spree this season.

Junior Gaultier, Paul Smith, Gibraud and Fujiwara also get a look in at Lane Crawford. But generally, Mr Shek said, men's fashions changed little compared with women's wear.

Mr Shek said this summer would see more sophistication, reduced shoulders, longer lengths in jackets and a return to the single-breasted suit.

Colours would be spicy - red, yellow, green and purple.

''These will suit Hongkong people, who like strong colour,'' Mr Shek said.

''Colonial colours of natural, ecru and beige, in linen fabrics, will also feature strongly.

''For business suits, it will be blue, black and grey with pinstripes coming back.

''Overall, linen will be very strong, but of course, cotton and wool will be in there too.'' Looking further ahead, winter would see a more English style with herringbone and Prince of Wales checks.