According to a spokesman for Ermenegildo Zegna (Hong Kong), the growth in the luxury brand market in Hong Kong comes thanks to the booming economy and a rise in the number of mainland visitors.

Last year, more than 15 million mainlanders visited Hong Kong, up 14 per cent from the previous year, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Hong Kong's status as an international city was another plus, said Paul Cadman, the regional managing director for Asia-Pacific at Salvatore Ferragamo Hong Kong. 'The shopping scene is very interesting, new and exciting, with new malls and points of difference,' Mr Cadman said.

'There is always support and an influx [of customers] from the region, including China.'

Hong Kong and Macau appeared to be mutually supportive in this arena, the Ermenegildo Zegna spokesman said.

'We see Hong Kong and Macau complementing instead of competing with each other,' he said.

'Visitors come to Hong Kong and Macau for different purposes, and it is not rare for visitors to visit both cities in the same trip.'

Indeed, Ermenegildo Zegna's business in both SARs is driven by increasing demand from emerging markets.

Mr Cadman said that the local luxury brand business was healthy. For Salvatore Ferragamo, this meant double-digit growth, sound market share and extended distribution.

And there is still room to take things further, according to Mr Cadman. 'We are still looking to enlarge stores in Hong Kong, based on expansion of our product assortment, introduction of new categories and through the development of our women's [ready-to-wear items],' Mr Cadman said.

While Ermenegildo Zegna stores in Macau were experiencing a similar business expansion as their Hong Kong counterparts, Mr Cadman said the mainland business was also growing particularly well, and Taiwan was showing positive signs.

Taking global economic conditions into consideration, 'we feel Asia and Greater China in general are going to be cautiously positive in 2008', said the Ermenegildo Zegna spokesman.

As far as the mainland was concerned, 'current opportunities for all brands, no matter how well developed, will still remain expansion, enlargement of current distribution and trading up', he added.

However, mainland challenges remain the same as elsewhere for the luxury brand market, including local knowledge, consumer understanding and the provision of a great selection, and great service.

Salvatore Ferragamo is aiming to enhance the shopping experience for the luxury brand market through service not only via its enduring dedication to service, but also by offering accessories in addition to its core shoe, leather and fashion categories.

With this in mind, the industry's talent requirements were a strong sense of customer service and a passion for fashion, the Ermenegildo Zegna spokesman noted.

In addition, luxury brands were looking for a blend of international, local and skilled teams working for them who were proud of their brands, Mr Cadman said.

Those joining the business should also be aware of the market, the consumer and the world around them, he added.

'Salvatore Ferragamo needs to keep on being aware of international and local trends,' he said.

'Talking of broader talent, we need to ensure that the people we work with, management teams, landlords and local authorities, are also interested in and keen on creating win-win solutions for partnership development.'

The Ermenegildo Zegna spokesman said the market boom meant that employment was a key retail operational challenge.

At present, demand greatly exceeds supply because of a high staff turnover rate.

'To deal with this challenge, we are exploring more dynamic recruitment channels and putting more structured training in place,' he said.

Mr Cadman added: 'The fashion and luxury arena is getting more and more competitive on the recruiting side, especially in a very dynamic market such as Hong Kong, where most of the regional headquarters of the big players are located.

'There's a constant search for great talent to support the growth that the most successful brands are having in the region.'

Due to such intense competition there is a shortage of excellent profiles, and he noted that it was true that talent now came from different streams.

Mr Cadman said that in order to support the growth of the local luxury brand industry, human resources departments had to go the extra mile to find people who could make a difference.

'The so-called employer branding is key in attracting talent, and that's what fashion does, after all,' he said.

Key players

Merchandising manager

Store planner

Visual merchandiser

Retail operations manager

Events manager

Travel retail director

Jargon

Season's buy Days when the collection is on display in a showroom and the buyers place their orders for delivery in stores about a year later.

Pre and main The pre-collection is an anticipation of the main collection, and the pre-collection usually starts about two months before the main collection.

Good coverage Positive publicity from the media when an event is considered glamorous and successful.

Trunk show A smaller scale event in which merchandise is presented directly to select customers at a retail location or another venue.

VIP preview Presentation of the collection to VIP customers with the possibility of placing orders before the collection arrives in stores.