Brand thinks small to go big in China

Diamond jewellery retailer Harry Winston has finalised plans to launch three stores on the mainland next year, including its largest worldwide in Shanghai, to target more sophisticated clientele in the fast-growing luxury goods market.

The New York-based luxury brand, which is owned by namesake Canadian mining and retail company Harry Winston Diamond, said opening a few stores was part of a calculated approach to build its mainland presence.

'We are different from some other brand names, as we don't see China as the El Dorado for mass luxury at all,' Harry Winston chief executive Frederic de Narp said, referring to the legendary lost city of gold that has long fascinated explorers. 'We see it as the most exclusive destination.'

Compared with that strategy by the self-described 'king of diamonds', luxury jewellery retailers Cartier and Tiffany are keen to expand their reach across the mainland. These high-end brands have announced plans to add more stores in the mainland's major metropolitan cities and its lower-tier cities over the next few years.

In a conference call with analysts last Friday, de Narp said: 'Harry Winston's unique diamond jewellery and heritage brand built upon quality, craftsmanship, design has untapped potential in China as consumers become more selective.'

'We treat China as our priority, and we treat Chinese for what they are: extremely sophisticated,' he said. 'So, we don't go with quantity. We go with quality.'

Harry Winston, which first mentioned its plan to establish from two to three new mainland stores 12 months ago, currently has a salon inside the Peninsula Beijing Palace Hotel at busy Wangfujing Street. In Hong Kong, it has a salon at The Peninsula in Tsim Sha Tsui.