Adding a touch of flair to Hong Kong

Francophile and founder of Heather & March Wendy Siu says the art of tasteful living is very much needed in this city

When Wendy Siu Sheung-yuen started her French lifestyle company, her friends said her products were too European, the prices too high and that the patterns were too loud and Gallic for Hong Kong.

That was seven years ago and the former business development and marketing executive for General Electric and British Telecom International in Hong Kong hasn't looked back. She stuck to her guns and did what she believed in, which was the potential of a retail outlet selling upmarket French lifestyle products here.

She discovered her love of all things French when she attended classes in skills such as French polishing in London and became a devoted Francophile. Captivated by L'Art de Vivre, the French art of living, she was determined to succeed with a business spreading the Gallic word back here.

'I used my business skills to build my own business,' says Ms Siu, who reveals only that she used 'a few hundred thousand dollars' of saved capital to buy her first batch of French tableware products. 'Today my company has become one of the most successful and prestigious home products companies in Hong Kong.'

As president and founder of Heather & March - she chose the name because Heather sounded homely and March sounded like she was going somewhere - she saw nothing incongruous about converting Hong Kong people to French culture.