Italian luxury goods maker Prada is looking for space to open its first restaurant in China, joining other designer labels expanding beyond their core fashion businesses into the food and beverage sector as a slowing Chinese economy begins to dent their bottom lines.
Shanghai Plaza 66, a high-end shopping centre owned by Hang Lung Properties in Shanghai, is the likely venue for Prada’s food venture as it takes a leaf out of Gucci’s book.
Luxury brands are facing challenging times in China as sales have slumped in the wake of a slower economic growth and the government’s ongoing crackdown on corruption.
Property consultants said luxury retailers are diversifying into other areas to enrich their brand image as well as raise brand awareness in these difficult times.
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Such strategies create new forms of profitability based on experience-oriented consumption as well as create additional sales opportunities for physical goods by attracting more shoppers to spend time in the physical stores, CBRE said in its research report released late last year.
“Opening restaurants is something we will do,” a spokeswoman for Prada said. “It could be in China or anywhere,” she said. “We are still looking for locations,” said the spokeswoman, neither denying nor confirming the restaurant would be at Plaza 66.