Why Dutch tailor Suitsupply thinks it can beat Hong Kong’s retail slump
Despite the continuing fall in retail sales – the city’s luxury sector suffered a 10.5 per cent drop in the first half of 2016 – Suitsupply has opened its first Hong Kong store in Central, and a big one at that
Retailers in Hong Kong’s Central business district have endured more bad news than good over the past year, but the area still has cachet with international brands looking to enter the Hong Kong market.
In early December, Dutch tailor Suitsupply opened its first boutique in the city, taking a large space on Ice House Street. The move is a statement of confidence in Hong Kong retailing, according to the company’s founder and chief executive, Fokke De Jong.
Advertisement
“We’ve looked at Hong Kong for a long time and we’re confident. Our online business here is very strong so that’s a good indicator,” he says.
Suitsupply founder Fokke De Jong.
Suitsupply’s arrival is a stark counterpoint to the departure, actual or pending, of big fashion retailers from Central such as American giants Coach and Abercrombie & Fitch, the latter set to vacate its Pedder Building premises with their HK$7 million-a-month rent. Suitsupply’s Ice House Street location is impressively large at 6,700 sq ft, making it one of the biggest high-fashion store openings anywhere in Hong Kong in 2016.
