Dolce & Gabbana on Wednesday apologised to Hong Kong citizens for allegedly discriminating against them in favour of wealthy mainland shoppers.

The long-awaited flagship Hong Kong store has been the focus of protests and online rage after reports that a security guard told locals they were not allowed to take photograph, while mainlanders and foreigners were. It is suspected that the security guard could easily blocks Hongkongers but not mainland chinese people as he “did not know how to speak chinese mandarin correctly”.

Locals accused the fashion house of “mainlandism” and started a Facebook page protesting against the store’s abuse of their rights. Dolce & Gabbana has previously rejected the criticism but in a statement stuck on the storefront overnight Tuesday and sent to journalists on Wednesday it said it accepted that it was in the wrong.

“The Dolce & Gabbana policy is to welcome the Hong Kong people and that of the whole world respecting the rights of each individual and of the local laws.” Especially the right to spend money.

Hong Kong residents does not accept the apologies: “We do not accept D&G’s apology statement. It lacks sincerity. Everyone should write to the European Union to complain and demand that D&G be held accountable for racism,” wrote one user, Netizen Eric Lo. Another said: “The statement was released so sneakily — they did not admit their mistakes. It lacks sincerity, please everyone, do not accept their apology.”

A mainland shopper said the row was a storm in a tea cup. “it is well known that they love using social networks complaining. Our Weibo prevents from dealing with company’s internal affairs, which is a good thing”, other said. “I think Hong Kong people are overreacting, but I guess it’s a natural response,” the man told Cable TV outside the Dolce & Gabbana store.

Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg has keen instincts and the savvy to reinvent herself as a designer, and over the years, she has become one of the most influential people in American fashion. Now, DVF has her sights set on China.

Her ambitious plan to get her name out and wow the Chinese includes an upcoming exhibit of her career retrospective, Journey of a Dress, in Beijing from April 2 to May 14, in a renovated factory in the 798 District. China’s leading artists will join and add their own portraits of her. Pulling out all the stops, she planning private parties, a dazzling evening gala, and of course, lots of celebrities.

She’s also having her 1998 autobiography, Diane: A Signature Life, translated into Chinese by good friend Hong Huang, known as “China’s Oprah.”

Meanwhile, Diane von Furstenberg opened the first of two new DVF boutiques in China in November 2010. The Beijing store, located in the Shin Kong Place Mall, is the thirty-seventh free-standing boutique for DVF, and offers a full range of products, including ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes, handbags, eyewear, books and small leather goods.

Last year, she told the New York Times, that soon China will be buying US products, instead of US buying theirs: “‘Oh, the Chinese buy everything.’ I mean, this China thing — I think it’s going to happen, like, tomorrow morning,” she said.

Source: The New York Times, via Red Luxury.

Knowing that Shanghai and Beijing only house a small fraction of wealthy Chinese, luxury companies are gradually moving to lower tier cities, some of which have long been out of China’s fashion industry. Harbin, the capital of Hei Long Jiang province located at the tip of northeast China, is the latest example. For years, foreign brands were hard to be spotted in the city and local fashionistas even have to go to forums to ask where to buy high street fashion brands, or buy online at Taobao website.

On June 18, Hermes opened a store in the downtown shopping mall Mai Kai Le, showing the local rich the latest design from Paris. Its neighbors include Louis Vuitton and Amarni, both of which came to the city after Mai Kai Le’s opening in mid 2009. Upcoming retailers will include Dior, Gucci and Versace, according to the shopping mall. As a former fashion hub back in the 1920’s, Harbin was heavily influenced by Russia due to its location, which earned it a nickname – “Little Moscow”. After 1949, the city started to focus on developing heavy industries, such as transportation, aircrafts and power plants. Only in recent years has the local government accelerated the urbanization of the city, trying to reproduce its former glamour.

via Luxee. Original post from Red Luxury.

LVMH, a bellwether for the luxury-goods industry, declined to give a full-year profit forecast even though all of its divisions performed better in the first half. Steep declines in LVMH’s champagne and watches businesses brought sales down to €4.14 billion ($6.17 billion), off from €4.16 billion last year. “I don’t think we can say the crisis is over, but we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, even though the light is far away,” said LVMH Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Guiony.

Claudia D’Arpizio, a Bain retail consultant based in Milan, said she expects the industry’s heavyweights—a group that’s generally defined to include companies like LVMH, Cartier owner Compagnie Financiere Richemont, and Gucci Group, part of France’s PPR SA—to hold up better than smaller players. Mr. Guiony said LVMH aims to increase its market share this year, spread out over categories from cognac to perfume, bags and jewelry.

The U.S. and Japan have been the toughest markets for LVMH’s star fashion brand, Louis Vuitton. But strong growth in China, where it has 30 stores, buttressed the brand’s sales growth, which topped 10% including the positive impact from currency fluctuations. Vuitton contributes nearly half of LVMH’s operating profit, analysts estimate.

Indeed, a projected 12% increase in 2009 luxury-goods sales in mainland China could partly offset declines elsewhere, Bain projects. Luxury brands across the industry are targeting China with new store openings.

While all the other brands are busying to set up more shops in China, Louis Vuitton Hangzhou store (Hangzhou Tower) was just closed last Friday after a spot check of local industry and commerce authority, reported by Today Morning Express (a local newspaper).

Now in front of the closed LV Hangzhou Boutique

Before LV Hangzhou boutique was closed...

No more display in the windows, non more products in the store. LV logo was carefully covered by a blank paper. Located in the high-end shopping centre of Hangzhou, LV Hangzhou is listed in the best three retail sales in China, including Shanghai & Beijing. A such huge change is unexpected by everyone.

From the side of LV China, Ms. Zhao Xiaojing, director of communications for LV China, explained that the problem was caused by lack of a small piece of leather sample dedicated for each leather goods of LV, which is usually attached to the product as a material mark in China. “As all our leather accessories are produced in France, the mark is not required by regulations there,” Zhao said.

From the other side of AIC Hangzhou, the officer claimed that some of the boutique’s products did not measure up to standards and they seized the disqualified products. He didn’t reveal any further information, saying the details would be released after the case was concluded.

The store is closed for now that is probable because of impossibility of stock transferring in a short time, rather that is under the order of the authority.

From the side of LV’s cher clients, demands of returning and charge back were put forward by several royal clients… And the most important for clients is to keep them informed with detail.

What’s new in Shanghai? A surprise, a well-known french fashion magazine Le Figaro Madame opened his fashion store, it seems. Located in a shanghai based shopping mall in Nanjing Xi Road where also the most luxury brands settled down recently such as LV, Cartier in Plaza 66, Le Figaro Madame shop has a modern design which also corresponds to his originality: over sized Magazine cover adorns the wall. We can find urban style dresses, skirts, T-shirts, chemises, coats… as all the other fashion brands do with a relative high price in Shanghai.

More than a surprise, yet Le Figaro Madame magazine doesn’t know about this new diversification as their development strategy. Thus, they share exactly the same logo…

The latest addition to Tokyo’s recent string of successful partnering of renowned architects and luxury brands arrives in the shape of the Mikimoto Ginza 2 store, designed by Toyo Ito. The pink building offers up some irregularly shaped (and placed) windows, which certainly stands out (but in a good way). Oh, and you might actually be interested by the jewelry on sale within.

MIKIMOTO GINZA 2
2-4-12 Ginza
Tel. 03.3562.3130

HEDIARD Singapore Pte. Ltd. announced today the opening of its first Café on Tanglin road on May 8th 2007. With now more than 1,600 sq ft, the Tudor Court fine food Café-Boutique will not only offer its customers a delightful shopping experience but also a place to rest and enjoy unique recipes.

With a menu inspired and designed by HEDIARD Paris famous chef Vincent Carayon, the French luxury food brand gives its customers a special taste of what they can now also prepare at home with items from the boutique. Mr. Carayon will exceptionally be in Singapore for the opening week.

“We are delighted and grateful to all our supporting customers to be able to expand our boutique to its one-of-a-kind Café-Boutique. After only 2 years of existence and the growing popularity for the HEDIARD brand, our highly demanding customers will now be able to enjoy their favorite HEDIARD tea, coffee, fruit juices or delicate food in the comfort of a French designed environment” says Verena Raveton de Castelmur, Managing Director of HEDIARD Singapore Pte. Ltd.

“With its rapid international expansion in the past few years, recently with Singapore, Dubai, Korea and soon China with Beijing and Shanghai, HEDIARD’s strategy for Singapore is to develop similar cozy Café-Boutiques in the classy though trendy places in town for the pleasure of its customers” says Fabien Raveton in charge of the brand development for Singapore. “With a now established retail brand within two years, we are now focusing our efforts on both expanding geographically and to meticulously selected distribution channels. Our e-business has instinctively been part of the demanded services to the brand and the dedicated website has already been a source of alternative purchase solution for busy or traveling customers willing to send a gift to someone in Singapore with a touch of French refinement”.

Located on the corner of the Bund and Guangdong Road, 3 on the Bund, stunningly renovated and transformed neo-classical 1916 building (designed by Michael Graves), is a celebration of contemporary fine living where art, culture, food, fashion and music converge to inspire a richer life.

The seven floors in the 12,000 sq. meter space includes the four restaurants Jean Georges, Laris, New Heigths and Whampoa Club, an exquisite fashion retail store, an elegant day spa and a music lounge – all of which are physically connected to the heart of the building, the Shanghai Gallery of Art (SGA) on the third floor. Situated literally at thecore of the structure, the Gallery features a towering atrium that extends up from the third floor to the roof, allowing visitors on upper floors to look down into the Gallery below. World-renowned fashion icon, Giorgio Armani opens his China flagship for Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani at the first two floors at 3 on the Bund. He is the first major fashion house to move onto the Bund.