Hung Huang launches upscale Chinese-designer store
The WSJ reports on Hung Huang’s latest venture, a new store at the upscale Sanlituan “Village” (outdoor mall) in Bejing. The store’s called BNC (Brand New China) in English and 薄荷糯米葱 (Mint, glutinous rice, onion) in Chinese. It will only feature items made by Chinese designers.
I find the store interesting because it will help pave out a path to success for Chinese designers by creating a commercial space between small store and global fashion brand. Plus it’s in the new hot, upscale mall complex, which are usually filled with foreign brands (they even have Coldstone Creamery).
Unfortunately, as Hung Huang points out, it’s only the non-Chinese developers who are interested in having a store dedicated to local Chinese talent, where most local property developers will only use Chinese designers for one-time PR events.
P.S. The WSJ article starts off with yet another introduction about Hung Huang as the Oprah of China. It’s true that she’s multi-talented and successful, but I’m not exactly sure why WSJ and Fortune are so bent on finding a Chinese Oprah.
It is true that domestic luxury brands are fighting an uphill battle in terms of courting the luxury consumer market. Hung, as a popular media figure, by throwing her weight behind local Chinese designers has helped them, as they would otherwise have trouble finding a platform in which to sell their products. With so many newly-minted Chinese design and fashion graduates returning home from Europe or North America with dreams of establishing their own brands, and many “post-80s” white-collar workers interested in fashion but hamstrung by tight budgets, Hung Huang’s new store could be the perfect meeting place.
this is more western taste than anything. i really don’t want to see “upscale designer brand = upscale western designer brand”.