Following a well received, ‘intimate‘ show at New York Fashion Week (which saw guests greeted with earl grey tea), Victoria Beckham announced that she is looking to expand and open her second store in Asia, declaring, “I‘m selling my clothes, not just in New York and London, I‘m selling clothes all around the world”.
The move will succeed Beckham‘s Dover Street store, the flagship of her fashion empire, and designed by architect Farshid. Within just five years, Beckham has transformed her ‘Victoria Beckham‘ label, with its annual turnover has increased by a staggering 2900%, taking her from £1m per annum to £30m. In 2013 she was selling £83,000 worth of stock a day leading to Beckham being named ‘Entrepreneur of the Year‘ by Management Today.
Beckham puts her choice of location down to its creativity, stating, “I love the women there. They really understand fashion and style; they‘re beautiful. So why not Asia?” It‘s unlikely however that the move is based purely on the cultural inspiration, as China prepares to overtake the US as the largest retail market by 2018.
Though sales fell 15.6% in 2009, China is expecting an 8.7% growth by 2018, adding to its 2013 title as the world‘s largest e-commerce market. Michael Cheng, PwC‘s Retail and Consumer Leader for Asia Pacific and Hong Kong/China put this down to product development in Asia:
“Asia has the potential to drive innovation in areas such as e-commerce and in developing new products. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are home to some of the world‘s leading electronics companies. And China and India‘s consumers are some of the world‘s most active users of mobile technology and social media”.
Beckham has not yet stated where in Asia the new store will be located, but she has indicated plans to spend a substantial amount of time there this year. With strong profits behind the company and an advantageous location confirmed, expansion is the logical move forward.
