Related News
The buzz about Mango
By Michelle Zhang |
March 19, 2009, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MANGO, the Spanish fast-fashion label, is changing its China strategy from small boutique-like stores to larger ones and adding a big dash of PR and advertising, reports Michelle Zhang.
Isak Halfon, executive vice president of leading Spanish fashion label Mango, says the company has made mistakes in its marketing strategy in China. Now it wants to correct them.
Opening its first store in Beijing in 2002, Mango was one of the first European fast-fashion companies to enter the Chinese market ?? almost four years before Zara and five years earlier than H&M. It also has more stores around the country, 50 to date.
The brand, however, is less known than its counterparts. Very few local peopleknow the stories behind the label.
Mango didn't seem to have the PR savvy and swiftness of H&M, whose collaboration with Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo last year was concluded in an hour in Shanghai.
Mango's limited-edition line with the Cruz sisters - Penelope and Monica Cruz - arrived in stores quietly, and many pieces hung on the racks for weeks.
There was no PR campaign or press coverage about the Cruz line or the brand. It seemed the Spanish company simply didn't care about the most populous market in the world.
"Our mistake was that we chose to open a franchise store instead of a company-owned store back then," Halfon tells Shanghai Daily. "And we started with small stores instead of flagship stores that could better represent the brand image."
Even worse, the company chose the wrong partners. Instead of going local, it started its business in China with a Singapore-based company - most probably a decision made after seeing Mango's success in the island nation at that time.
"Franchise stores aim to make short-term profits," he says. "Company-owned stores are different. Even though we might lose money in the very beginning, we don't mind waiting for the long-term result."
Last week, the company launched its third directly owned store on the Chinese mainland on Shanghai's bustling Nanjing Road E.
The two-story store in the Plaza 353 Mall, which also houses Zara, covers 710 square meters. Mango runs another two directly owned stores, one in Shanghai's Super Brand Mall in Pudong and the other in Beijing's Sanlitun Shopping Center.
Mango threw an opening party in the store, featuring Taiwanese actress Pace Wu and Shanghai's top model Nikki Shi, both dressed in Mango's latest spring/summer collection. Then came a gala dinner at the newly opened Park Hyatt hotel in Pudong.
When asked why it decided to open flagship stores during the economic downturn, Halfon says that - based on his 35 years in the fashion industry - sometimes crisis means opportunities.
"I've seen so many crisis coming up and going," he continues. "During the crisis you can get better deals for the rent. Meanwhile, money is cheaper and transportation is cheaper.
"It all depends on the products," he points out. "We have also experienced bad times when the economy was good. All in all, the collection speaks."
The Mango collections are designed for young, confident women who know what they want. There are long, feminine evening gowns in fluorescent tones, skin-tight off-shoulder cocktail dresses, and also masculine pieces full of the 1980s feel, like high-waisted trousers and relaxed boyfriend blazers.
Unlike H&M or Zara, more department store-like huge businesses, Mango is "more boutique-like," Halfon says.
"I wouldn't look at them as our competitors, even though we do share some clients. Maybe we're similar price-wise, but I would say we are more creative.
A key reason for Mango's success worldwide, he says, is that it tends to "think big, act small." For example, it has created special collections for the Middle East market, and produced special sizes for the Asian market.
The Cruz sisters' line this season clearly reflects Japanese influence in the volumes and the prints.
Key pieces include the kimono-inspired tops, the printed dungarees, the 1970s style suits and the super-mini dresses in black and red for special occasions. These additions to the spring wardrobe are available in Mango stores around the city.
Isak Halfon, executive vice president of leading Spanish fashion label Mango, says the company has made mistakes in its marketing strategy in China. Now it wants to correct them.
Opening its first store in Beijing in 2002, Mango was one of the first European fast-fashion companies to enter the Chinese market ?? almost four years before Zara and five years earlier than H&M. It also has more stores around the country, 50 to date.
The brand, however, is less known than its counterparts. Very few local peopleknow the stories behind the label.
Mango didn't seem to have the PR savvy and swiftness of H&M, whose collaboration with Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo last year was concluded in an hour in Shanghai.
Mango's limited-edition line with the Cruz sisters - Penelope and Monica Cruz - arrived in stores quietly, and many pieces hung on the racks for weeks.
There was no PR campaign or press coverage about the Cruz line or the brand. It seemed the Spanish company simply didn't care about the most populous market in the world.
"Our mistake was that we chose to open a franchise store instead of a company-owned store back then," Halfon tells Shanghai Daily. "And we started with small stores instead of flagship stores that could better represent the brand image."
Even worse, the company chose the wrong partners. Instead of going local, it started its business in China with a Singapore-based company - most probably a decision made after seeing Mango's success in the island nation at that time.
"Franchise stores aim to make short-term profits," he says. "Company-owned stores are different. Even though we might lose money in the very beginning, we don't mind waiting for the long-term result."
Last week, the company launched its third directly owned store on the Chinese mainland on Shanghai's bustling Nanjing Road E.
The two-story store in the Plaza 353 Mall, which also houses Zara, covers 710 square meters. Mango runs another two directly owned stores, one in Shanghai's Super Brand Mall in Pudong and the other in Beijing's Sanlitun Shopping Center.
Mango threw an opening party in the store, featuring Taiwanese actress Pace Wu and Shanghai's top model Nikki Shi, both dressed in Mango's latest spring/summer collection. Then came a gala dinner at the newly opened Park Hyatt hotel in Pudong.
When asked why it decided to open flagship stores during the economic downturn, Halfon says that - based on his 35 years in the fashion industry - sometimes crisis means opportunities.
"I've seen so many crisis coming up and going," he continues. "During the crisis you can get better deals for the rent. Meanwhile, money is cheaper and transportation is cheaper.
"It all depends on the products," he points out. "We have also experienced bad times when the economy was good. All in all, the collection speaks."
The Mango collections are designed for young, confident women who know what they want. There are long, feminine evening gowns in fluorescent tones, skin-tight off-shoulder cocktail dresses, and also masculine pieces full of the 1980s feel, like high-waisted trousers and relaxed boyfriend blazers.
Unlike H&M or Zara, more department store-like huge businesses, Mango is "more boutique-like," Halfon says.
"I wouldn't look at them as our competitors, even though we do share some clients. Maybe we're similar price-wise, but I would say we are more creative.
A key reason for Mango's success worldwide, he says, is that it tends to "think big, act small." For example, it has created special collections for the Middle East market, and produced special sizes for the Asian market.
The Cruz sisters' line this season clearly reflects Japanese influence in the volumes and the prints.
Key pieces include the kimono-inspired tops, the printed dungarees, the 1970s style suits and the super-mini dresses in black and red for special occasions. These additions to the spring wardrobe are available in Mango stores around the city.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
