![]() ![]() Founded in 2001, L Catterton Asia is currently a USD 70 billion luxury conglomerate managing brands such as Christian Dior and Bulgari, with a recent leadership mandate to invest in “affordable luxury” below the price points of LVMH’s brands. Amidst offerings from various private equity funds and high-net worth investors, the brand sold a 20% stake in the company for more than USD 23.5 million to L Capital Asia (later change name to L Catterton Asia), a private equity group owned primarily by French luxury conglomerate LVMH Group and Groupe Arnault, the private holding company of Bernard Arnault, LVMH’s chairman and CEO. The company’s big break-through came in 2011. By 2008, Charles & Keith was already gaining revenue of USD 97 million, and this was expected to grow by 30% for the next 5 years before its acquisition. In 2004, Charles & Keith started expanding into the Middle East: first with Dubai, followed by Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. In 2001, it opened its second overseas outlet in the Philippines. In 1998, just 2 years after its store opening, it began its international operations by opening its first overseas store in Indonesia. The brand also strategically planned and rapidly executed its global expansion strategy. As the business grew, the company cut out the middleman and began working directly with production factories. By 2000 and within just 4 years, all its products were designed in-house. To retain the exclusivity of their products, the brothers ensured that these manufacturers would not produce and sell their shoes to other retailers. The brothers also made the business cost-efficient by buying directly from manufacturers instead of wholesalers. ![]() Keith was responsible for designing the shoes while Charles managed sales. The brothers opted to design their own shoes while selling them at affordable prices. This made them realise the potential of designing their own in-house products and creating a brand that consumers could identify with – leading to the creation of the Charles & Keith brand. However, just after a few months of running the business, they quickly observed that while selling wholesale shoes provided a cost advantage, the lack of uniqueness meant limited growth. Starting out as a ladies footwear store in Singapore’s Amara Shopping Centre in 1996, brothers Charles and Keith Wong ran the store just like any other shoe store – procuring China- and Malaysia-made shoes from the same wholesalers as their competitors and then retailing them in-store. How did Charles & Keith manage to grow its company operations and global brand so quickly? This article serves to unravel this amazing and unusual journey. Within a mere 22 years of inception, it is operating more than 600 stores with over 5,000 employees across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and Africa. Today, Charles & Keith continues to inspire and excite with its experimental and unparalleled designs. In the last quarter of 2018, it launched an e-commerce hub in the UK as its first push into the European market. The brand has also begun its foray into locations such as Macau’s The Venetian and pop-up stores in Galeries Lafayette in Paris in the past three years. The brand is recognised for its curated collections of relevant fashion designs available at affordable and accessible price points.Ī lifestyle brand that embraces a culture of innovation, the brand has established a presence in prominent fashion cities such as Seoul, Shanghai and Dubai. Founded in Singapore in 1996, Charles & Keith is a fast-fashion retailer of high-quality, stylish footwear and accessories including bags, eyewear and costume jewellery catered to modern Asian women. ![]()
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