Page 14 - RLI May 2019

ASIA NEWS

MUJI’S NEW HOTEL LAUNCHES IN GINZA, JAPAN TIFFANY CAFE IN TOKYO MARKS
ABOVE ITS FLAGSHIP STORE FIRST FOR NEW YORK JEWELLER STARBUCKS HITS 30,000 STORES
Coffee giant Starbucks has opened its 30,000th
store - which launched in Shenzhen, China.
Minimalist dream store Muji has opened its first hotel Jewellery brand Tiffany & Co is launching its The new Starbucks Reserve Shenzhen Bay
in Japan, the company’s home country. The hotel, very first Tiffany Cafe in Tokyo, Japan. Mix City location in the largest growth marker
located in the Ginza neighbourhood of Tokyo on top The new Tiffany @ Cat Street concept for Starbucks globally serves to demonstrate
of Muji’s global flagship store (which also includes two store is located on the top floor of the the continued momentum in the firm’s global
Muji restaurants) is the best advertisement for the Tadao Ando-designed Bank Gallery, in the growth agenda.
retailer’s products yet. Harajuku district. It follows the launch of
It’s a radical way of thinking about advertising, the brand’s Blue Box Cafe in New York in
especially for a company that has a “no label” ethos November 2017. SEPHORA TO OPEN IN SEOUL
and hasn’t run traditional ad campaigns since the The lower five levels house a more Spread across 547sq ft, the store will be located
company launched in 1980. Instead of slapping its futuristic-looking Tiffany fitout than the at Parnas Mall in the posh district of Gangnam
name on its products or shoving ads in people’s faces, brand uses elsewhere, including a variety of in southern Seoul. The new unit will feature
Muji wants to invite customers to the Muji Hotel to areas for jewellery customisation designed hundreds of cosmetics, skincare, body and
experience the “anti-brand” lifestyle it’s selling. to appeal to the young creative market who frangrance brands, along with its own private
The hotel includes 79 rooms of different sizes and frequent the district. label. The store is set to launch in October.
arrangements, ranging from rooms with twin or bunk The Tiffany Cafe in Tokyo also includes a
beds to more spacious open layouts that include jewellery vending machine and photo booth,
reading nook and sitting areas. expected to be a popular background for UK RETAILER PICKS HONG KONG
social media images. Fortnum & Mason has unveiled plans to open
its first international store in Hong Kong
ACNE STUDIOS RE-OPENS SOGO MALAYSIA OPENS in September. The heritage retailer said the
TOKYO CONCEPT STORE AT CENTRAL I-CITY IMAGINATION CHINA LAUNCHES initiative arised due to international demand
NEW CONCEPT STORE EXPERIENCE for its products, particularly from Hong Kong
and China.
Fashion brand Acne Studios has reopened its Shibuya concept store A second Sogo Malaysia department store has launched at
in Tokyo to coincide with the launch of a new collection. Central I-City shopping centre in Shah Alam, Selangor. The new Global experience agency Imagination, has leading inspiration, and combining with
The company, part-owned by Hong Kong fashion retail operator four-storey space, designed according to a distinctive Japanese announced the opening of a new concept vivo’s expertise in smartphone camera M&S IS EXPANDING IN INDIA
I.T Group, has released a new range of leather accessories at the aesthetic, features 18,581sq m of retail space and more than store experience - vivo Lab - in Shenzhen, technology, Imagination created 10 India has emerged as the second largest
Shibuya store in Tokyo, which since 2017 has been used to showcase 400 brands in a wide variety of product categories. China for Chinese smartphone brand vivo. customer touchpoints to enable visitors to market after the UK for Marks & Spencer, and
new collections. “Aside from purchasing beauty products on the ground floor, vivo, one of the world’s largest interact with the brand. These include Your the British retailer is looking at a double digit
The 68sq m “project store” was redesigned by Kasthall. shoppers can get their manicure, pedicure and waxing done at smartphone brands with over 200 million Aura - an interactive wall that uses senses growth in terms of store addition this fiscal.
Centrestage is a capsule collection which includes new versions of the Smooch Waxing Studio,” said Sogo Malaysia Group COO users, began working with Imagination in to detect clothing colour, proximity and M&S has opened one store each in Chennai and
the brand’s two most popular bags, Musubi and Baker, as well as small Raymond Teo. “There is also the Prinz Classic Barbershop late 2017 to create a landmark flagship movement to mirror people as they arrive, Hyderabad in recent weeks.
leather goods, card holders, keychains and wallets. The collection will on the second level, while the shoe and bag spa is at the store showcasing the brand’s creative and Tame Me There - a dome covered with
be on sale for the next year. ladies’ shoes section on the first floor. We also have cafes and technological strengths. Imagination diffused LEDs that perfectly maps natural
Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan each host a series of Acne for those who want to chill out without having to leave the was appointed by vivo to conceptualise, lighting in order to demonstrate the NBA OPENS BEIJING FLAGSHIP
Studios stores and there are shops in Beijing and China. department store.” design and develop the experience-focused drastic effects lighting conditions can have In conjunction with Nike and Topsports,
vivo Lab. on photos. a leading Chinese sports retailer, the new
The experience epitomises the next Additionally, the store features an 1,145sq m megastore is split over two floors
generation of multi-purpose spaces offering audio touchpoint called Feel The Sound, and will provide Chinese fans with authentic
more than product specification stories an interactive sculpture that is controlled NBA apparel from partners such as Nike,
and tapping into a deeper, more connected by two vivo handsets and designed to Jordan Brand, as well as heritage merchandise
level of communication and storytelling. push the limits of what smartphone audio from Mitchell & Ness.
Using the art of photography as a technology is currently capable of.

SMURFS THEME
PARK TO OPEN

China’s first Smurfs Theme Park designed by
KCC Entertainment Design set to open doors
in Autumn in 2019. The park is a cooperation
between Shimao and IMPS, holder of the rights
on the Smurf’s brand. KCC Entertainment
Design has been appointed by these parties as
the designer to ensure the DNA of the Smurf’s
brand is respected and reflected in this family
oriented Theme Park located in Dream City
in Shanghai.
The 10,000sq m park consists of four zones
and is on course to hit its planned opening.

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