Page 33 - #200 June/July 2025
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Designed
                                             Instead,  they  incorporate  local  elements
              ith a mission to make high-quality fash-
                                                                                                                  -
 INTERVIEW  to Inspire  Wion accessible to everyone, the goal of  in  their  store  designs.  For  example,  their   Playing a pivotal part in their day-to-day oper
                                                                                 ations, sustainability is a long-term strategic
                                                                                 priority for the brand and they are commit-
          Urban Revivo is to establish themselves as the  Thailand  store  features  an  orchid-inspired
                                             art  installation  and  their  Hong  Kong  site
                                                                                 ted to leading the fashion industry towards
          world’s most influential fashion brand.
                                                                                        positive and lasting change.
                                             includes an art piece inspired by the
           Today the company is doing this through
                                                                                          “Our
                                                                                                sustainable
                                             city’s iconic Bauhinia flower.
                                                                                                           practices
          a constantly growing portfolio of over 400
          stores across Asia, Europe and North Amer-
                                                                                        impact  virtually  every  aspect  of
                                               As  our  discussion  lands  on  the
          ica. They currently operate in China, Singa-
                                             merce, Li highlights that they are both  to break into
          pore, Thailand, the Philippines, the UK and   subjects  of  social  media  and  e-com- Our strategy is   our  business.  We  are  using  more
                                                                                        eco-friendly  materials,  developing
          the US and have plans to enter the Japanese   core parts of their operations.  the world’s   more   environmentally-conscious
          market with the opening of their first Tokyo   “In China, we are present on all   most influential   products,  implementing  greener
          store later in 2025.               major  e-commerce  channels  and   fashion hubs.  operations  and  resource-efficient
           This year marks a milestone for UR as   we  continue  to  deliver  a  strong   production,  ensuring  a  more
          they  expand  from  Asia  into  Europe  and   performance  through  these  plat-  Leo Li  sustainable supply chain. For exam-
          North America with major store openings.   forms.  Outside  of  China,  our  operations   ple, we previously launched an eco-friendly
          In  February,  they  opened  the  first  UR   are  focused  on  our  own  website.  As  we   capsule  collection  based  on  REPREVE  -  a
          store in North America in New York. Occu-  continue to expand in Western markets, we  recycled polyester fabric that is made from
          pying 30,730sq ft in the city’s core SOHO   are reinforcing the role of e-commerce in   plastic  bottles  and  certified  by  the  Global
          shopping district, it is their largest store   our overall strategy.”  Recycle Standard,” Li comments.
          outside of China.                    The company has also built a strong social   Embodying the spirit of continuous explo-
           Meanwhile in May, they made their return   media network across China and overseas.   ration and urban living, the ethos of UR lies
          to  London  and  their  entry  into  the  Hong                         in  its  name  and  how  it  symbolises  moder-
          Kong  market  with  two  store  openings.                              nity, fashion, quality and leadership. In the
          Located in Covent Garden, the new London                               coming years, the brand will look to expand
          store  reinforces  UR’s  commitment  to  the                           its number of overseas stores to 200 while
          European market, while the Hong Kong store                             further elevating their influence in the global
          in Harbour City helps leverage Hong Kong’s                             fashion scene, especially in the US, Europe
          influence as an important hub in the Asia-Pa-                          and other high-potential markets in Asia.
          cific region to drive further expansion.                                 “As we push towards this goal, the great-
           Moving  forward,  they  hope  to  expand                              est  challenge  facing  not  just  us,  but  the
          their impact globally to become one of the                             entire  industry  right  now  is  uncertainty  in
          most recognised fashion brands in the inter-                           the  global  economy.  However,  we  strongly
          national fashion scene. “To achieve this goal,                         believe that markets do not dictate perfor-
          our  strategy  is  to  break  into  the  world’s                       mance  -  it  is  the  companies  themselves
          most influential fashion hubs,” explains Leo                           who  earn  success.  Even  in  difficult  macro
          Li, CEO of Urban Revivo. “These fashion capi-                          environments, there are always companies
          tals  not  only  put  us  in  front  of  consumers                     who perform well regardless of the overall
          with high spending power and high willing-                             market.  The  key  is  that  businesses  must
          ness to spend on fashion, but also allow us                            adapt quickly to changing consumer trends
          to  gain  early  insights  into  regional  fashion   Through  this,  UR  is  creating  a  dynamic   and  make  adjustments  and  innovations
          trends, enabling us to respond swiftly with   fashion  community  that  strengthens  their   when necessary,” Li says.
          localised designs.”                presence both on- and offline.        “Outside  of  China,  we  also  need  to
           Believing  that  quality  products  and  a   As  for  AI,  they  are  utilising  the  latest   compete  with  well-established  brands  and
          unique shopping experience are essential to   technologies to improve the customer expe-  adapt to cultural differences in each market.
          the overall guest experience, UR is a design-  rience. For instance, some UR stores feature   We  are  confident,  however,  that  we  are
          driven  fashion  company  with  over  600   AI  styling  and  inventory  check  machines   well-prepared  to  tackle  these  challenges,
          in-house  designers,  a  high  amount  for  the   that  can  recommend  matching  products   especially  with  our  strong  design  capabili-
          fast fashion sector.               based on a given product, creating a fun and   ties,  fast  product  turnover  and  immersive
           Their  dual-design  hubs  in  London  and   easy experience for shoppers.  shopping experience.”
          Guangzhou  ensure  that  their  offerings  are
          both  original  and  effectively  capture  local
          consumers’  needs  and  preferences.  Mean-
          while,  their  digitalised  supply  chain  allows
          them  to  translate  design  concepts  into
          products in as little as 10 days, enabling the
          company  to  respond  rapidly  to  changing
          trends and diverse tastes.
 Established in 2006, Urban Revivo (UR) is one of the first brands   UR also pays special attention to creating
 in China to adopt the fast fashion business model. By offering more   a  unique  offline  experience.  Unlike  other
 creative designs, better quality products and more sustainable fashion,   major fast fashion brands, they do not apply
 the company continues to challenge and revolutionise the conventional   the same standardised design to every store.
 notion of fast fashion. Here, RLI spends some time with CEO Leo Li to
 learn more about this brand that takes the road unexplored.
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