Munich based MCM, a high-end bags and apparel brand, which was bought by South Korean businesswoman Sungjoo Kim in 2005, is already looking to increase sales to $1 billion from China and South Korea alone by the year 2015.
“It is because Asia has truly become the biggest market,” says Kim.
The CEO and Chairperson of MCM Sungjoo Group has seen her business grow rapidly in the last few years, from $250 million in sales in 2009 to almost double that at $400 million expected in 2011.
Seeing the success of a brand that retails handbags for an average $800-$1,500, with prices going up to $10,000 at the top end, Kim is planning to open 100 new boutiques in China in the next five years, 30 of which will open this year.
“Economic power is really moving from the West to the East. Primarily China, Korea, Japan take up most of the luxury market,” says Kim.
MCM will be opening its new flagship boutique in Hong Kong on Friday. “This is a very important location. Hong Kong is not only a fashion Mecca for Asia, but it is also becoming a fashion Mecca of the global market because China commands one fifth of the total luxury market, ” Kim told CNBC.
The 800 square meters, two-storey boutique will open with some high voltage entertainment from pop superstar Rain and Hong Kong singer/actress, Sammy Cheng.
And Kim is not just banking on the well-heeled Asian rich, but also looking at the youth market to create a following for the brand. “Even if they (20 somethings) don’t really have much of an income, they are (still) trend-followers so I think they are the movers and shakers of the future.”