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| Runway success |
  
Posted Date: 26/07/2012
By Robert Stockdill of Inside Retail Asia
A modest mall in downtown Ho Chi Minh City is the last place you’d expect to find the best of Italian store design and a hand picked selection of fashion from some of the world’s greatest luxury fashion labels.
But Vietnamese fashion store, Runway, trades on offering the unexpected in an unexpected place.
There are three Runway stores in Vietnam - there’s the modest 300sqm original shop in Hanoi and a similar sized RRR Runway in the recently completed Crescent Mall in the heart of the rising Ho Chi Minh City expatriate neighbourhood District 7.
And then there is the pick of the crop, the 1200sqm flagship, a treasure trove which seems to take up half a floor in the multi-storey Vincom centre, in Ho Chi Minh City’s CBD.
No disrespect to Vietnam, but the retail landscape has a long way to go (yet) to catch up to that of neighbours like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. Which is part of the reason the Runway stores stand out not just in a local context, but as symbols of excellence in the global retail market.
The flagship’s design and visual merchandising is as good as you will find on New York’s Fifth Ave or Paris’ Champs-Elysees.
The Vincom store, which opened in April 2010, was designed by Italian architects CLS Architetti. Cleverly, they caught on to the concept that in a hot tropical area like southern Vietnam, “the real luxury is cold”. So the store is entirely cool grey in colour, from polished cement floors, up.
As Soosi Lee, director of Runway, explains: “The space is like an ice cave where people can experience a path which is a metaphor of life and rebirth.”
CLS used 3D modelling to create the cave effect which was later constructed using 298 curved wooden panels, each with different shapes creating a ripple effect when you look towards the ceiling. Each panel was hand cut then hand screwed together.
The store’s central focal point is a giant shining ‘cocoon’ which houses an exclusive VIP showing room for celebrities and others who prefer to try on clothes away from the curious.
The outside is covered in 12,899 mirrored, polished stainless steel scales “like, mermaid scales, synonymous of sensuality and femininity,” explains Lee. The inside is lined with 8948 plaster roses.
While the grey was intended to convey the feeling of cool, it also ensures the merchandising props and furniture throughout the store - not to mention the colourful stock - stand out.
The props bring old and contemporary Vietnam together: traditional stone table and seats contrast with large crystal and stainless steel diamond displays more synonymous with the contemporary world.
Iron display tables contrast with light, white lacquered display benches and shelves and hanging bars ‘float’ in the retail space.
The stock range can seem a little incongruous at first. The average weekly wage in Ho Chi Minh City is well under one million dong (about A$46), but here you can spend 40 million ($2000) on an Alexander McQueen evening dress.
There is a fast-growing elite with disposable income in Ho Chi Minh City, evidenced in the streets where shiny new Bentleys, Mercedes-Benz and BMWs mix it with literally millions of motorcycles.
The fashion collection for both men and women is curated rather than stocked. “We only bring in what we would wear ourselves,” says assistant brand manager Hoang Thu Nga.
The Runway team is headed by Tran Thi Hoai Anh, head of its parent company Global Link Co.
“Our buying team is a strong opinion leader and trendsetter in Vietnam. The buyers are crucial in helping the Vietnamese discover the pleasure of luxury brands,” says Hoang.
So threads from Hussein Chalayan, Viktor & Rolf, Antonio Berardi, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Chloe, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Jill Sander, Lanvin, Piazza Sempione, Martin Margiela, Tara Jarmon, Antonio Marras, Kiton, Brioni and many more can be found on the Runway racks.
So, too, childrenswear from the likes of Marc Jacobs and Paul Smith, homewares ranging from sublime antique replicas to modern European glassware, accessories, briefcases, luxury stationery and even furniture.
Global Link was one of Vietnam’s first international luxury groups to take advantage of the government’s recent easing of import restrictions. Besides owning multi-brand Runway stores, it has eight standalone shops in the refurbished Rex Hotel building in Ho Chi Minh City’s centre. They are single brand stores for such brands as Chloe, Givenchi, Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, and Loewe.
“Our love for fashion pushes us to select distinctive and distinguished labels to represent,” explains Hoang. “It is not about business, it is about the passion for fashion.
“The variety of Runway brands makes it attractive to a large range of customers, regardless of gender or age.”
Runway also gives locals a first taste of upmarket retail strips common overseas.
“In Vietnam, there are no fashion Boulevard as in New York or Europe, so multi-brand stores such as Runway will satisfy those consumers.”
The next generation
Global Link’s newest store is the smaller RRR Runway which opened in the new Crescent Mall in District 7 at the end of 2011 and was also designed by CLS Architetti.
RRR caters to those seeking more affordable luxury fashion brands including diffusion lines such as Marc by Marc Jacobs, See by Chloe, Mc Q, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jil Sander Navy, Paul Smith Junior, Little Marc, Gaultier Junior, Tara Jarmon and Piazza Sempione.
Again the cocoon concept featured in the design, but this time in place of grey timber and polished steel, the designers used natural bamboo - 8000m of it.
Each piece was individually curved with steam and tied to others - a full kilometre of nylon rope was used to bind it all together.
The floor was designed after the ancient Roman style of cutting stones, and columns feature brass and light colours.
Free-standing furniture is made from raw iron and hanging bars created from a bamboo mold and bronze fusion. The shell-like shape and form of the fitting rooms also reflect this concept of protection, using raw waxed iron and a black natural fabric. |
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