Retail boss Sham Kar-wai talks e-commerce, key opinion leaders (KOLs) and crossing the digital divide, exclusively to CDLP
Mr. SHAM Kar Wai
Hong Kong retailer I.T was set up in 1988 at a time when Lane Crawford and Joyce were the dominant fashion forces in the city. Sham Kar-wai’s venture, originally named Green Peace when it launched, brought new street attitude to the gilt-edged avenues and stocked designers such as Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe, who were thought to be too avant-garde. On the advent of I.T’s 30th anniversary with a pop-up store in Pacific Place, CDLP speaks with Sham about digital aspirations, the influence of key opinion leaders (KOLs), and why Hong Kong can learn from and interact with China to better promote its creative talent.
You haven’t had a big digital presence for such an influential store – but now you have ITeShop.com and an app. You’re quite late to the game in that respect.
I think it has taken a long time. We are predominantly offline people, so online for us is a new thing, but I think in the future it’s also very important in terms of consumer engagement. Two years ago, we started doing digital in China because in Hong Kong, not that many people bought online compared to China. So we have to be on their social media platforms, otherwise it won’t work. We need to build our official website as well, and recruit people to produce it. I’ve also been able to watch the experience of big brands attempting to launch digitally in China. That market is not our speciality. So we need to accept that, take our time and get it right when we do enter.
Does China’s highly evolved mobile commerce system surprise you?
In mainland China, the technology is more advanced than Hong Kong – and even the rest of the world – so I’m not surprised at the level of penetration and for them to be so dynamic in terms of online shopping. They do everything in a digital way, not just shopping and fashion retail; it’s also about air tickets, the cinema, taxis, everything… a total lifestyle.
I.T is considered cool and distinct. How much harder is it now to be cool in the digital world?
When we started in Hong Kong, it was very easy to reach people because the city was, and still is, so small. In those days, if you wanted to reach the market, you used traditional media and it was all very direct. But when we started in China in 2002, it was a different ball game. Today in China, it’s easier than 2002, and we have a fashion show to talk about our 30th anniversary with TMall. On the other hand, it’s not just that there’s so much information and competition, but that there’s too much information and competition, so you can’t say you are being unique anyone. It’s harder to be outstanding now.
How do you convey the feeling of I.T’s in-store shopping edge in the digital ecosystem?
With difficulty! That’s why we need to learn. We need to do online specials and offline specials, get more customer integration and find out how to connect people across a 360-degree platform. Before, customers came to the store and did some quick shopping and “bye-bye” – they left. But now we must connect with them, keep them, maintain their interest and build the relationship. We must get them from the internet to our store. It’s much more difficult. Now, there’s almost too much complexity.
Where do you stand on influencers or KOLs. How beneficial have they been to your business?
It’s difficult to predict, because everything is moving so fast now. I think there are a lot of KOLs, not just in fashion, who have influence. Even my daughter looks at KOLs and their Instagrams – she can watch KOLs introduce cooking, cars, all subjects… and I think people like watching this. It’s all about picking the shortest way to get what you want. Before, you went to bookstores and found articles, but today it’s not like that. As for the KOLs, I don’t know if their influence will stay, but they must evolve, like all branding; if they do the same thing, people will get bored. They need to do something different to keep their brand fresh. But it’s hard to say in one or two years, because technology can change taste and that may alter the KOL market in some way. It’s difficult to predict. Right now, for me and for my children, I think we’re still looking at KOLs and following their tastes and their habits to get some information. They can also help people understand subjects.
The kids’ market has been a huge global growth story for the last decade. How do you see I.T’s relationship with that?
We acquired Bathing Ape and Bape Kids in Hong Kong and Japan, and we’ve had great results in our Harbour City store. Also, the China market had a one-child policy, but now it’s open, so that has created opportunities. Today, for example, our parents didn’t spend time on the children in the same way they do now. In China, they really care about their children, so they buy many things and they all know so much more about fashion at a young age. Nowadays, the people protect their children and offer them many things. Also, parents are worried in China and Hong Kong about being judged by other parents, so they want their children to be dressed up and really care about how they look. Bape is doing really well, not just in Japan and Hong Kong; we hope to do more of that in China.
What isn’t I.T doing now that you’d like it to be doing by its 35th anniversary?
I wouldn’t like to say, to be honest. I don’t always look or think that far ahead. And I don’t even like to celebrate anniversaries very much – but you have to do these things today. Because we carry so many brands, there are always anniversaries of one kind or another. We have the Bape 20th anniversary this year and a lot else going on. The calendar is pretty full.
You’ve championed creativity in this market for so long. Why don’t people support or promote Hong Kong’s creative talent more than they do?
It’s sad to say, but I think it’s because of the environment. In the rest of the world, there’s a sense of people doing art and fashion, and being interested in that, as being normal. Such people have been looked up to as a result. But in Hong Kong, it’s too commercial as a city. Our schooling, our training – it’s all about commercial value. In that way, I have a sad feeling about Hong Kong. If you look at Europe, where people say they want to be artists or fashion designers, their parents may not always like the idea, but they will celebrate that creative instinct. Here in Hong Kong, the parents may shout or even not allow their children to make such a choice. The parents will not support them, in general. In that way, there’s no emphasis on creativity. And if you’re an artist in Hong Kong, how can you afford a studio – how will you pay rent to create your work? In China, there are many good artists and maybe that’s because they have more space.
I wish the city would promote the creativity that is here because there are so many creative people. Perhaps it has improved a little of late, I think, and events such as Art Basel have been raising awareness compared to ten or 15 years ago. The sentiment is better. I think it will get better in the future and in this respect, we need to connect more with China and mix with such creative people and talent there – and use that platform to make something different. In China, there are many artists and designers and they are very bold.
Do you collect art?
As you may know, I do collect cars but not really art and not as investment. Maybe something like George Condo or Kaws – it’s trendy and fashionable. Sometimes it’s hard for me to decide, as I’m not a big collector. Some art is also very expensive. It’s too much.
You have spent I.T’s lifetime bringing the best of Tokyo and Seoul fashion to Hong Kong and China. Could you export I.T Hong Kong back to those cities, with lots of Hong Kong designers – would you do that?
At this moment, I think the timing isn’t the best for our brand to go there. Hopefully, at some point, we would love to have our brand go international in a bigger way. But then, that’s a big step. When you go to other markets, you have to do something the people will find interesting. And we have to maintain a very high international standard. You cannot rush such things. So it’s important to us that we go slower and keep the quality before we would consider such a move.
In a market that has seen consolidation and some brands closing stores in China, what did you do to make your stores more profitable, rather than having to close underperforming ones – what’s your secret?
Of course, the most important thing is product – and the second is people. We’ve always had experienced people and its gets harder to keep it that way with more competition in the market. So we do a lot more training, refine and improve our product lines, and then of course the marketing and CRM [customer-relationship management]. Retail is retail; everything is step by step. There’s no obvious cure, otherwise we’d all do it. You just need to improve every aspect of the business, bit by bit.
You recently collaborated with Kiko Mizuhara. She had a pop-up store at I.T Blue Block. Are we likely to see more of that?
Yes. I have a good relationship with her, so if she continues to design the right commercial items, we will. Of course we’d love to sell more. But I think she needs to find a way to market the right things – and that applies to all of us.
I.T timeline history, please click here.
Images: provided to China Daily
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