Bosideng London takes a slow and steady approach to expansion

By

Bruno Joly

Published
Mar 29, 2013

One and a half years down the line, so how are things progressing at Bosideng London? The brand is on a quest to become the first global Chinese brand and they are getting there one step at a time. Ash Gangotra, who was behind the launch of Liam Gallagher’s brand Pretty Green, has just finished at the company after two years. To replace the outgoing artistic director, Bosideng London has appointed Amelia Pretious, a British designer who previously worked at Crombie, a Scottish heritage brand, as head of design.

“The first collection was autumn 2012. We were trying to bridge the gap between east and west, being careful to still have Asian touches here or there,” commented Ash Gangotra at Chic in Beijing.

Originally, Bosideng London was a strictly international brand but it is now being marketed to the Asian market too. “We quickly understood that consumers here appreciated the collection. We show to the press in London in mid-April but London Collections: Men want us to take part in the next event,” said the boss of the UK subsidiary, Wayne Zhu.

Zhu remains vague, however, on expansion projects. “We are in talks about concessions in major department stores,” he continued. “Our current focus is in Great Britain.” He added that in two months’ time, customers will be able to place order online all across the globe.

Since launching the site in December, delivery has been confined to the UK. With its classically British offering made from fine Italian fabrics and its ‘lifestlye’ positioning, Bosideng London is competing with established brands like hugo Boss and Paul Smith. The price of a suit ranges between 600 and 800 pounds and shirt sells between 120 and 180 pounds.

At the Chic trade show, several Chinese brands look to Bosideng to carve the way to the west. Other observers comment that the Europe-based brand will attempt to attack the domestic market with its 1.4 billion in habitants. Watch this space…