Dressed in the finest Fashion: Interview with team Brioni

It was a throwaway joke, an off-the-cuff remark, that happened to be true.

Looking at Brioni’s breathtakingly priced bespoke tailored suit, which can cost up to HK$780,000, a guest mumbled at its Hong Kong unveiling: “What’s in it? Spun gold?”

Indeed, spun gold it is. And also silver. And wool. But ah, what wool.

The fabric for Brioni’s exclusive Vanquish II suit, made by Dormeuil, consists of the softest, finest fibres in the world, brought back from three of the globe’s farthest corners: vicuna, from a llama-like animal living in the high Alpine areas of the Andes; pashmina, from the pashmina goat, bred by nomadic herdsmen “on the rooftop of the world”, the Chantang plateau in the Ladakh region of northern India; and qiviuk, or qiviut, the underwool of the muskox, which looks like a hairy bison and lives way up in the North American Arctic. The composition of the material makes it the dearest of its kind in the world: 30 per cent vicuna wool, 10 per cent qiviuk (considerably stronger and eight times warmer by weight than most sheep’s wool), and the rest pashmina. The pinstripes in the fabric are made from white gold or silver thread. Since the line was launched three years ago, not many more than a hundred Vanquish II suits have ever been made.

Brioni, which is based in Italy’s Abruzzo region, and was founded in 1945, is the tailor of choice for many of the world’s most famous men: Presidents Obama of the United States and Putin of Russia; James Bonds Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig; older Hollywood heroes Clark Gable and Cary Grant; Eric Clapton and Nelson Mandela; Donald Trump and Justin Timberlake.

At the cocktail hosted by the fashion house The Swank, at Club Lusitano, in Central however, the cynosure of all eyes was not the celebrities or the vacant-eyed models who stood around in the background, but Brioni’s youngest chief master tailor, Angelo Di Febo, 28. Di Febo deals with the very rich and the very famous on a regular basis: “Mostly bankers of course, and film stars in
Hollywood,” he says. “We come with the finest fabric and measure our clients, and then I fly off to Italy and create the suit. We have staff here in Hong Kong who do the follow-up fittings; there are usually three at least, and minor changes are made but, with the expertise of our crew, the suits are perfect.”

The Vanquish II line is only available in Brioni’s own boutiques, and currently only 30 suits are planned worldwide. “We have some interest shown in Hong Kong already,” Di Febo says. “But most of the suits have been made for European clients, particularly those in Russia.”

P. Ramakrishnan
p46
MONEY MAGZINE, The South China Morning Post
APRIL 2012

All consuming desires

Hong Kong is expensive. Here are some tips to help you maximise income and minimise spending

Hong Kong presents many mysteries to the everyday consumer. There is so much variance in prices and so many opportunities to make money. The goal, of course, is to maximise value and one's opportunities. But how to proceed? Here is a guide to navigating some basic, utterly practical issues many Hongkongers face, with advice from people on the inside.


How to buy a suit

As explained by tailors

By P. Ramakrishnan

Raja Daswani of Raja Fashions says people need to be clear what budget they are working with when buying a suit. "For the budget-conscious, I say go for something durable, conservative. I'd suggest buying a quality but non-branded fabric," he says.

"I'd suggest conservative because it's realistic - a suit from 1950 that's well made can be suitable now because it's timeless. But a suit made in the 1970s with its signature trend and fashionable tailoring now collects dust in cupboards."

In case there is any doubt, there is a vast difference in quality among tailored suits out there, and the tailors can clearly spot the good from the bad. After all, they have trained eyes.

"When a man is walking down the street, I can tell [the quality of a suit] by the material, how rough it is, what kind of yarn has been used, what kind of machinery," says Sam Melwani, 63, of Sam's Tailor.

Why does a suit in Shenzhen cost only a few hundred dollars? "When you pay at a noted shop, you're really paying for the artisanship. What the customer is really paying for is the superior quality of the work," Daswani says.

"A fresh graduate who is trying to make a start in the business will not have the same expertise of a cut like a man who's been doing it for 30 years. Then there's the material; fabric can cost anywhere from HK$20 to HK$2,000 per yard."

Daswani says a person should expect to pay HK$4,000 to HK$5,000 for a fine suit.

Fabric counts for a lot. It is a big component of the price, and it will go a long way to determining how comfortable a suit is, and how good it will look over the years. "Some people cannot take heavy suits, as they literally choke in the heat. It may be in fashion, but so what?" Daswani says. "If you're a banker in Hong Kong, in the heat of summer you'll really suffer if you don't make sensible choices with your fabric."

How to buy a good bottle of wine without paying the earth

As explained by wine connoisseurs

By P. Ramakrishnan


Simon Tam, head of wine for China at Christie's Auction House, says there actually are ways of buying wine on a budget.

"A lot of good wine in hotel chain-linked restaurants can be available for HK$500 to HK$700 per bottle - and that's a very good price to work on for the budget-minded." And an insider's tip would be that a lot of Chinese restaurants - not Western - don't charge for corkage, which is a great way to save money by buying retail and doing "BYOB".

When buying at a department store, how can one home in on a good bottle? "In Hong Kong, we're very lucky that something in the vicinity of HK$500 is available to us for any kind of wine, except perhaps a good Bordeaux - which is always a bit more expensive," Tam says.

"There are so many labels on display, and the truth of the matter is, for a lot of people, it's a matter of palate and appreciation. If you've spent HK$1,000 and it doesn't agree with their taste buds, then [your guests will] think it's cheap wine. I strongly suggest, in this scenario, buying a bottle of champagne. People might profess not to like it, but pop open a chilled one and everyone raises a toast. It becomes an occasion."

Picking the right bottle for the uninitiated is luck of the draw. Most people, by habit, simply look at the price to gauge its quality. "The cheaper the wine is, the more the mark-up is," says Kavita Devi Faiella, wine director of the Press Room Group. "Restaurateurs know that the cheap bottles will fly off the shelves. But owners want to move the expensive bottle, too, so they might mark it up by just a fraction."

The price of the wine can depend on whether you head to a chain restaurant or a stand-alone. Chains offer better value than independent restaurants. "Wine is priced more competitively in an independently run restaurant," Devi Faiella adds. "Global restaurants' in-house numbers are unpredictable because they buy in bulk and distribute them.

"If there's a chain run by the same management that has a restaurant here in Hong Kong [which has no tax or luxury tariff] versus in India [which has a great deal of taxation on wine and whisky], they level the prices as they're looking at the overall scale."

Can you get a great wine that's cheap? Tam says no: "If you really want the good stuff, you have to pay for it. I've taught classes on wine tasting, and the two things I promise all my students is you'll end up buying and appreciating expensive wine and you'll never go back to the cheap rubbish. If you appreciate wine, it's nice to pay for quality wines. There are no 1961 Chateau Lafites for HK$200."




Nov 21, 2011

Money no object

The message is clear, simplicity rules the waves
In an age when new and multifunctional is all the rage, the simple Aesir AE + Y phone seems almost quaintly old-tech. It comes with no unlimited apps, no bags of tricks, no appendages and no cybersonic contraptions. It's a phone. Just a phone. Well, with a slightly more exorbitant price tag than most, but in its simplicity, it harks back to a bygone era when telephones were mainly used to talk to people.

The new, long-lasting, chunky gold phone is the creative offspring of Copenhagen-based Aesir. Designer Yves Behar is on record as saying: "Instead of more, we proposed better and longer lasting. In an age when the industry seems to think that phones aren't for speaking anymore, I wanted to focus on the idea of voice, clarity and simplicity."

Aesir founder Thomas Moller Jensen and his crew enlisted specialists, engineers and craftsmen to create the clear-cut, clear-audio contraption with fully replaceable parts. So should time's wear and tear take effect, you can send it back to be fixed - no muss, no fuss.

The phone boasts metalwork in 18-carat gold (or in surgical-grade stainless steel), a sapphire crystal screen that's exceptionally clear even in bright sunlight, and a durable, high-gloss ceramic casing.

It costs HK$436,000 for the gold incarnation. But if that's a bit rich, the handset comes in stainless steel for HK$80,000. It is available at Lane Crawford in gold in December and in stainless steel now.


Byline: P. Ramakrishnan

Pockets of resistance

What are you actually paying for when you dine out, buy clothes or join a gym? Jasper Moiseiwitsch and P. Ramakrishnan offer a guide on how to shop smart

Hong Kong is an expensive city and Hongkongers are extravagant, so it is often tough to tell when something is good value or a waste of money. In the pursuit of truth, and better finances, industry insiders give us the lowdown on how to shop for fashion, food and fitness.


How to shop for clothes

Despite the vagaries of fashion, this is a business with super-sharp internal economics. High-end labels with stratospheric prices quickly make any discussion of value absurd so we are looking at the mid-tier market, where most of the trade is.

On the one hand, there are the stores selling basic but quality items at low prices (such as Giordano, Uniqlo, Marks & Spencer). On the other hand are those selling a trendier look using cheaper materials (such as H&M, Zara, Esprit, Mango). The compromise on quality has not stopped legions of shoppers snapping up looks straight from the catwalk.

"It's disposable fashion," says Alan See, co-owner of men's haberdashery The Armoury.

Sanjeev Mahtani, managing director of clothing manufacturer Must Garment, says: "The advent of H&M, Zara and Mango brings fashion at a really affordable price. They take the runway fashions and bring it to you in a few weeks."

Mahtani says the industry expects these fashionable garments to be worn only 20 times - a couple of times a week for one season - before being binned.

For basic-item retailers, fabric accounts for about 80 per cent of the cost of producing a garment, says Ranjan Mahtani, head of garment maker Epic Group, and the items are made to be worn for a long time.

Stock that sits around for a long time kills margins and takes up expensive rack space, which is why slow-moving merchandise is so heavily discounted. The aim is to achieve an average selling price, which involves either selling items at a high mark-up or selling at a high turnover. This means selling fewer items at the beginning of a season at their normal mark-up, and then flogging them during sales at a lower mark-up to maximise turnover, explains Mahtani of Must Garment.

Bear in mind that international chains set their sales according to a global calendar. So you, the shopper, might not celebrate Christmas but the big international retailers in Hong Kong certainly do.

That means consumers should buy early in the season at higher prices if they want to catch hot fashion items in their size and colour. If they are shopping for basics, the best time to buy is during peak seasons - such as ahead of Christmas - when sales are brisk and vendors are focused on achieving high volumes with low prices.

If you want to know whether a garment will go on sale, check to see if the shop is running out of sizes and colours. If it remains well stocked through a season, it's likely to be heavily marked down in a sale.

Insiders all recommend that shoppers go online. All the big retailers sell over the net, and often for cheaper prices than can be found at the shops.

How to negotiate gym membership

Selling gym membership is a hard-nosed business. Competition and upfront costs are enormous. Operators have to fork out on equipment, long-term leases and stylish interiors and they are routinely hit by exorbitant rent hikes. This summer, California Fitness shut down its Central club - its first Hong Kong gym - after the landlord doubled the rent.

This explains why Hong Kong clubs work so hard to sell multiyear club memberships that lock in an income stream, which offsets the risk of their lease commitments.

"Long-term memberships facilitate your cash flow," says Colin Heggie, president of California Fitness. Heggie also oversees a gym chain in the United States (24 Hour Fitness), where most people buy monthly memberships. The difference in the US is that rent is a much lower component of overall costs.

That said, a multiyear membership is not always best for the consumer. Gyms go out of business. As Hong Kong's yoga club implosion has revealed, if a club goes bust, members who have paid for lengthy plans are out of luck.

"There are no laws to protect consumers when it comes to refunds of prepaid services, and gaining a refund even under legitimate circumstances - injury, medical reasons - is very difficult," says Andrew Ward, a group manager for YMCA Victoria, in Australia, and previously a gym manager in Hong Kong.

The good news for individuals is that the gym industry in Hong Kong has become more competitive, which has translated into lower fees. The bad news is that operators have also become better at packing their gyms with customers and long-term members may have noticed a decline in standards.

"Membership fees have dropped, in stark contrast to the cost of rent, labour and utilities," says Ward of the Hong Kong market. "Operators are forced to enrol more members to break even, which, from a member's point of view, is associated with a less personal service."

When discussing a membership plan, be aware that price is often negotiable (Ward calls this "seafood pricing", meaning that a gym's prices may change daily, according to a need to increase sales). If it is, be prepared to negotiate to the hilt, because you have just become a player in a cutthroat industry.

How to buy a restaurant meal

Ever wonder why there are so many Italian restaurants sprouting up? It's because pasta is cheap and the margins on Italian food are terrific. "It's all about cash flow and margins," says a top executive of a major restaurant and owner of a popular bar.

Many restaurants suffer from crushing rents and are doing what they can to get by. That may mean focusing on high-profit items such as pasta or desserts, or using cheaper ingredients and hoping lower prices will bring in volume. For others it's gambling on high-end dining so they can charge more for drinks.

"Dessert is a revenue generator. When a [regular] customer comes in and orders a wine, starter, main course, dessert, he gets the valuable real estate. When a guy comes in for a main course and water, and leaves every time, he's getting the worst table in the house for a reason," says Harlan Goldstein, owner of Gold.

If you are looking for good cheap eats, those in the industry go for rustic Cantonese food and other provincial Chinese cuisines, plus Indian and Thai.

The pricing dynamics vary for restaurants at five-star hotels. These use luxury restaurants to add glamour to the hotel, and some of their costs are bundled into the whole operation and may therefore be subsidised. They will also tend to use expensive imported ingredients so their food costs are well above the industry average.

These places make their money on wine and drinks. The mark-up on a nice bottle of Bordeaux might only be 25 per cent. But here, diners may order HK$15,000 bottles of wine. On that note be advised: even an entry level HK$350 bottle of wine at such places is likely to be good.

For high-end dining at a lower price, go for a set lunch menu, often much cheaper than evening prices and with less pressure to order wine.

It goes without saying that rental pressures drive this industry, too. Cheaper rents saw the scene move into SoHo just over a decade ago; now it's moving to Sheung Wan for the same reason. Diners see a lot of turnover and might rue the closure of a favoured eatery, but high rents are part of what makes Hong Kong's eating scene so dynamic.

But why does a cup of coffee vary greatly price for what is essentially the same drink (coffee beans, water, milk and sugar)?

"You're not just buying a product. You're buying everything affiliated with [it]," says Richard Feldman, chairman of the Mimosa Group and owner of Al's Diner. "The rent of the table space, the decor, the ambience, the pretty people sitting across at another table - it's the full package."



Byline: Jasper Moiseiwitsch and P. Ramakrishnan

The Pleasure of My Company

Entrepreneurship in Hong Kong is a mixed bag of perks and pitfalls, writes P.Ramakrishnan.
(ramakrishnanp@hotmail.com)


This risk is great. The rewards unknown. But these seven young people broke free from contracts and companies to set up their own businesses. On the view that in life you can be a pilot or passenger, the seven have engineered their own career path with ventures they are passionate about.

While some have a staff of one (themselves), others have expanded to encompass a team of up to seven people. With each passing year and growing member of staff, the responsibility proves greater as well as the challenges that vary from keeping afloat, and finessing the tricky manoeuvre of expanding without imploding.

Some got private funding (which often translates to benevolent parents and their cheque books), others were resourceful enough to get investors or to find their fiduciary fuel in a lifetime of savings.

While nearly all sing the joy of working without a boss, they also concur that this very hard work.

“There is no off switch,” laments Kanchan Punjabi, who started the fashion firm Kanchan Couture. “You’re constantly thinking of one or another aspect that’s somehow traces back to work-related material.”

Carmen Li, who launched a publishing venture 21 Concepts, agrees that the challenge lies is to incorporate a personal life into the unremitting pressures of launching a business. “The biggest long term goal for me, especially as a new mom, is to learn to balance work life with family life. I’m constantly thinking of one or the other.”

And yet, here are seven people that mind their own business:

Vivien Li (23), Lotus Models
“I used to work as an agent at a modelling agency but that closed down. I spent two months waitressing at Taste In, a Korean restaurant, and then decided that since a lot of my old clients were still calling me for models, I might as well start my own business. I had a lot of contacts in the field, and I started getting free-lance jobs. I thought, I can do this on my own so I created Lotus Models.

It’s mainly a modelling agency, but depending on what my clients want, I can also provide make-up artists, photographers, dressers and assistants for events and shows. I’ve worked behind the scenes on many big shows such as Gucci, Prada and Cartier in Hong Kong.

My goal right now is just to familiarise myself with the industry more, know more people – and they in turn know me. In the long term, I hope to be able to say that my agency is one of the best in Hong Kong.

Right now I don’t have the moolah to expand what I have. So I need a few more jobs, maybe save up for a couple years and I should be all set!

I haven’t had any help from an agency or the government to set up my small business. But I have a very supportive family, so a lot of the setting up involved my parents and my brother. My dad bought a lot of things I needed for my company like desks, hole punchers, letter openers. Stuff I need and stuff that costs money. My brother is a website designer, and he’s helping me set up my website for free. At least I saved a couple of thousand dollars there.

I studied ancient history in Royal Holloway, University of London – nothing I did there is aiding me now!

The initial hurdles still exist. As a new agency, I don’t have a lot of models to call my own. I don’t have a comprehensive list of clients either – but it’s growing every day.

Most of the jobs that come in are from families and friends, and I still need to expand past that. I just need to work harder and the hurdles I have now will disappear.

Kanchan Suresh Panjabi (28), Kanchan Couture

I set up Kanchan Couture in September 2007, creating my own line of women’s wear and accessories. I have been designing and working in the fashion industry for close to seven years now. I created my first full collection in 2004 and had my first exhibition in London in 2006, eventually launching my own line in 2007.

It is inspired by migration, globalisation, slippery identities, fleeting memories and our ever-evolving civilisation. Kanchan Couture is my creative vision.

I returned to Hong Kong from London to launch my own label, my own passion to transform classic shapes from a bygone era in combination with opulent Indian textiles creating a wearable wardrobe for everywoman.

The collections include eveningwear, daywear, tailoring, bridal gowns, leather belts and accessories. I hope to branch into shoes soon – we are relaunching our online shop (buy.kanchancouture.com) and a new jewellery collection.

There’s been no government help or corporate funding. We did try once to get some funding for a trade fair but it did not go through.

There were two main challenges that I faced as designer in Hong Kong, one being not receiving much support from the local “guys” such as the government, big corporations, the trade department. I think this is somewhat different in the UK or Europe. The start-ups and the industry in general are more supported, and can get funding and help.

The second, the habits of the Asian consumer are a mystery; they are known to be status and image driven and would rather buy a brand over a young designer.

This is a bit different in other parts of the world, especially the UK as there is a range of consumers and everyone is looking for the next big thing – so a young designer can have his/her own followers because its not a global brand. Here, it’s different. But slowly this is changing and more people are looking for something different.

Douglas Pieterse (29), Sweat Limited
Sweat is a personal training studio that specialises in different types of training. We designed our studio for versatility to reflect the many different types of training we incorporate into our clients’ routines to keep things fun and interesting.

As my wife and I are both in the same business of personal training, we found that we were spending way too much on renting facilities to train clients. On top of that, a few of the studios had shut down and in a matter of two to three years, some of our clients had been switched to three or four different studio locations and each of them had their downfalls.

I teach some kids classes and we decided to promote the kids programme over the summer and had a really good response. Our biggest problem was where to train the children with a facility that would allow for the full studio to be renting for a decent rate, as well as would be kid friendly. It was literally impossible to find a place that could accommodate what I wanted as far as that went.

After discussing with my wife, we raised the possibility of having our own studio and from there, we spoke of the idea to a few clients who, for the most part, were very supportive of the idea. We decided to seek funding and then there was no turning back.

We want to add a couple trainers to our team. We would like to see our business grow to a stage where we can branch out to expand the kids programme to its own venue and have a team of personal trainers working for us.

Since it’s our first time having a facility, everything required research and a lot of consulting our friends for advice. Renting a space in a good location for a decent price was a bit of a challenge but we found a great place for which we could envision a good layout.

We ran into a few obstacles along the way and realised that renovations are full of setbacks and delays and of course a whole lot of unaccounted expenses.

Jason Yam (30), Hong Kong Basketball Academy
I have been a teacher in Hong Kong for five years and coached high school and middle school levels. I also played professionally and the one thing I thought was missing in Hong Kong was an academy/programme, similar to those offered in the US, where kids could focus solely on becoming better, smarter basketball players.

So I set out to create a programme that would help kids elevate themselves, by working with other talented kids to create a new level of basketball for kids in Hong Kong.

My business idea took years in the making. It took me this long to get all the logistics organised and start marketing. The initial response was strong and we are hoping to grow the programme and add more students, age groups, even a girls’ division.

The first semester has been amazing. The kids are so enthusiastic and I love working with them.

Basically there are two goals, goals for me and goals for the kids. For the kids my goals are to have them become better athletes and learn the game. I want them to become good sportsmen and women with one another and learn to work in team environments. I hope that they keep coming back because that would mean their having fun, learning lots, and their parents feel the same.

For myself and the business I want to add a few more classes so I can split the age groups into similar skill levels. The hard part will be keeping the class sizes small so there is a good level of interaction between coach and student. In the long run, I want the school to become recognised as the premier school for young athletes to become elite level basketball players.

It would be absolutely fantastic if we could get some students to play for some universities in the US and Canada.

Though we’ve got no external aid, I do hope to collaborate with financers because aid can help potential kids who are in financial need. I never had a doubt in mind that whatever hurdles came my way I could tackle them.

One thing I didn’t foresee is the high school level players having so much homework to do. It’s actually been a blessing because this has made me go back to the drawing board and to think about how I can offer academic support to the players and to really be a versatile programme.

Fortunately enough I know a lot of great teachers. I will be soon offering a “homework” club ran by professional teachers. Let’s just say our new motto is “ball above all … except homework”.

Carmen Li (30), 21 Concepts
21 Concepts is a publishing and media company. I publish a monthly magazine, Crave, and my team and I organise small scale gastro/wine events. We also own an online magazine www.cravemag.com.

I’ve always been in publishing, I worked at a newspaper years ago – the South China Morning Post – and for other fashion and lifestyle magazines. I wanted to set up my own title and business, for a while I even thought of opening a restaurant. But I stuck to what I knew, publishing.

Convincing the market – by that I mean media buyers – that there is a readership demand for this publication was the first of many challenges. At the time of launch, there weren’t any high-end English magazines that focused on the subject of gastronomy. It took a few months to persuade our advertisers to support our launch issue and in the end, many did. We’re in our second year now and still going strong.

An unexpected challenge we have, as a new company, was learning how to stay ahead creatively. There is a prevalent “copycat” culture in Hong Kong and we strive to think of original material for every issue. You cannot stop others from copying you but you can learn to stay ahead of the game.

The biggest lessons I learned from past experiences and having been at this for a while now, is to invest sensibly – and to not owe money to anyone or any bank or other entity. I’ve seen publishers who place too much emphasis on promotions and marketing to the extent that they run out of budget for editorial content.

Also, I would avoid bartering for advertisements. The company is nothing without the product, I work closely with my staff and respect everyone’s creative input and ideas. This is one of my life lessons.

To have readers embrace Crave as one of Hong Kong’s leading gastronomy publications is my ultimate goal as a businesswoman, but as a new mom, I also know that I need to step away and balance my private and office life. I take everything a step at a time.


Elaine Young (32), LAByrinth
LAByrinth is a communications studio and biotech fashion brand whose product ranges include AMULA (a play on the words amulet and emulate) DNA Jewellery (containing your choice of person, plant or animal DNA) and “HOST – for your living things” – a line of graphics, clothing and objects made from and/or inspired by microscopic images.

I didn’t always do this. I have a fine arts degree in philosophy and political theory from the University of Toronto. I created this brand in my early 20s, I’ve been doing it for 10 years.

Before I set up my own business in 2005, I used to work in film and television, as an art director. But deep down, I wanted to create.

I was so obsessed with the ideas that I had to create my own line. For better or for worse, I was obsessed and that sort of tunnel vision doesn’t allow you to see failures or pitfalls, you just jump.

I didn’t really think too much about going off on my own. People have to be fearless when they create their own business.

In the long run, yeah, if my brand is a multinational corp, yes please, that would be great! But in the short run, it would be nice to feel some sort of solidarity within the fashion community in Hong Kong. The solidarity is missing in our city. I would really love to find a public relations agency that understood the brand, the concept of why I do what I do, that it’s not just another fashion brand, and spread the word.

When you’re an independent entity, finances are always in issue, from rent to salaries to monthly overhead. I want to move on with the collection, and move on with the brand, but the shop was draining my time. And, as much as I loved having a shop, now I have my own studio.

I’m about to debut the HOST clothing line in November.

I’m fortunate that I have received help, from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks. They basically gave us a studio, and helped with promotion. It’s behind funding innovative projects in Hong Kong. Our biotech partner, Hai Kang Life Corporation help with all our technology work.

Understanding how to achieve a high quality product working in China is the hurdle.

The reason for the brand is education through fashion, I’m happy to tell people about it. When they ask questions, I’m so open to that as it’s the whole point of the brand. It’s about dialogue. I firmly believe that we shape the things we build - thereafter, they shape us.

Maxime Dautresme (32), Substance
What is our company? Well, the spiel is, it’s a one stop brand and design agency specialised in brand strategy, brand identity, advertising and design.

Substance was founded in 2007 in Paris. I then took the company to Miami and established it there as well. I launched Substance Hong Kong in March 2011.


The greatest advantage of having your own company is that you get to choose your client and the people you want to work for. You need to like the people you work for. That is a big plus!

When I worked for a … a large corporation, it was so political, and you often didn’t like the erratic people you worked for or you had a confused client. But now, I choose. And because of that, I can give them [clients] 100 per cent. The pay might be less and the hours are longer – we’ve clocked in 17-hour days – but you love what you do so you don’t feel it.

The biggest disadvantage is that you never step out of the office. Even on holiday, you do a lot more than what’s necessary because you’re so involved in every aspect, its micro and macro management on all levels. There’s no separation of task, client servicing, new business development, getting the morning coffee for everyone – it all depends on you.

When we launched, to be very honest, I was fearless, I had the opportunity, the background, the know-how. When you know what you’re doing, you don’t need a large corporate structure, you’re selling something creative.

I knew it would work – it was already working on a small scale before when I was freelancing. When I got a partner, a financial backer, we set up the company.

A friend of mine helped set up this business, [to act as] the money side, the silent partner. From just being me, to now, well, my company has eight full-time people and six freelancers working on different projects.

There has been no government aid but I did find someone that I felt was on the same page as me and really understood the business to partner with.

The initial hurdle was finding the right partner was the most important thing – I’ve heard terrible stories of betrayal between partners here in Hong Kong so it’s essential to partner with someone you trust.

Building the right team is another issue as just one person can affect the capability and dynamic of an entire team. But we are expanding so… that’s a nice problem to have.

It’s a big step to hire someone. You go through a long interview process. For me, the vision was more than just the work, we hired people who were passionate about their work. They’re all designers. The way they talk about the work is so important, because if they didn’t care, if they were bored, then the work is reflective of that. I relate to the passion. You can’t do your own business – no matter what the business is – if you’re not passionate.

NOTES:
My original draft of the feature. Due to the Greek blah di blah, feature got uber cut by the time it hit print. Among other goofs. Pleasure and perils of publishing... Ten years in the biz and every day is a surprise.

The Most Beautiful Bling

It may look like a movie prop; the kind of over-the-top, multi-diamond studded watch that might be stolen in The Pink Panther in order to be recovered by bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau. But at 160 carats, this is no chunk of costume paste, it's the real thing.

The exorbitantly expensive Kallania timepiece arrived in Hong Kong this month. Studded with 186 emerald-cut diamonds, Vacheron Constantin, one of the world's oldest watchmakers, has created it as a worthy successor to the renowned Kallista ("most beautiful" in Greek), which was designed in 1977 by artist Raymond Moretti and featured 118 diamonds, weighing 130 carats, with a US$9 million price tag.
Thirty-plus years later comes Kallania, the long-awaited sequel. This dazzling dilettante has already made waves in the watchmaking world and retail price this time around is HK$76.8m.

But is it a watch or a jewel? A shiny bracelet that tells time? It's debatable, especially since it won the Best Jewellery Watch award at the Vogue Jewels Awards 2009 in Madrid, Spain. The Kallania made its debut in January 2009 at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) exhibition, crafted entirely from 18-carat white gold and set with 32 emerald-cut diamonds. The bracelet alone is 18-carat white gold, set with 136 emerald-cut diamonds.

For all its glamour and aesthetic appeal, this timepiece is technically exquisite as well. Water-resistant and mechanical, the manual-winding watch establishes a new world benchmark in the number of carats that have been perfectly aligned and facets meticulously polished to achieve a maximum clarity of reflected light. Apart from the bling factor, this piece is also driven by the world's thinnest mechanical movement, the 1003 calibre, developed by Vacheron Constantin, and stamped with the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva.

By P.Ramakrishnan
(ramakrishnanp@hotmail.com)

Not such a Wild Bunch

Hong Kong's twenty and thirty-somethings have an eye on their financial future, as P.Ramakrishnan discovers.


Is the younger generation in the workforce, with its disposable income, transferring funds at a share market near you? Are seaside property prices being hiked by those who participate in keggers and beach barbecues? To find out what the younglings and their fledgling accounts are up to, we gate-crashed Bisous in Lan Kwai Fong.

A watering hole that pays a generous homage to the art of burlesque, Bisous' crowd usually isn't that young. But, as Anthony Zameczkowski, the new Head of YouTube Partnerships for Asia, was a guest speaker at the Web Wednesday Hong Kong social mixer, the clientele's age bracket dropped several notches.

While most in the audience were interested in YouTube's migration from UGC (user-generated content) to professional content and the value of localisation, we asked a few of them about money matters instead.

The questions

1) Aside from the MPF, do you save money each month?

If yes, how much?

What do you put the savings into?

If you don't save, why not?

2) Do you have any investments, such as stocks and shares or property?

If yes, what are they?

If not, why not?

3) How much do you spend on entertainment, clothes and going out each month?

What percentage is that of your income?

Their answers:

Casey Sullivan (24):

1) Yes, I save about 20 per cent of my income. It's auto transfer and I don't look at it. It's purely for saving so I don't worry about it.

2) I do not own property or stocks but I did. I sold all my stocks as I saw the market crashing. If I was going to invest, I would do stocks and bonds. I'd look at emerging markets. Or large companies and corporations that inspire trust.

3) If I had unlimited funds, a lot of my money would go into property, especially in developing markets.

Jason Ho (23):

1) Yes, I do save about 10 per cent of my income in my bank.

2) I have stocks in the Hong Kong share market. I've invested in company names I trust.

3) I spend at least HK$3,000 every month.

Shefali F (30):

1) No, at the moment, I'm not saving a lot as I've got my own company which I've just launched and have moved all my savings and funds into it. It's investing in my own company and self really.

2) I used to have shares and stocks but again, I cashed them all out to invest into my company. I'm married and my husband has investments and property.

3) I spend about US$2,000 but that's including a lot of travel, as well as food, clothes, entertainment.

Nickey Khem (23):

1) At least 30 per cent of my salary goes to savings, on in a good month, 40 percent - when I'm being really careful.

2) I own a percentage of a company I work for. I get good returns from it. I'm saving up to own property in the next two years. I plan to take a mortgage, if possible a double mortgage.

3) I spend too much. HK$10-12,000. Life in Hong Kong is expensive. Drinking and eating out, and cab rides, clothes... I'd like to curb my expenditure but prices never go down, do they?

Lisa Werner (28):

1) Yes I do save but not much right now as I'm a freelancer so there isn't a steady income but roughly five to 10 per cent goes into my savings account.

2) Yes, I have stocks and shares but back in the US. I have financial advisers who take care of the whole thing. I have no property investment but one day, I'd like to when I can afford it.

3) I spend about $4,000 a month? It's like HK$1,000 a week. Maybe a little more.

Chris Lam (35):

1) Yes, I save about 30 per cent of my income. Its important to save.

2) Yes, I have stocks in mutual funds, stock market shares and property. A diversified portfolio is sensible and important.

3) I think I spend about HK$10,000.

Jessica Hefes (33):

1) Yes, I do save my income, about five per cent goes into a savings account.

2) No, I have no stocks or shares. I want to understand it fully, I'm not that invested in the local share market so I don't want to put my money into anything, unless I know it really well. I used to be a lawyer so I want all the literature before transferring any money to anyone or any corp.

3) I spend about HK$3,000-4,000 a month I think. Around that much. Its easy to spend at least a grand a week.

Melissa C (27):

1) I do save my money, but only about two per cent. Its hard to save in Hong Kong as its an expensive city.

2) I have stocks in tech companies, particularly in the US. I grew up in Silicon Valley. My father is in the tech industry. Its a mixture of knowledge and trust for me as I grew up with this information around me. It's so important to have stocks and I think more and more women are investing wisely.

3) Because of travel, my leisure expenses would be around US$3,000 per month, that's including shopping, gifts, food. Airline tickets aren't cheap.

Flash it, cash it, or stash it: Hong Kong residents get HK $6,000 each!

On a rain-drenched evening, under Times Square’s sheltered entrance, we grabbed quotes from Hong Kong residents who were not only eligible but ready and eager to get their HK$6,000 tax rebate from the government. 

Even those who weren’t going to benefit had a sense of the excitement for friends and relatives who were eligible. Hong Kong’s permanent residents are to receive HK$40.5 billion (the cost to the government, including cash handouts and tax rebates, according to spokesman Patrick Wong). 

Early in March, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah opted to hand out the cash and tax rebates instead of, for example, infusing the pension fund accounts. 

The scheme has been received with much skepticism and criticism. But as the random sampling of opinion below demonstrates, people are delighted that the government is refunding part of an enormous surplus back to the citizens. 

Lam Kwok-yiu, 23 

I heard about the HK$6,000 online, then I read about it in magazines and newspapers, and of course, all my friends were talking about it. It's not yet time for me to get the application papers, but I've already started thinking about what to do with the money - travel, I think. It's nice to get away for a holiday. I've never heard of a government handout like this - it's great. I hadn't heard about the HK$200 bonus if we wait 'til next year. But I don't think I will wait. 

David Mok, 46 

I was very happy to hear permanent residents would receive HK$6,000. I read it about in newspapers first and then followed up online. I'm glad to know I'm eligible. I'm not sure what I'll do with it right now - maybe shop for sporting goods. I have friends and know people who got the money. It went very fast; people spent it almost immediately. No one I know has the patience to wait for an extra HK$200 by applying for it next year. With senior citizens, I heard a man joke on TV that he might not be alive next year, so he wants to get it as soon as possible! 

Lam Hin-tung, 21 

As soon as I can apply for the forms for my HK$6,000 rebate, I will. I was so excited to hear about it. I heard about it first on the news on TV. Then, in the following days, we kept the paper that had the information on how to apply, where to get the forms and how to do it. That's a lot of money to get, and I'm going to go shopping, I think, or travel. It's not enough for a long trip away, but maybe some place close ... I'd like to go to Singapore or something. 

Greg Wong Lok-tin, 21 

As a student, I'm not sure if I'm yet eligible for the HK$6,000 rebate; I've never paid any income tax. But my family has, and they are all very excited about the rebate, especially my cousins. I've been hearing about it more than talking about it as I'm not getting any money. I'm going away to study in the US, so this doesn't apply to me at the moment. But it's nice to think about what you can do if someone just gave you HK$6,000. 

Merylyn Li, 45 

When I first heard the news that we were eligible to get HK$6,000, I was thrilled. I haven't got the money yet - not even the forms. I think we'll get them much later in the year - probably around Christmas - so I'm torn between saving it and buying presents for my family, like my daughter Rioielle. I think it's a wonderful thing the government has done. I've never heard of any other government giving back money to their citizens. It's great to be in Hong Kong! 

Phyllis Chow, 35 

I was very happy to hear the news of the HK$6,000 rebate. I heard about it first online, I saw it on a newsbyte when I logged onto my bank page. I got all the information I needed, how to fill in the forms and when to send them. At first I thought I'd spend it on buying clothes or something for my young son, but after some thought, I've decided to give it to a local food fund. As a mother, I thought of other children who might be hungry somewhere out there. This is a better use. 

Martine Frieser, 27 

I have a work visa in Hong Kong and haven't lived here long enough to receive the HK$6,000, but I heard it about it from all my colleagues and on the news. I wish I were eligible for it. If I did get it, I'd probably invest it or save it. I'm from the Netherlands, and similar benefits aren't unheard of, but it's definitely new to Asia, isn't it? I'm not sure if it's the right thing; there must be a better way to benefit society at large, raising the minimum wage, for example.