Listed Hong Kong company Nan Hai Corp plans a major retail expansion for the high profile Crabtree & Evelyn brand.
Nan Hai has bought the company which manufactures and sells the skincare products and now plans to leverage the brand’s strong awareness in China, expanding points of sale to include 270 cinemas across the country, and move into food and beverage outlets.
The company says it has already received approaches from Mainland China shopping centres eager to have the brand as a tenant.
Crabtree & Evelyn has 30 retail stores in Hong Kong and some 4000 points of sale globally. But its sales in the key North American and Asian markets declined last year.
Nan Hai plans to open its first Crabtree & Evelyn flagship store in a tier 1 city in China soon, according to a report in the Hong Kong Economic Journal.
Yu Xin, MD of Nan Hai’s subsidiary Dadi Digital Cinema, said the company will promote cross-sales and eCommerce.
He said the brand would be more profitable under Nan Hai’s ownership due to economies of scale by using its existing supply chain network and other resources and a boost in marketing activity.