Hong Kong online fashion retailer Grana is to open a Tmall shop concept.
It has also hired an executive to open physical stores in the US with a showroom concept where customers can try on product and place orders. The merchandise is shipped to the store or the customer’s home.
In the second quarter of this year Grana plans to open on Alibaba Group’s Tmall shopping platform, plus open a pop-up showroom in Shanghai. Late last year, Alibaba invested in Grana.
“We see brick-and-mortar as a really important short- to medium-term brand-building exercise to reach more people,” says Grana founder/CEO Luke Grana. “For us, it’s not a core sales generator.
It’s really just a supplementary way to acquire customers.”
Meanwhile, the company has hired Ariella Werner-Seidler as US experience director, charged with handling leasing and merchandising of its physical spaces. She will oversee the company’s New York pop-up, possibly to be located in SoHo, scheduled to open in April.
This month, Grana started taking preorders for its activewear line, Grana Move, due for launch on February 3. The collection comprises eight styles for women and five for men. The company is hoping to build a global brand based on quality and value, using fabrics such as silks from China, Mongolian cashmere and Japanese denim.
Grana’s growth spurt follows its Series A funding round in October which raised nearly $10 million. The privately held company is projecting growth of about 300 per cent this year, following 500 per cent growth last year.