“Made in Hong Kong” – Lane Crawford come back “香港制造” – 连卡佛的前世今生

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I remember a scene in the movie Kung Fu Soccer: One night Stephen Chow took Vicki Zhao into a Lane Crawford store for fitting after closing time, then he had to do cleaning work in the store as a price…. For a Hong Kong movie, it chose a “Made in Hong Kong” department store in Shanghai. This is perhaps a true portrayal of Hong Kong people’s worship of Lane Crawford.

Past Life

Indeed, Lane Crawford can be described as a time-honored high-end department store in Hong Kong. For Hong Kong people, especially the middle class, they have been taught since they were very young that, as the middle class or higher, they should go to Lane Crawford for shopping. Shopping in Lane Crawford is also the self-class recognition of the consumers.

In August 1850 , two Scots with entrepreneurial and enterprising spirit, Thomas Ash Lane and Ninian Crawford opened a temporary wooden-structure store in what is now Des Voeux Road waterfront district. Since then, Lane Crawford has opened several specialty stores along Des Voeux Road and Queen’s Road. Up to the early 20th century, it had opened branches in Guangdong, Shanghai , Kobe and Tokyo, with its business fields involving clothing, jewelry, food, wine, antique auction, pastries, restaurants and bars. Prior to 1949 , Lane Crawford was very famous in Shanghai International Settlement, and was one of the four old companies on Nanjing Road. Its Chinese name was then Taixing Company .

This Life

Up to time now, Lane Crawford has developed into an expensive world-famous designer boutique store, which mainly sells famous fashions, accessories and fashion products. Lane Crawford Hong Kong’s four branches are respectively located in the famous upscale shopping districts, including the flagship store in Central, Pacific Place, Times Square in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui Ocean Terminal. Today, Lane Crawford has 11 brand stores, including Alberta Ferreti, On Pedder, Bruno Magli, Sergio Rossi and Verri Uomo. At the same time, Wheelock Group and Lane Crawford’s major retail properties in China include: Shanghai Times Square, Lane Crawford, Maison LCX and Beijing Times Square and Chongqing Times Square located near the Liberation Monument and so on.

In 2000, this Hong Kong-based upscale department store with a history of 160 years settled in Shanghai, and in 2002 it expanded northword to Harbin, and in 2004 it opened a store in Hangzhou. However, seven years ago, Lane Crawford had to leave Shanghai, followed in succession with its quit from Harbin and Hangzhou. At that time, its executive team said: “When we find the right products, the right location, and the right physical environment, Lane Crawford will be considering a return to China.”

In 2013, Lane Crawford honored this commitment. Seven years later, Shanghai Times Square on Huaihai Road ushered the opening of Lane Crawford again. This Lane Crawford Shanghai flagship store, that was officially opened in October this year, is also its largest flagship store in the word, and its area is twice its largest Lane Crawford store in Hong Kong. This is just part of their immediate plans . “We will open a physical store in the next spring or summer in Chengdu. In the future, we will consider entering the second and third tier cities,”disclosed Mr. Andrew Keith, CEO of the Lane Crawford . That is not all, and in addition to the expansion of physical network, Lane Crawford will also focus on the layout of its e-commerce platform in China.

记得电影《功夫足球》中有这么一片段：周星驰带着赵薇进入打烊后的连卡佛试衣，随后他却不得不在连卡佛里清洗地板作为代价……对于一部港片在上海选用一个“香港制造”的百货店。这或是就是港人对连卡佛崇拜的真实写照。

前世浮生

的确，连卡佛可谓是香港老资格的高档百货。对于香港人，尤其是香港中产，从小到大受的教育就告诉他们，作为中产乃至更高阶层，就该去连卡佛购物。去连卡佛，不仅是购物，更是消费者对自我阶层的认同。

1850年8月，两位具有企业家进取精神的苏格兰人 Thomas Ash Lane 和 Ninian Crawford 在现在的德辅道临海区开设了一家竹木结构的临时商店。从那时开始，连卡佛在德辅道和皇后大道中开设多家专门店。到20世纪初期，在广东、上海、神户和东京都开设了分店，其业务领域涉及服装、饰品、食品、酒类、古董拍卖、糕点、饭店和酒吧。 1949年以前，Lane Crawford在上海公共租界就很有名，是南京路老四大公司之一，中文名称当时为泰兴公司。

今生蜕变

时至今日，连卡佛已发展为一间价格昂贵的国际著名设计师精品店，专营名牌时装、配饰及时尚精品。香港连卡佛旗下四家分店均分别位于著名的高级购物区，包括中环的旗舰店、金钟太古广场、铜锣湾时代广场和尖沙嘴海运大厦。今日连卡佛拥有 Alberta Ferreti、On Pedder、Bruno Magli、Sergio Rossi 及Verri Uomo等11间名牌专卖店。与此同时，会德丰集团及连卡佛在国内主要零售物业包括：上海大时代广场、连卡佛百货、美美百货和北京时代广场LCX和位于解放碑的重庆时代广场等等。

2000年，这个有着160多年历史的香港老牌高档百货入驻上海，2002年开始北上哈尔滨，2004年又南下杭州开店。然而七年前，连卡佛黯然离开上海，之后又相继从哈尔滨、杭州撤离。那时候，其高管团队留下这样一句话：“当我们找到正确的产品、正确的位置、正确的实体环境时，便是连卡佛重返中国之时。”

2013年，是连卡佛兑现这个承诺的时候了。七年之后的淮海路大上海时代广场又将迎来连卡佛的开业。这家于今年10月正式营业的连卡佛上海旗舰店，同时也是其全球最大的旗舰店，面积是香港连卡佛最大门店的2倍。这还只是其近期计划的一部分。“我们还将在明年春夏季在成都再开一家实体门店。未来也会考虑进入二、三线城市。”连卡佛总裁Andrew Keith透露。这还不是全部，除了实体网络的拓展之外，连卡佛还将在中国重点布局电子商务平台。

By Ying Ze