Abercrombie & Fitch has opened its first overseas store designed with the retailer’s new boutique outfit, launching a mega store in Hong Kong.
Located in the Harbour City mall, the 6,800 square-foot-flagship design reflects the evolution of the brand as it aims to flick its sexy image and attract a more mature audience. It is the largest Hong Kong store to date and forms part of Wharf Holdings in Harbour City.
“Harbour City is a world-renowned mall and it will be a premier location for our updated Abercrombie & Fitch experience. While we continue to invest in our omnichannel capabilities, enabling our customers to engage with us whenever, wherever and however they choose, our stores remain an important gateway to our brands,” said Fran Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. “In this new space, we expect to deliver greater productivity on a significantly smaller footprint than our previous Hong Kong store. We are looking forward to bringing our new store experience to existing and new customers in Hong Kong.”
Inside the store, the new layout looks to make customers stay in the store for longer, as well as promoting “product trial.” Other unique features included gender-neutral fitting rooms quipped with controls for lighting and music, as well as a phone charging dock.
There are three separate spaces and three “suite-style” rooms for shoppers to share looks with friends or family while browsing.
“We designed this new space based on our customers’ feedback, and our understanding of how they like to shop,” said Stacia Andersen, brand president for Abercrombie & Fitch.
“The result is an open, comfortable, technology-enabled and service-first experience that reflects the shopping experience of today.”
Abercrombie first announced in June that it would open the Hong Kong flagship before Christmas. It is one of seven new concept stores that will be completed by the end of 2017, all of which will be in the US. The first new prototype store opened in February of this year in Columbus, Ohio.
The largest mall in Hong Kong, including shopping, dining, entertainment and sightseeing, Harbour City attracts more than 80 million visitors a year, and its tenants include many of the world’s leading brands.