Clothes, shoes, bags, fragrances, home furnishings, bars, restaurants, and now, a coffee outlet in Hong Kong. What is behind the American brand’s latest move in Asia?
WHEN THE RALPH LAUREN company reopened its flagship store located in Hong Kong’s luxury shopping belt, Tsim Sha Tsui, it also took the opportunity to introduce its lifestyle offering, that of an in-store coffee counter, Ralph’s Coffee. The brand already has similar food ventures in Chicago, New York, London and Paris.
Why a coffee counter within the store? To get my answers, I ordered an Americano, a latte, an iced latte, and an iced tea – all within an hour. The chief barista had a grin stretching from one ear to the other, glad at the enthusiastic reception. “You like the coffee?” he asked when I placed my last order of coffee. “Yes,” I replied, my hands shaking from the caffeine overdose and hoping he wouldn’t notice.
How different are the caffeine offerings here? To be honest, they tasted like any decent, freshly brewed cuppa from independent coffee chains. Yet, I was beaming with a sense of newfound (fashion) pride. In hindsight, I was imbibing the brand’s values, attitudes, behaviour, social status, entertainment and dress — in other words, its lifestyle.
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