Word-of-mouth through our customers is also as important. Fortnum’s is a trusted brand and many share their experiences on social media which has been hugely helpful to build brand awareness.
How important is sustainability to Fortnum & Mason?
At Fortnum’s, we believe sustainability is a continuous journey and a long-term commitment. It is our responsibility to conduct business today in a way that is sustainable for the next 300 years.
Sustainability is all in the details. From our packaging to our supply chains, we’ve made progress. We are now focusing on how we innovate our products and business in a way that pays back to our planet. At times this may mean sacrificing short-term commercial gain for long-term success, but we know our customers want sustainable luxury. That’s our competitive advantage.
Given the success of the #LongLoveFortnums campaign run in Hong Kong last year, we continue to look for partners and marketing opportunities that reflect and align with our commitments by engaging with our customers to make this world a better place.
Can you tell us a little about your digital offer in Hong Kong? What customer groups does it target and how does it differ from your online offer in the UK?
Digital has been an instrumental pillar for us in the UK during the pandemic and the shift in consumer purchase behaviour. In Hong Kong, we have an online presence on Lane Crawford and K11 Musea platforms, however, our customers still prefer to visit us offline in person as we are very much an experiential brand.
We have learned that it may not be necessary to have our own online website dedicated to Hong Kong at the moment, but there are still many other established platforms we can leverage to acquire new customers and maintain customer relationships to build opportunities.
We quickly adopted digital platforms to enable us to maintain our customer engagement in a meaningful way, such as these examples:
● Deliveroo: While people were staying at home, they were still looking for special experiences to enlighten their days, so they would order the famous Fortnum’s afternoon tea on Deliveroo for a small gathering with their friends and families.
● Klook: With the popularity of staycations, we collaborated with the Rosewood Hotel to include a meal for guests at 181 Fortnum’s.
● Whatsapp for Business: This introduction has enabled us to build direct engagement with our customers.
● Social media channels: Actively engaging with our audience through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram has helped significantly with our storytelling.
Does Fortnum & Mason have a loyalty program for Hong Kong customers?
We are looking into launching our loyalty program in 2024. Our wonderful teams have delivered exceptional services to maintain their direct relationships with our loyal customers since we opened. For our 181 restaurant, we offer complimentary experiences via customer segmentation occasions.
Personally, you spent six and a half years in a senior role with chocolatier Godiva, which brought you in contact with Asia customers as well as those in other markets. How did that experience prepare you to lead Fortnum & Mason in Hong Kong?
No two businesses are identical but my passion for working for amazing global food brands has not differed. It is exciting to be able to identify growth opportunities and be part of the roller-coaster rides.
Knowing your brand differentiators and your customers is important, and persistence and agility determine success. There will always be experiences you can apply and new learnings to broaden your experience too.
Is the success of Fortnum & Mason Hong Kong likely to lead to other stores being opened in Asia Pacific or other Greater China cities?
Our Tmall Global Flagship store opened last June which enables us to connect with our mainland Chinese customers. As the world starts to recover, we were delighted to share the addition of our first travel retail location in Asia at the Hong Kong International Airport last December 1.
The 31sqm store offers a wide assortment of the brand’s most in-demand teas, biscuits, chocolates, tea accessories, and gift boxes.
I look forward to capitalising on the recovery of tourism/retail as Covid restrictions ease. We will continue identifying new opportunities in the region, but our top priority now is to drive growth for Hong Kong and the mainland as well as explore new markets during the next three to five years.
The MarketingPulse lineup
Carmen Chiu will share more about her uplifting brand revitalisation experiences at MarketingPulse, on the topic of “Brewing the future of Fortnum & Mason’s Tea: How to revive and evolve a timeless brand?”.
Besides Chiu, attendees can learn from seasoned marketers, including Dennis Chan, co-founder, chairman and creative director of the jewellery brand, Qeelin; Mauro Porcini, SVP and global CDO of PepsiCo; Margareth Henriquez, PhD, and Clément Brunet-Moret, global and Apac CEO of Baccarat, respectively; Brian Yiu, CEO of Fila China, Gao-na, head of overseas business, Hong Kong & Macao, at Mengniu Dairy and David Bell, founder of Pretty Ballerinas.
They will share the forum with next-gen brand pioneers including Gaëtan Belaud, global head of ads resellers at Spotify; Alex Zhou, chief customer officer of Chinese toy giant Pop Mart – that made blind boxes a craze – and Louisa Zhu, co-founder & CEO at Meta Human Centre of RM Group, creator of Ayayi, the first hyper-realistic virtual human in China; and more.
The conference will explore topics such as Web3, ChatGPT, Gen Z, virtual influencers, data-driven marketing, brand storytelling, design thinking, happiness and marketing, ESG marketing, the future of retail and borderless customer engagement.
A series of digital marketing and e-tailing workshops will offer a wealth of practical marketing knowledge and advice for participants. Representatives from about 40 companies will share innovative marketing strategies, bespoke solutions and technologies with marketing professionals and brand owners. Alongside the discussions, a one-on-one business matching service will be provided allowing marketing and e-tailing experts to offer professional advice while showcasing their solutions.
Marketing Pulse x eTailingPulse
Date: 15 March 2023
Website: https://www.marketingpulse.com.hk Book your ticket now using the 65 per cent special discount code for Inside Retail readers: MPR02J3P at https://bit.ly/3J1naTC
