In this May 19, 2022 photo, people shop in Fortnum & Mason, a traditional tea store in London, Britain. The British luxury brand is ready to open a retail shop at the Hong Kong International Airport. (LI YING / XINHUA)

HONG KONG – Luxury food-and-beverage brand Fortnum & Mason believes that its consumers on the Chinese mainland will grow its business further following its commercial success in Hong Kong.

Fortnum & Mason operates a popular flagship store and restaurant in Hong Kong at K11 Musea, initiated by New World Development Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO Adrian Cheng Chi-kong.

The flagship store in Kowloon continues to draw a greater numbers of followers in Hong Kong since it opened in late 2019.

The British luxury brand, celebrating its 315th anniversary this year, is known for inventing the popular Scotch egg, as well as special blends of teas, biscuits, and Christmas hampers.

It partnered with e-commerce accelerator Pattern to launch a Tmall Global store on June 18 to expand its online business to the Chinese mainland. Livestreams in Mandarin are also planned. At Hong Kong International Airport, Fortnum & Mason is ready to open a retail shop.

READ MORE: Fortnum & Mason launches first overseas store in HK

“One reason that I am excited about opening on Tmall is that we are very conscious that in the UK, the digital world is led by the Far East,” Fortnum & Mason CEO Tom Athron told China Daily Hong Kong from London. 

People want to know the brand story and the heritage. We want to have an offline space for customers to immerse themselves in our products.

Carmen Chiu, Regional managing director for Asia Pacific, Fortnum & Mason

“The way in which consumers in China are interacting with brands and influencers, and online shopping, reflects the way consumers are likely to be interacting with brands and influencers over here in the UK, probably in two or three years.”

Carmen Chiu, Fortnum & Mason’s regional managing director for Asia Pacific, said Pattern will be the trade partner, “supporting every aspect of running its new flagship store on Tmall Global, China’s largest cross-border online marketplace”.

Chiu, who steers the brand’s retail and hospitality business in Hong Kong, described Fortnum & Mason as an “experiential brand”.

“People want to know the brand story and the heritage. We want to have an offline space for customers to immerse themselves in our products,” she said.

“It is a long journey, and we started with Tmall (Global) and start learning about our mainland customers. Is it Shanghai first, Guangzhou first, Beijing, or even Chengdu (in Sichuan province). Who knows! But entering Tmall will help us learn where our customers are buying from and what they are buying. I am sure Sparkling Tea will be a huge success.

“Opening Tmall Global flagship store to start with and then going to domestic would be a huge journey for us. And when we have enough data points, it will be easier for us to map out our next step in China.”

Fortnum & Mason CEO Athron, who has previously spent a lot of time in Hong Kong, said the brand will learn a lot about the future through Tmall.

“I can see a world where we learn and try new things from the work that Carmen Chiu is doing and then launching things in the UK that will be very leading edge,” he said.

A range of tea-infused mooncakes, launched in Hong Kong in 2020, was also successful and was introduced to London as well.

Fortum & Mason also has a presence in specialty retailer Lane Crawford.

“Since we entered Lane Crawford, we have had confidence in Hong Kong. Lane Crawford is smaller, shop-in-shop, but it has given us confidence about Hong Kong customers and about international customers in Hong Kong,’’ Chiu said.