Luxury furniture brand Fendi Casa unveiled China's first flagship store in Shanghai on Nov 22, 2023. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Luxury furniture brand Fendi Casa unveiled China's first flagship store in Shanghai recently, aiming to expand its market in the country while conveying its lifestyle philosophy, a top company's executive said.

Daniel Lalonde, the chief executive officer of the Milan-based high-end luxury interior design group Design Holding, which co-launched a joint venture with Italian luxury brand Fendi in 2021 to promote Fendi Casa, believes that the Shanghai boutique marks a milestone in its strategic development.

"Fendi's success in China and previously Fendi Casa's success in China led us to believe that our strategy on a global basis was to have a flagship store in each of the big regions," said Lalonde, pointing out that the brand launched the first store in Milan for exposure to the European market and the second store in Miami in 2022 to do well in the United States.

Luxury furniture brand Fendi Casa unveiled China's first flagship store in Shanghai on Nov 22, 2023. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"And here, it was obvious that it had to be Shanghai and we wanted to build a flagship to set the standard from what we expect all our partners in China and APEC," Lalonde added.

"It was really important to create this flagship concept of what we expect from all the distribution and to position Fendi Casa at the same level as the Fendi luxury brand."

Identifying the Chinese market as one of the two priority markets apart from North America, Lalonde is full of confidence in the younger generation.

Luxury furniture brand Fendi Casa unveiled China's first flagship store in Shanghai on Nov 22, 2023. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Our customers in China are younger than other markets because the millennials who are big consumers of luxury and fashion and craftsmanship products now spend more time and entertain at home.

"Therefore, how they decorate and design their home is very important, and we have the best brands to make that happen," Lalonde added.

According to Lalonde, the Chinese market in the high-end luxury design furniture segment is still small, accounting for about five percent of the total world market while in luxury fashion it occupies nearly 35 to 40 percent.

Luxury furniture brand Fendi Casa unveiled China's first flagship store in Shanghai on Nov 22, 2023. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"I think it's positioned to grow and we are positioning ourselves as pioneers in making that happen," he said.

Developed over an area of 756 square meters on the ground floor of a prestigious building, the shop was located in the city center at 1788 Nanjing West Road and designed by the Fendi Casa team.

The facade - designed with large windows and black banners emblazoned with a white logo - has a transparent effect that allows light to filter into the space, a detail found at the flagship store in Milan. The unifying theme of the project is the Arabescato Vagli marble that is used for the pillars and interior flooring, one of the stylistic codes of Fendi and Fendi Casa boutiques around the world.

"Products with extremely high quality, creativity, and fun are the lifestyle concept that Fendi Casa wants to bring to consumers," Lalonde said.