Fosun establishes in-house brand management unit for fashion clients

Fosun Fashion Group, a subsidiary of Chinese investment conglomerate Fosun, has established the Fosun Fashion Brand Management Company (FFBM).

Meant to be a pure play operation company that serves fashion brands with ambitions to expand in the Greater China market, FFBM will provide clients with full management services including retail and wholesale operations, merchandising, marketing and communications, human capital and complete back office support.

James Chen will lead the new unit as chief executive officer. "In recent years, China has become one of the core markets for many brands, and it will continue to thrive to become one of the world's top consumer markets," he said. Prior to joining, Chen acted as the CEO of UCCAL Fashion Group, which was acquired by Li & Fung in 2014. 

The Fosun Fashion Group was created to manage Fosun's portfolio of fashion assets including Lanvin, St John Knits, Caruso, and Tom Tailor, as well as invest in additional global flagship brands to leverage the momentum in the Chinese consumer market. This team has on average 15 years of operational experience in mainland China.

Joann Cheng, chairman of Fosun Fashion Group, said in a press release, "This new platform provides the group with a wider scope of competencies, and allow us to maximise control over brands' performance in our own backyard enabling us to create incremental value for brands outside of their home markets."