erent cuts.  “We are also launching capsules dedicated to this market, such as for the Chinese New Year, and this year we will be launching a luxury range only available in Asia,” he added. The story so far Grenade said the brand started its operations in the Asian market in 2017, and since then it has opened 49 stores (38 in China, six in Hong Kong, two in Singapore and one in Macau). A subsidiary outlet in Singapore is planned for June this year. In terms of like-for-like sales last year, the brand grew 26.6 per cent across the Asian business units (including retail and digital), while it experienced 33.3 per cent growth in Hong Kong retail and 34.3 per cent growth in China retail. Grenade said the brand’s strategic plan for the next three to five years is to continue to grow internationally, especially in mainland Asia, the Mediterranean, India and South America.  The brand also aims to strengthen its position in core geographic markets (Europe, China and the US), while increasing its loyalty to consumers, enhancing its customer experience, loyalty programs, dedicated BIP strategy and omnichannel tools. “We want to reaffirm our engagement as a brand, build the lifestyle potential of the brand with new business lines, and grow new businesses that we truly believe in, including second-hand lines,” he noted. The strategic plan for Asia Grenade said the brand’s luxury line exclusive to Asia would meet evolving affluent consumer demand.  “We see opportunity in changes, top luxury brand consumers are turning to affordable luxury, while consumers in the lower-tier cities are evolving with consumption behavior more attuned to premium brands,” he pointed out. Grenade also said the brand would have more ‘doors open’ in non-mainland markets in Asia, to explore business growth and grow digitally with livestreaming platforms.  He wants to continue to build brand awareness with core brand values such as ‘women for women’ and sustainability.  “After strong development in Asia, we decided to open our first new concept store in 2024 in Hong Kong. The choice of reopening the IFC mall came quite naturally, as it was our very first shop in Asia,” he said. The timing was perfect, as Grenade thinks the economy has picked up and the diverse collections of BA&SH suit the contemporary yet playful demographic of women in Hong Kong. “The store opening, together with laser-focused integrated marketing strategy, will definitely help accelerate the growth of brand awareness and momentum of the brand,” he added. “We want to make a bold statement of our unique branding and to sustain the mid- to long-term success.” Future-proofing the brand Grenade said that in an inflationary environment, consumers have many brands to choose from. So, that’s why he is committed to keeping the brand’s existing customers and bringing them into the stores and building on their loyalty. He plans to make stores a more premium and elevated experience. In Europe, the US and Asia, the brand plans to open more flagship stores. He believes the brand’s success is due to its inherent ‘omnichannel’ nature. “We had 61.7 per cent turnover internationally, 23.3 per cent in digital, 68.9 per cent in retail and 7.8 per cent in wholesale (660 wholesale customers, which included master franchises, department stores, onliners and multi-brands),” he noted. Grenade is betting big on artificial intelligence (AI) in training, with masterclasses on the basics of GenAI and its future impact. The brand will also be setting up learning platforms for prompting via generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs), and organizing internal hackathons to create GPTs. In terms of productivity, he aims to democratize the use of ChatGPT and other AI chatbots, and popularise copywriting tools via AI and the implementation of Microsoft Copilot (Excel, Word, Teams, etc), and even through the implementation of Adobe AI tools like Firefly and Photoshop. Even customer care would undergo a revolution, with the implementation of Klark.ai to provide responses to customers, along with Zendesk AI. Final thoughts Grenade is leaning towards a flagship strategy in key cities. The digital side of the business rakes in about 25 per cent of total sales currently, and he thinks this is a strong pillar for its development. “We have created a wardrobe that appeals to all ages, with a mix of different styles, with pieces that last and ones that you can keep from one season to the next. We’ve always imagined the ideal wardrobe, which makes our customers look their best, but above all, feel comfortable,” he stressed. Comfort without sacrificing style remains a priority at BA&SH. Grenade reiterated that whatever her age, the BA&SH woman is feminine, she has a personality, she’s free, independent, loves life and lives life to the fullest. “The success of the brand is also down to our teams that have been with us from the outset in our digital and environmental transformation. We’re most proud of the human adventure that is BA&SH,” he said. He noted that the founders of the brand wanted a family spirit to reign within the teams. Everyone is close-knit, and real friendships are forged. “When we organize parties, the old-timers are also there. It’s a very happy time. And if there are disagreements, as in all families, they usually end over a drink,” he added. Grenade said that the main aim of BA&SH co-founders Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief was to create a workplace where people would enjoy living because the team generally spends more time in the office than at home.  “BA&SH is a collective story. We’re moving forward together,” he concluded.