British street fashion label Just Hype will open its debut Hong store in six weeks time, ahead of a mass retail rollout of up to 50 stores in China.
Founded in 2011 in England’s Leicester by three friends — Liam Green, Bav Samani and Vin Patel — Just Hype shot to fame for its youthful street-appeal.
SEE ALSO : Decathlon opens first store In Hong Kong
Since then, it’s been picked up by online retail giants Asos, Zalando and Next’s Label site, inked high-profile collaborations (Coca Cola being the most recent) and attracted a style following that includes Jay-Z, 50 Cent and model Cara Delevingne.
Just Hype already has eight standalone stores: three in the UK and five in Taiwan. But sees Europe and China as its next growth market.
“We are pushing Asia and mainland Europe right now and doing a deal in China for 50 Hype stores,” Just Hype’s co-founder and co-director, Bav Samani told British media.
While details of the Chinese retail push — dates, the locations and chosen licensing firm — were not disclosed, Asian customers will soon be able to shop Just Hype online and in their local currency.
“Within the next two weeks the Hype website will be able to accept all major currencies – rather than just sterling,” said Samani.
In the last 18 months, Just Hype turned over £24 million, a figure that is set to grow 25% over the next 18 months.
SEE ALSO : Pandora APAC sales up 34%, eyes 60 more China stores
It opened its Wigston-based head office a year-and-a-half ago, and has 54 staff there with a further 35 in Taiwan.
As well as its namesake stores, Just Hype is stocked in 2,500 stores worldwide – including Topman, John Lewis, Selfridges and House of Fraser – across 32 countries.
Looking ahead, the brand is working on a collaborative collection with Disney/Lucasfilm for a range slated to launch this autumn; potentially coinciding with its Hong Kong debut, whose opening date has not been released.