Since opening its first boutique in China's fashion capital, Shanghai, the Italian brand discovered it has a long road ahead to cultivating the market.
"I am not happy to be on the frontier in the market. It is a difficult job," says company CEO David Fischer.
He says that he would prefer to compete head-to-head with other European brands here, because local consumers are largely unknowledgeable when it comes to fur. If there were several European brands marketing fur to Chinese, the market would mature much faster. But for now, it's a one-company crusade.
The brand opened its wholly owned boutique in a two-storey villa on Shanghai's high-end shopping street, Hengshan Road, selling garments at prices ranging from 50,000 yuan to 1 million yuan.
Henry Fischer made its China debut at the 2006 Shanghai Fashion Week. David Fischer, grandson of the brand founder, is in charge of the business' global development.
Even though Shanghai is thought of as a warm southern city, Henry Fischer selected the metropolis as the launch pad for the company's China operation, because fur coats are less about staying warm than showing elegance, beauty and richness.
"I am selling fashion. If I want to build up the fashion image, I ought to start the business in Shanghai, although the city may not have the highest sales figures compared with other northern cities," Fischer says.
He says that in Shanghai, he can sell fur products in spring, winter and autumn. Summers will be spent displaying creative concepts for fur garments, including bikinis.
The brand plans to open a Beijing store soon.
The CEO has travelled most of China's northern cities, including Harbin, Shenyang, Dalian and Taiyuan in all of which fur coats are in high demand.
"I don't want to get into the competition of the local market," Fischer says. "Many of them (local fur coat providers) sell fur like vegetables. All the shops are the same. They fight for volume by cutting prices."
The company says that as the world's top fur brand, it is less concerned about making money in China than laying the foundation for long-term development here.
"We want to build up the brand's image, which is a guarantee of high quality and modern design," he says. "What we want is customers' respect, appreciation and trust."
Fischer says the company is not so arrogant as to wholly own all shops in China and that it will work with local partners in many cities. The company calls the strategy "glo-cal," which stands for a combination of global and local approaches.
China is different from province to province, and Henry Fischer needs both a national and local outlook. The high-end fur market is a business based on trust, and customers are more likely to trust people from their own region.
With more than 100 points of sales in Europe, the brand will maintain its globally uniform interior decoration in its stories in China, presenting the latest designs from its headquarters while maintaining the same level of service.
One of the biggest challenges it will face is training local staff.
"We sell not only garments, but also feelings. Sales staff should fully understand such a feeling," Fischer says.
He points out as an example a common mistake made by many salespeople: When shoppers select against a coat, the salesperson will throw the coat on the counter and retrieve another.
"A fur coat is as expensive as a car. How can you do that? We have to teach staff how to work in a luxury fur shop. You work slowly. You don't run," Fischer explains.
Fischer believes that in China today, fur is a word-of-mouth business. The best advertising for him now is when one woman wears a Henry Fischer fur coat to a dinner where the women she's dining with wear other fur coats, and the difference is immediately apparent.
Henry Fischer guarantees its products are of top quality, because it tailors fur coats according to the most antique standards. The company says that it demonstrates sophisticated tastes and continuously researches the most precious materials.
The brand combines the experience of more than one-hundred years in the fur business with the style and innovation of Italian fashion.
The company acquires its raw materials mainly from the world's largest fur auction house, the Purple Club of Kopenhagen Fur.
