Amazing appetite for French luxuries (hktdc.com)


	Fabien Roiron is grateful for the chance Hong Kong gave his business

Enterprising Frenchman Fabien Roiron has a head for business, and an eye for beauty.

He wanted to promote the best of France to the up-and-coming wealthy of the Chinese mainland, and knew Hong Kong was the place to do it. Through his publishing company Amazing Publications Ltd, Mr Roiron has partnered with the top French brands in introducing prestige products to luxury-hungry Chinese consumers.

It began in 2001 when the aspiring entrepreneur left his studies in Japan to come to Hong Kong. "I wanted to start my own business, and friends in Hong Kong told me it was super easy to set up there," Mr Roiron explained.

Within three days he'd landed a job at the French Chamber of Commerce. His work involved meeting with top executives from leading French brands such as Hermès, Cartier, Dior, Chanel, Christofle and Baccarat, which all had a strong presence in Hong Kong, and an idea began to take shape.

First mover advantage

It was a time of unprecedented prosperity in China, and the nouveau riche were splurging on all things luxurious, Mr Roiron explained. He decided to position himself for a first mover advantage.

Amazing Publications Ltd was formed in 2003, initially as a high-end travel company for mainland tourists, but Mr Roiron "gave up on that idea" when he realised it was products they wanted. This led to the creation of an eponymous luxury lifestyle magazine, launched in 2005.

Amazing France is a Chinese-only publication distributed where the wealthy gather: golf clubs, marina clubs, five-star hotels, and so on. True to the original business concept, the magazine remains "all about France", showcasing its famous wine, food, cheese, travel, fashion and all things luxurious. "We are in effect branding our French lifestyle," Mr Roiron said.

The entrepreneur "decided to take a risk" by accepting only those advertisers who were 100 per cent French luxury brands. "We wanted to educate Chinese consumers about the crème de la crème," Mr Roiron said. "We could accept only the best – there was no room for compromise."

More versions planned

China is one of the world's largest consumers of luxury goods, and is tipped to rank 3rd place (behind the US and Japan) by 2010. As French brands open or expand in the mainland, Amazing France sends a team from Hong Kong to cover it, further promoting the aspirational lifestyle.

Such has been the magazine's success that an Italian version, Amazing Italia, was launched in October, and Mr Roiron says more are planned.

Six years after arriving in Hong Kong, he's exactly where he wants to be, living the good life and enjoying success. Setting up the business was as easy as he'd been told, and the city's low taxes helped ensure that even a start-up could be profitable.

"The great thing about Hong Kong is that entrepreneurs are given a chance to start," Mr Roiron says. "People listen to what you want to do, and they encourage it. You can start with a little, and end up with a lot – that is the real beauty of Hong Kong."