The Macallan from Scotland leverages Hong Kong's international hub status in its global branding strategy

2024-06-04 12:40 Last Updated At：12:48

The macallan's global branding strategy: how hong kong's international hub status drives success

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced that The Macallan from Scotland yesterday (June 3) officially opened its new premium flagship retail concept store, The Macallan House, in the city's Central district as a long-term investment, recognising Hong Kong as an ultimate luxury destination in Asia.

The Director-General of Investment Promotion, Ms Alpha Lau, said "We are excited to see that The Macallan, a renowned global whisky brand, is coming to Hong Kong with such a marvelous shop. It is a huge investment that shows the company's confidence in Hong Kong's global status, and adds a premium choice for local whisky lovers and tourists from around the globe. I believe this will prove to be a good choice for The Macallan that will pay off in good business growth in future."

Located on Stanley Street, The Macallan House Hong Kong occupies 6 000 square feet of retail space across three floors, with five distinctive areas, including an exclusive retail space, a dining and exhibition area, a private engagement and entertainment lounge, a high-end bar and a showroom. The store blends nature and culture, offering guests an exceptional experience within an exclusive ambience of sight, scent, touch, taste, and sound for people to discover whisky expressions.

The flagship store is the first of a series of 22 new openings scheduled through 2024 across the globe, according to the Managing Director of North Asia of Edrington, Mr Jaime Martin. He said, "It is the start of our ambitious retail plan for the brand to showcase our craftsmanship and creativity across the globe."

Mr Martin continued, "Hong Kong is the ultimate luxury destination for a lot of people across China, Asia, and the world. This is a long-term investment for the brand, and it comes with historical roots; Hong Kong is the first city where we introduced The Macallan to Asia many years ago."

Creative Director at The Macallan, Mr Jaume Ferras, said "The Macallan House is unlike anything we have unveiled before - a unique place which captures our unwavering commitment to uncompromised excellence, and brings to life the innovation, creativity and connection to nature which have been at the heart of The Macallan for nearly 200 years."

Head of Retail at The Macallan, Ms Coral Gill, shared, "From the moment visitors step foot into The Macallan House, they will find themselves transported to the brand's home in Speyside, Scotland. The retail environment offers visitors an immersive, engaging experience to appreciate the incomparable offerings of The Macallan."

The Macallan House at 1 Stanley Street, Central, opened for business on May 11, 2024.

John Lee Leads Hong Kong Delegation to Strengthen Economic Ties with Qatar

2025-05-11 21:00 Last Updated At：05-12 00:08

CE leads delegation to begin visit programme to Qatar

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (May 11) led a business delegation comprising representatives from Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises to commence its visit programme to Qatar. He met with leaders and government officials of Qatar and leant about the latest development of the country's sovereign wealth fund. He also exchanged views with representatives of a local financial institution. He inspected Qatar's town planning and visited local cultural and tourism facilities.

In the morning, Mr Lee met respectively with the Amir of Qatar, Mr Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the head of state of Qatar; the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Mr Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani; and the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Mannai, to exchange views on strengthening bilateral relations and economic co-operation between Hong Kong and Qatar.

Mr Lee said that Qatar and Hong Kong are economic powerhouses in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region respectively. Noting that Qatar is Hong Kong's third-largest trading partner in the Middle East with bilateral trade in goods worth US$1.6 billion last year, Mr Lee said that there is plenty of room for further growth in trade and business between the two places. He also expressed his anticipation that during this visit, multiple memoranda of understanding and agreements will be made between Hong Kong and Qatar, covering various areas including trade and investment promotion, financial services, innovation and technology (I&T), and cultural tourism, with a view to further enhancing co-operation among the governments and institutions of the two places.

Mr Lee said that Hong Kong, as a functional platform of the Belt and Road Initiative, is committed to deepening international exchanges and co-operation and leveraging its strengths as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" to facilitate and add value to government and business projects along the Belt and Road through the city's world-class professional services. He also said that the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Belt and Road Initiative align in their values and aspirations for achieving high-quality development through all-round co-operation, embracing economic diversification and innovation, as well as fostering friendship and facilitating exchanges.

Mr Lee also highlighted that both Hong Kong and Qatar attach great importance to technological development and regard artificial intelligence as an engine of new economic development. He said he hoped that Hong Kong and Qatar would enhance collaboration through joint research and exchanges, joint ventures, and cross-border investments to achieve mutual benefits.

Mr Lee also visited Qatar Investment Authority this morning to learn about the development of Qatar's financial sector. Established in 2005, the Qatar Investment Authority is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. It manages and grows Qatar's financial assets, with an aim to diversify Qatar's economic development and ensure the country's long-term financial sustainability. Mr Lee received an in-depth briefing on the operation and investment strategies of the sovereign wealth fund, and explored with the Qatar Investment Authority the development and co-operation opportunities for both sides in finance and the economy.

In the afternoon, Mr Lee attended a luncheon hosted by an international financial group, where he gained insights into the group's analysis of Qatar's banking and financial services industry, as well as its capital markets.

Noting that Hong Kong, an international financial centre now moving towards also becoming an international green finance hub, Mr Lee said that last year the total amount of green and sustainable debt issued in Hong Kong exceeded US$84 billion, with green and sustainable bonds accounting for approximately US$43 billion. It captured around 45 per cent of the total Asian market, ranking first in the region for seven consecutive years. Mr Lee said that under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises complement each other's strengths, and that Hong Kong would give full play to its bridging role in attracting international investments to China and "going global" with Mainland enterprises. He welcomed Qatari enterprises to leverage Hong Kong's broad and deep capital markets, professional financial services and seamless connectivity with the Mainland market to raise international funds for their sustainable infrastructure projects.

Afterwards, Mr Lee led the delegation to visit Lusail City, the second-largest city in Qatar, to understand how the city integrates I&T with urban planning and infrastructure development. Lusail City is one of Qatar's flagship smart cities, focusing on information and communication technology, with the aim of developing into a model for intelligent living, urban evolution and diverse cultural landscapes. Mr Lee said that Hong Kong, as the world's third-largest financial centre, offers world-class professional services that can support Qatar's investment needs. He also noted that Hong Kong and Qatar can explore co-operation and exchanges in areas such as sustainable urban development.

Mr Lee will later visit the National Museum of Qatar to learn about the country's history and rich cultural heritage. The museum, which opened in 2019, is dedicated to vividly presenting the story of Qatar and its people in an innovative and immersive way.

The delegation led by Mr Lee will attend a dinner hosted by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the State of Qatar, Mr Cao Xiaolin. Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the Embassy for its strong support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Dubai, and for making meticulous arrangements for the visit.

Mr Lee will lead the delegation to continue its visit to Qatar tomorrow (May 12) to meet with local political and business leaders before departing for Kuwait.