Opinion | Giant slayer: How Sham Kar-wai wants to conquer mainland

Unlike many fashion moguls, I.T's chairman and founder Sham Kar-wai is a modest, low-profile man, who generally steers clear of public appearances.

He recently made an exception, however, for the celebration of his company's 10th anniversary on the mainland, which was held at a venue near Shanghai's hip Xintiandi complex. Sham went unnoticed at the event as he made his way through the crowds dressed in a beige jacket, a blue button down shirt and jeans. When the fashion show and performance started, he took a seat among celebrities that included Zhou Xun and Shawn Yue, but slipped away quietly as soon as it was over.

You wouldn't think Sham is one of Asia's most powerful fashion figures. Recently named among the top 25 most influential Chinese in global fashion by Forbes China, he is also the mastermind behind the burgeoning I.T fashion empire, which boasts multi-label boutiques I.T and i.t, as well as 10 in-house and licensed brands including Izzue, b+ab, 5cm and Chocoolate.

As of February this year, the company recorded net profits of HK$471 million, up 22 per cent from the previous year.

Sham opened his first boutique at the age of 21. "At that time I had no mission, I just wanted to open a store to fulfil my dreams. I have loved fashion since I was a teenager and wanted to gather some friends and bring things that we liked to wear to Hong Kong. At that time the market didn't have so many choices for young teenagers - there were lots of mass market and luxury brands but nothing in between, just like China was 10 years ago," he says.

The company's first boutique, a 200 sq ft space, opened in Causeway Bay in 1998. It was an immediate hit with young locals who would later prove to be I.T's core customers. Soon I.T gained a reputation for its edit of avant-garde labels like Julius, Ann Demeulemeester and Isabel Marant, differentiating it from luxury department stores.