How Nautica’s David Chu gave up retirement and created a hugely popular Beijing event space

After banking the lucrative proceeds from the sale of his self-founded brand, Nautica, designer-entrepreneur David Chu had a plan in place, to play golf as often as possible, and generally enjoy a life of leisure.

This early retirement scheme did not last long. Chu, just 49 at the time, realised that he still had a head full of ideas, with the requisite business knowledge and experience to implement them effectively. The Taiwan-born, America-raised amateur golfer was finding it difficult to find enough pals willing to devote a midweek day to hitting a small white ball around.

“I got little antsy after a month and a half after working for so long and decided I wanted to do something else, “ he recalls.

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“I love product, I love design, I love planning and love the strategy.”

Chu’s immediate scratch for that entrepreneurial itch was to start another leisure wear company, Lincs, which now has 20 stores in China; invest in promising businesses; later act as creative head for the luggage company Tumi and – most recently – acquire the century-old Danish jewellery and home ware brand, Georg Jensen, with a London-based investment company.

The brand was not well known in China until Chu hit on the idea of creating Jensen Hus, a Beijing showroom-restaurant-event space, located in a faux-imperial villa, a venue that underscored the brand’s exclusivity while, at the same time, bringing in a steady stream of revenue from fashion brands hiring the place for dinners, shows and conferences.

A contemporary art connection added to the building’s credentials as a temple of cool: Chu’s (romantic) partner of six years, Weng Ling, a major player on the national arts scene, holds significant exhibitions there, and organises informal salons featuring major names such as veteran rocker Cui Jian, renowned ballet dancer Shen Wei, and various artists, scientists and academics who excel in their respective fields.

Even the ever-ebullient Chu, 63, seems slightly surprised at how quickly, and emphatically, Jensen Hus became a must-book venue for luxury brands, bringing in the very kind of style-savvy, taste-conscious individuals who are likely to splash US$100,000 or more on acquiring Georg Jensen jewellery, cutlery champagne holders and vases.

Four unmissable Hong Kong fashion events in early December – catch the pop-ups while you can