Online-only fashion retailer Grana takes aim at mainland China

Hong Kong online fashion retailer Grana has expanded into the mainland Chinese market via an official store on Tmall, eyeing China as one of its major markets next to the United States.

The expansion into the mainland follows its US$10 million series A funding led by the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, a non-profit initiative by e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba, last October. Alibaba is the owner of the Post.

Grana has built a name for itself in the online fashion industry by cutting out the middleman – it manufactures and sells clothes directly to customers via its online-only model. This allows Grana to sell clothing made out of expensive fabrics such as silk or cashmere at an “honest” price to customers, according to chief executive Luke Grana.

Its business model has proven a hit with customers. Grana’s revenue grows at about 15 per cent each month, with 60 per cent of sales coming from its existing customers. The average Grana customer orders from the brand three times a year.

“We’ve been working closely with [Alibaba] over the last year getting ready for this launch,” said Grana, who unveiled the brand in 2014. Grana will launch its online store on Tmall, Alibaba’s retail platform.

“We [expect] that the US and China are going to be two big e-commerce markets that will generate at least 50 per cent of our sales.”