“It’s really the next level for us,” Richardos Klarén, Our Legacy’s CEO, says from his office in Stockholm. The stylish Swedish label, which was founded by Jokum Hallin and Cristopher Nying in 2005 (Klarén joined a couple of years later), is embarking on a new phase of expansion. This month, it will open its biggest store yet in Shanghai, China.
But they’re not going in alone. Dongliang, the pioneering multi-brand concept store, will act as Our Legacy’s operational partner in the country. Founded in 2009, the retailer’s business comprises 15 stores across China, as well as lifestyle concepts including a restaurant, a tea house, and a flower shop. Our Legacy already partnered with the retailer as one of its stockists in China, and has a permanent space in its Maison Dongliang location.
By joining forces on the brand’s own store, which will operate as a franchise business, Dongliang is able to elevate its international portfolio and tap into the Swedish brand’s cult following. Meanwhile, Our Legacy gets a trusted name on the ground with serious retail know-how. “We understood quite quickly that teaming up with the right partners is super important and we felt very comfortable with their expertise in the market [here],” Klarén says over Zoom.
Though this will be Our Legacy’s first store in China, the label has been developing its business in the region for over a decade. Its first wholesale account in the country was 10 Corso Como Shanghai in 2015, though it wasn’t until 2018 that the brand began actively investing through relationships with leading local retailers like SKP, I.T, Lane Crawford, and Assemble. “That was an important turning point for us,” says Klarén, adding that in the years since, China has evolved from an emerging market “into a meaningful and strategically important part of the business”.
.jpg)
