Marimekko, the Finnish fashion and design company known for its original prints and colors since 1951, and The Finnish Business Council invited the Finnish community to celebrate Christmas at their flagship store within Capitol Piazza on Stamford Road in Singapore on Tuesday the 15th of December.
The free-of-charge event that started at 6 pm and lasted until 9 pm had the purpose of showing a multitude of corporate gifting ideas from the Marimekko products while the guests enjoyed refreshments and finger food. The FBC Corporate Member also had 10% off store wide. Among the attendees were the Ambassador of the Republic of Finland, Her Excellency Paula Parviainen.
Marimekko has over the past three years opened up stores in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan thereby doubling the number of stores in Asia, while giving the brand a presence in about 40 countries and 140 stores. Marimekko first entered into Southeast Asian market in Singapore and Bangkok with the intention to open more stores in Southeast Asia within the next few years. The flagship store in Singapore opened its doors in May and is 240 square meters. It was designed by a team of Marimekko interior designers in Helsinki.
“In our expansion, we have focused first and foremost on regions with high growth potential. The Asia-Pacific region is our second-largest market area, and we already have a fairly strong foothold in East Asia. Thus, expanding into Southeast Asia felt like a natural move,” Päivi Lonka, CSO of Marimekka said in a previous press release. “Singapore is a modern metropolis and very attractive to us, as it is considered one of the region’s top business hubs and shopping destinations.”
Earlier in the spring, in April, Thailand’s first Marimekko store was opened in Bangkok. The number of Marimekko stores outside Finland has more than doubled and in 2012, Marimekko and Finnair began a unique partnership: two Unikko-patterned aircraft fly from Helsinki to Finnair’s long-haul destinations, and passengers on all Finnair flights can enjoy textiles and tableware with Marimekko patterns.
“Marimekko creates clear products that do the job rather than complicated and fancy goods. People don’t want to be surrounded by anything unnecessary. At Marimekko, we work like the company belonged to all of us. You need to reach for the heights, but plain common sense has to be applied often rather than occasionally. Empty wishful thinking should not be cultivated at work – or in life,” is how Marimekko describes one of the brands six core values on their website.
In 2014, brand sales of the products worldwide amounted to EUR 187 million and the company’s net sales were EUR 94 million. The key markets are Northern Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. The Group employs about 500 people.
