RAINFOREST's First Store Grand Opening in Hangzhou, China

Hangzhou, CHINA – October 18, 2011 – RAINFOREST officially opened its first store last Friday 10/14 in the Hangzhou Tower Shopping City located in downtown Hangzhou, China. The New York-based high-end outerwear company, founded by CEO Jack Wu, specializes in technologically innovative fabrics used in their fashionable outerwear with timeless appeal. “We chose Hangzhou as the location for RAINFOREST’s first store because the area is full of affluent and wealthy consumers who we believe would like the RAINFOREST product” says Wu.

The RAINFOREST store in Hangzhou, China is a lifestyle brand selling cashmere sweaters, blazers, trousers, woven sports shirts and of course, outerwear. The store is located on the 3rd floor of Building B of the Hangzhou Tower Shopping City. The floor mainly caters to menswear with other international and American up scale brands such as Brooks Brothers, Gant and Lacoste. Although selling mainly menswear, RAINFOREST still offers women’s outerwear in the store.

The grand opening consisted of a special ribbon cutting ceremony with local violin performers. Wu, Daisy Wu (co-founder of Rainforest), Alan Bindler (RAINFOREST menswear designer), Xinggao Guo (Vice President and General Manager of Hangzhou Tower Shopping City) cut the ribbon along with many others. Afterwards the event was followed by a press release conference with dozens of digital, print, and television reporters held at the bar area of the Hangzhou Tower Shopping City. Wu and Bindler gave a presentation introducing RAINFOREST as a brand and its design concept along with demonstrations using live models.

RAINFOREST outerwear combines functionality and fashion giving the final product the luxury of fine craftsmanship along with timeless appeal. “We’ve taken traditional outerwear and put new twists in them. For example we took a traditional duffle coat and cut in a waterproof, windproof, and breathable fabric and added on a snorkel hood shielding the face” explains Bindler. “We’ve taken very active jackets and refined them by giving them leather trims and higher-end elements. We take rugged pieces and explore different fabric treatments like making them look more ‘vintaged’ and polished so that everything meets in the middle and defines our brand’s DNA.”

The RAINFOREST store in Hangzhou, China offers outerwear including cloth and wool prices ranging from $400-$1000 (¥2500-¥6500), leather $1100-$1500 (¥7000-¥10,000), blazers $1100-$1500 (¥7000-10,000), woven sport shirts $200-$300 (¥1500-¥2000), cashmere sweaters $300-$800 (¥2000-¥5000), trousers $300-$450 (¥2000-¥3000), and women’s outerwear $400-$1050 (¥2500-¥7000).

Since the grand opening, sales have been promising. “We are on the drawing board now, hoping to expand to 3-5 more stores in China by next fall” says Wu. “China is one of the largest emerging markets. It’s where things are happening”

WWD Article - October 20, 2011

Rainforest Opens China Store

By Jean E. Palmieri

Local performers helped welcome the store to Hangzhou, China.

Photo By Courtesy Photo

Rainforest cut the ribbon on its first retail store Oct. 14 in the Hangzhou Tower Shopping City in Hangzhou, China.

“We chose Hangzhou as the location for Rainforest’s first store because the area is full of affluent and wealthy consumers who we believe would like the Rainforest product,” said Jack Wu, chief executive officer and founder of the New York-based outerwear company.

Since the opening, Wu said customers have responded to the lightweight outerwear, sweaters, wovens and blazers. Although Rainforest only sells outerwear in America, the company produced an entire lifestyle collection for the Hangzhou store. Wu said he may eventually offer the expanded product assortment to his retail customers in the U.S. as well.

Wu said that since the grand opening, business at the 1,000-square-foot shop has been promising. “We’re a very unknown name there, but so far, we’re very pleased,” he said.

In addition to the ribbon cutting, the grand opening included a press conference and a performance by local violinists.

Plans call for opening another five to six in-store shops in China by next fall. This will include a location in Beijing.

“China is one of the largest emerging markets,” Wu said. “We’re looking at this as a test and will learn from it.”

WWD Article - July 28, 2011