The brothers opted to design their own shoes while selling them at affordable prices. This made them realise the potential of designing their own in-house products and creating a brand that consumers could identify with – leading to the creation of the Charles & Keith brand. However, just after a few months of running the business, they quickly observed that while selling wholesale shoes provided a cost advantage, the lack of uniqueness meant limited growth. Starting out as a ladies footwear store in Singapore’s Amara Shopping Centre in 1996, brothers Charles and Keith Wong ran the store just like any other shoe store – procuring China- and Malaysia-made shoes from the same wholesalers as their competitors and then retailing them in-store. How did Charles & Keith manage to grow its company operations and global brand so quickly? This article serves to unravel this amazing and unusual journey. Within a mere 22 years of inception, it is operating more than 600 stores with over 5,000 employees across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and Africa. Today, Charles & Keith continues to inspire and excite with its experimental and unparalleled designs. In the last quarter of 2018, it launched an e-commerce hub in the UK as its first push into the European market. The brand has also begun its foray into locations such as Macau’s The Venetian and pop-up stores in Galeries Lafayette in Paris in the past three years. The brand is recognised for its curated collections of relevant fashion designs available at affordable and accessible price points.Ī lifestyle brand that embraces a culture of innovation, the brand has established a presence in prominent fashion cities such as Seoul, Shanghai and Dubai. I was grateful.Founded in Singapore in 1996, Charles & Keith is a fast-fashion retailer of high-quality, stylish footwear and accessories including bags, eyewear and costume jewellery catered to modern Asian women. He was encouraging me to get some more other than bags but that’s all I wanted. I intentionally scheduled my bag shopping on my last morning in Singapore when my sons would be resting. But I admire those who own and carry luxury bags. Or a sprinkle of water accidentally drops on my bag. I can’t see myself worrying over a bag when a drizzle unexpectedly comes. The most that I have are in the price range of a Charles & Keith bag. I am now using orthotic shoes and insoles for my plantar fasciitis so I have resigned myself to no longer wearing these dainty-looking footwear. I thought they were expensive in Seoul compared to their prices in the Philippines.īut much as I want to buy shoes from Charles & Keith, I now can’t. Come to think of it, I never bought Charles & Keith shoes back in Seoul because I always thought of buying them in the Philippines. I have compared the price from the store’s branches here in Jakarta. I knew it was my chance of getting them at a lower price since Charles & Keith is cheaper in Singapore. When our family scheduled a trip to Singapore, I made sure buying from the brand is part of our itinerary. The perception of whether a thing is expensive or not is relative to our circumstances. Well, it was expensive for me when I was still working in the Philippines. Regardless of whether it is a luxury brand or not, I have always liked it. I gave a Charles & Keith bag to my OB-Gyne in the Philippines when she waived her professional fee when I gave birth to my second son. Is Charles & Keith cheaper in Singapore? Charles & Keith is a homegrown brand so, yes, it is.Įven before the brouhaha over that sweet girl Zoe’s tiktok video, I have always liked Charles & Keith’s bags and shoes.
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