Managing Creativity at Shanghai

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Managing Creativity at Shanghai Tang 1. What is Raphael le Masne’s vision for Shanghai Tang and what newspaper headlines concerning Shanghai Tang would he like to read 3 years from now? To create a luxury brand with historical Chinese cultural elements fashionable in both - Chinese and international market. Shanghai Tang has a loyal clientele of Europeans and Americans in many parts of the world, but Masne wanted the brand to be reckoned in the local Chinese market as well. In a span of three years, Raphael le Masne wants Shanghai Tang to be the number one luxury brand in China. 2. What are the key tensions and challenges at Shanghai Tang? How did they come about? 1. To provide the designers with a room to exhibit their creativity given the commercial considerations. 2. Need to shift its customer focus from European and American buyers to Chinese customers to expand its customer base. 3. The creative director of Shanghai Tang, Joanne Ooi, from the past 7 years is leaving the firm. Ooi, had felt that the rich 5000 year old history of Chinese culture would inspire designs that would appeal to the non-local buyers. This created a mismatch between the aspirations of local Chinese buyers and what was offered by Shanghai Tang as Chinese buyers were looking at Chinese products with a tinge of western taste. The designers at Shanghai Tang were bounded by the key elements of the ‘Shanghai Tang DNA’ which was acting as a hindrance to their creativity. 3. What advice would you give Raphael le Masne on managing creativity at Shanghai Tang? I would advise Raphael le Masne to use peer reviews and consultations between designers and the buyers to ensure that the creativity of designers and the buyers’ needs are well represented. Creating a new collection - seasonal collection, for the local buyers in Mainland China while maintaining the stable

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