Joe Wong

I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunities to work in both global companies of international fashion brands and department store environments in my career, thus I have gained a wide spectrum of expertise in consumer-centricity and building business strategies and brand equity in the Greater China and Asia markets.

I spent the first 15 years of my retail career working at Lane Crawford, where I was one of the two SVPs when I left. I oversaw the department stores for retailing curated merchandise in the categories of cosmetics, ready-to-wear, footwear, fine jewelry, handbags, accessories, and home furnishings. Concurrently, I was also the Managing Director of ImagineX and Walton Brown group, a management arm of Lane Crawford group to work with international brands as their franchise partner and distributor, such as Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, YSL, and Elizabeth Arden cosmetics in the Greater China region.

My next chapter was at Gucci as the President of Gucci Greater China for 6.5 years. With full P/L responsibility, I carried out a holistic strategic review and set out a strategic roadmap for each market. In addition to formulating merchandising, go-to-market strategies, CRM, and branding campaigns to drive comparable-store growth and exponential growth through POS network expansion and market penetration, my strategic makeover plans also included the creation of execution capabilities, staff structure, and operational SOP. I led the team to work with the headquarters to leverage global marketing assets, plus local customization if needed, to execute aspirational marketing to create desirability and emotional connection between consumers and Gucci.

I had been based in Nanjing China for 2 years taking the helm at House of Fraser China and Hamleys China before joining MCM in March 2018 as the Asia President. At MCM, I had full P/L responsibility for managing the Greater China and Asia markets covering all distribution channels, namely direct-operating stores, travel retail, e-commerce/social-commerce, and franchise operations. As part of a strategy makeover, I acted to take over franchise operations in key cities in China and launched social commerce and other digital marketing initiatives.

As a strategic, visionary, and hands-on operational leader with fully-fledged experience in the Greater China and Asia markets, I have a track record of building businesses from scratch and taking businesses to the next level using my professional knowledge and resources, critical thinking, and a P/L savvy approach to manage businesses.