Switch on the television and if you are a fashion freak, you may find your attention drawn to the catwalk, where young and good-looking people parade around and show the world how trends are changing.
Tom John Or-Paz, vice-president of business development for FashionTV
But FashionTV is more than a cable channel these days. It’s taking its brand to the next level and introducing new products across the world.
The company is now planning to put its familiar ‘f’ and diamond logo on places to stay, with F Hotels and F Residences and Resorts ready to welcome fashionistas and urban professionals seeking a sophisticated lifestyle. Its main target is Asia, where fashion awareness is rising with disposable incomes, and the number of wealthy potential customers is high.
The hotels division next month will make its Asian debut with the Love F Hotel Legian on Bali, the first of three properties planned in Indonesia.
FashionTV currently has about 35 projects under negotiation and expects many of them to be launched by 2020. Several will be in Asia including residential towers planned in India (Pune in 2017 and New Delhi in 2018) and Dubai in 2019.
“We are now in discussions for expansion within these regions, in particular Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and China,” said Tom John Or-Paz, vice-president of business development.
FashionTV Cafes, first launched in 1994 and employing more than 400 people with some 200,000 customers worldwide, also are gearing up for expansion.
“We have several Café & Club locations in Bangkok, Tokyo, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Singapore, and are in the process of opening in Pattaya, Guangzhou and more,” he said. “This shows our popularity in Asia, where we have more than 200 million TV viewers.”
The Love F Hotel Legian on Bali is the first of three properties planned by FashionTV in Indonesia.
The Bangkok-based architecture and interior design firm Marques and Jordy created the extravagant concept for the F Hotel Dubai. It envisions a 60-storey high-rise tower in the form of a rotated, extruded diamond, with hotel rooms around the edge and all public areas in the central atrium space. The diamond entrance opens onto a catwalk-style runway.
Amenities would include retail shops, a nightclub, spa, gym, photo studio, sky lounges and bar, all-day dining outlet, a themed restaurant and four different types of guest rooms — silver, gold, platinum and diamond — for “an extravagantly stylish stay”.
Unlike hotel-based branded residences such as Ritz, Hilton and W Hotel, FashionTV provides the developer with the licence to use the brand name and logos in the development, as well as exterior and interior design manuals, he explained.
To increase sales, FashionTV uses its television channels and online marketing such as Facebook, Google+ and other social media to promote the brand. Parties and fashionable VIP events are also staged to create buzz for a property.
FashionTV does not operate the residences but allows the developer to choose a manager. The only condition it insists on is that the developer and the operator maintain the property as a fashionable, luxurious brand, he said.
The company stresses that F Residences are intended to help a developer differentiate a project and position it as a leader of fashion and luxury. “The target clientele are all fashion-conscious people that want fashionable apartments as a part of their lifestyle,” he said.
The strong FashionTV brand, he added, will help properties to sell more quickly, increases real estate value, and allows developers to acquire prime locations.