Abbacino grows in China

The Spanish bag brand with shops in Beijing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Xinjiang is now set to open more shop-in-shops in the Asian giant.

Abbacino’s fresh and trendy Mediterranean style has met with a warm welcome in China. In 2011, the Spanish bag brand opened its first shop in the country in top mall Shenzhen City Square, in the city of Shenzhen. After opening in Beijing, Tianjin and Xinjiang, the brand continues to grow in the Chinese market. “Growth prospects are excellent. In fact, we’ve signed dozens of deals to open retail corners all over the country which will make their debut this year”, explained Sebastià Vadell, managing director and co-founder of the Majorca-based brand.

To celebrate what Vadell has called Abbacino’s “societal debut” in China, catwalk shows took place on 20 and 21 May at the TIT Creative Industry Zone in Canton. Eighteen models graced the catwalk sporting brand bags inspired by the depths of the Mediterranean, in the case of the Spring-Summer 2013 collection, and romantic 19th-century gardens for the Autumn-Winter 2013/14 designs. The audience applauded the bright colours, bold material combinations and quality finishes of the bags, many of them made by hand.

Abbacino originated in 1982, although the accessories brand itself, which balances style with practicality, was not created until 1997. Today, the family firm, run by brothers Sebastià and Toni Vadell operates in more than 15 markets, including the USA, Italy, France, Russia, Japan and China. With more than 1,500 sales points around the world, Abbacino is on sale at top stores like Coin (Italy), Anthropologie (USA), Passito-Fricker (Switzerland) and Görtz (Austria). The brand is a regular at tradeshows Mipel (Milan), Pure London and ILM (Offenbach).