A Little Introduction to the World of Li & Fung

In these early morning hours in which I find reprieve from our thus far busy schedule I am going to do a little housekeeping and recap a few of our latest adventures...

After a goodnight sleep after our arrival to Hong Kong we awoke bright and early to visit the Li & Fung headquarters where we were graciously hosted by Deborah Vinson, Marc Compagnon, Rick Darling, and Mable Chan. After a delicious lunch consisting of authentic Chinese dishes, Marc introduced LF Trading to the group and talked about the importance of sourcing and the strategic role that Li & Fung plays by leveraging its network of people and specialized knowledge to drive down cost in sourcing retail. By far LF Trading is the largest company under the Li & Fung Group, responsible for generating approximately 70-80% of the organizations operating income. Next Rick Darling of LF USA discussed the ongoing transformations within Li & Fung and the move into product design with the creation of LF USA, located in New York, during 2004. The last presenter of the day was Mable Chan who talked about investor relations and the annual corporate results for 2009 while providing guidance for 2010. Lastly, we were guided through the corporate office and their amazing show rooms which almost resembled a shopping center.

               Marc briefly demonstrating the number LF Trading partners

                    Rick discusses career opportunities within LF USA

For dinner we were invited for cocktails at Posto Publico, owned by Rick Darling's son, and then were broken into two groups which visited two different restaurants owned by Bruce, the President of Li & Fung. My group ate supper at this place called Red Soho which words alone could not describe. Red Soho was stunning and unbelievable, customer service was impeccable and the social atmosphere full of life.

Once again we would like to thank everyone who has made this trip possible!

~Michael Nemmetz and Brian Reinke

Sunday Sightseeing! Day 4 - Abby and Caitlin

Today we met Mr. and Ms. Fang, two Badger Alumni who do brand management for retaliers such as Steve Madden, Nine West, and many other popular brands in the States and in China.  We then went sightseeing all day.  We started out by vising the Big Budda which is massive and has 250 steps leading up to Budda.  Stanley Markets, on Hong Kong Island, was our second stop, one of the wealthiest parts of this area. We drove by Jackie Chan's house but it was tucked way back to where we couldn't really see it.  Stanley Makets was pretty busy and just a big marketplace to eat, drink, and bargin shop.  The last stop for the day was the Peak, the highest point on Hong Kong Island.  It was a beautiful sight, but very foggy today.

Afterward, there was a light show on Hong Kong Island, viewable from the part of Hong Kong where we are staying, on the other side of the harbor,  There is a music and the skyscrapers lights are coordinated to change colors with the music.  To end the day we went on a harbor cruise which was a very pretty show of all the lights.  We had a very full day but got to see some amazing sights of Hong Kong.

Whitney & Kelly VG, Hellooo from Hong Kong, Day 3

Today was yet again a day filled with new experiences and adventures! 

One of my favorite parts was passing the Victoria Harbor/Port here in Hong Kong.  It is today the largest port in the WORLD and enables China, the world's factory, to export all the goods it produces via sea to every corner of developed nations.  It transports 23,900,000 trailers annually, with an average turnaround of a mere 10 hours per trailer.  Impressive.

We also got the chance to visit the Big Buddha statue and appreciate a little bit of authentic Chinese culture.

We ended the evening with a boat cruise after the city's famous light show.  Did we mention we feel extremely privileged to be on this trip?  Thank you UW, KOHLS, and Li & Fung!

Sherry and Stephanie- Day 3

Day 3 was very exciting. After hearing a couple of presentations about Toy's R Us we were invited to view one of the most profitable stores in Hong Kong. The Toy's R Us stores are all about the experience and creating "WOW" for its consumers. This concept was clearly demonstrated in the stores amazingly eye capturing displays. After visiting TRU and some of the other trinity brands owned by L&F, a group of us decided to get lunch at an authentic Chinese restaurant, House of Jasmine. After lunch several of us explored the city and went shopping. We visited the Ladies Market and Allan Jewelers to buy some pearls and other souvenirs for our friends and family. Today was an great day where we were let loose to explore the city on our own.

March 25

Today was a day full of excitement.  We woke up from a good nights rest and headed down to the breakfast buffet in our hotel.  There were so many options to choose from, but most people seemed to gravitate towards the pancakes, fruit and omelets.  After breakfast we finished getting ready and loaded the bus for our first visit to Li and Fung.

During our presentation today we heard from the president of LFUSA and one of the other directors of LF here in Hong Kong.  We couldn't believe that these two gentlemen took time out of their day to meet with our group, and we greatly appreciate all of the knowledge they shared with us.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this giant company, it is the leading supply chain manager in the world.  It has over 2,000 customers, and they said if you visit a mall, roughly 30-40% of those retailers are their customers.  Some of their customers include Kohl's, Sears, Wal-Mart, Express, Lands' End, and Toys R US.  The company recently entered the cosmetic/beauty business, and view this market as a huge opportunity for the company to continue their tremendous growth.   

After our meeting, we changed and had dinner with our group and some LF employees.  The food was absolutely delicious.  Thank you LF and Kohl's for such an amazing day!  

Kristi and Megan