HONG KONG: FutureBrand has opened an office in Shanghai, giving it
a foothold in China, where it is also considering a presence in
Beijing.
Matthew de Villiers, Asia-Pacific managing director, said a Beijing
office will depend on client need.
FutureBrand's entry into Shanghai completes the backbone of regional
operations the branding consultancy had set out to achieve in its first
year of operations in the region. Next on its agenda is a presence in
India, a target it has set for next year. "There is strong interest from
large Indian companies. India seems quite sophisticated in its
understanding of branding, more so than the other Asian countries."
FutureBrand is undertaking its expansion through organic growth and
acquisitions, which included its purchase of Mebourne's FHA Image
Design.
FutureBrand's expansion comes at a time when other international
branding companies have been equally busy plugging operational gaps in
Asia.
But compared to rivals like Enterprise IG and Landor, FutureBrand is a
relative newcomer to Asia-Pacific.
It only established a physical presence here at the end of last year,
when de Villiers relocated to Singapore from the UK to spearhead the
expansion.
But de Villiers said the company had been active in Asia for the past
three to four years, handling Asia-Pacific assignments out of its New
York and London offices. Along with Shanghai, it has a presence in
Australia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
It was encouraged to move into the region based about USdollars 15
million worth of business achieved each year on the back of what de
Villiers termed as opportunitist projects from long-term relationships
with clients.
