UK-based business consultancy BrandCap launches Hong Kong office

UK-based business consultancy BrandCap has expanded into Asia with an office in Hong Kong – its second international office following a New York launch in 2016.

Operating as a ‘next generation business consultancy’ at the intersection of strategy, branding and management consulting, and founded by ex-Interbrand consulting leader Manfred Abraham, the London-headquartered firm BrandCap has since its 2013 inception made rapid inroads into the UK market – achieving ‘scale-up’ status as one of the less than one per cent of companies which have annually increased their turnover by over 20 percent over a three-year period.

In line with that growth, BrandCap has now launched a new office in Hong Kong, its first foray into Asia and second global office following an expansion to New York in 2016. Since its arrival in the US, the consulting firm has managed to bag a range of big-name clients such as Cognizant, the Radisson Hotel Group, Randstad, and Ralph Lauren. According to the firm, BrandCap’s launch in Greater China similarly comes on the back of increasing client demand.

With lines in brand strategy and implementation, business and digital strategy, consumer insights, market evaluation, marketing, and customer experience among its integrated offerings, and a focus on the hospitality & travel, retail & consumer, luxury, financial services, education, technology & telecommunications, and property sectors, BrandCap can already count luxury department store Lane Crawford and leading property developer Base among its Greater China clientele.

“Greater China is an extremely exciting market. The fast growing economy means interesting businesses are being created across many of the sectors in which we specialise including luxury, property development, hospitality, education and financial services, said BrandCap founder and CEO Manfred Abraham, who along with London-based BrandCap director Giorgio Rondelli will now spend his time split between the firm’s Hong Kong and London offices.

Abraham continued: “With our existing market experience combined with our sector expertise we believe that we can fill the large gap for strategic brand consultancy that currently exists in Greater China. Moreover, with offices now spanning 12 time zones we can now work more effectively and efficiently for clients, with an always-on service when required.”

In addition to leadership support from Abraham and Rondelli, the new Hong Kong office will be led by Michelle Lai in a senior director role and associate director James Harrison, the latter who will oversee major accounts such as Lane Crawford. Lai has for the past ten years led the fashion brand MISCHA as its founder and creative director, while Harrison is among BrandCap’s founding team, himself a former senior consultant with Interbrand and one-time marketing executive for Accenture. 

According to the firm, BrandCap will offer Chinese clients its ‘proprietary consultancy combining commercial acumen with creative thinking designed to transform organisational performance’, with five practices areas centred around strategy, experience, culture, innovation, campaigns and marketing activation. With Cognizant, the Big Four and Grant Thornton listed among its global client roster, BrandCap can also lay claim to being a consultant’s consultancy.