How one startup is building a fast-growing fashion ecommerce business out of Hong Kong

As a startup, it’s easy to gloss over Hong Kong if you don’t fit in fintech, IoT or education, Hong Kong’s reputed top startup industries.

But in 2015, within the lifestyle, logistics and ecommerce industries – all very much related sectors – Hong Kong startups gained 14 investments worth over $40 million. One startup experiencing the knock-on effects of these types of investments in Hong Kong is ecommerce fashion brand, Grana.

Grana’s story

Luke Grana had the entrepreneurial itch long before he started Grana, opening a coffee bar in Sydney at the age of 21. After building his coffee chain business from ground up and learning from the experience, he sold the business in 2008.

He then started ChargePoint, one of Australia’s first electric vehicle charge point networks. His time at ChargePoint taught him the value of timing; in 2008, electric vehicles were only used by starry-eyed early adopters with a penchant for the environment. After ChargePoint, Luke started looking for greener pastures.

Ecommerce was something he thought of tackling for a long time. “Even in the beginning as a customer,” he said, “I thought fashion was an inefficient business model. Someone needed to come in and do it differently.”

During a holiday while visiting his brother in Peru, he discovered Peruvian Pima Cotton. After bringing samples back to his family and friends, who loved its unique quality and feel, Luke started Grana with the idea of only selling Peruvian pima cotton t-shirts.

Realizing that there was much more potential in the material than just manufacturing t-shirts, Luke decided that a rich fabric lineage could become a brand story and mark for an apparel company, where each material used has a different back story. Chinese Silk, Mongolian Cashmere, Irish Linen, Japanese Denim, French Poplin, Italian Merino Wool and Italian Microfibre are now a part of growing list of fabrics from around the world that Grana sources for its clothing.

Grana’s co-founder and COO Pieter Paul Wittgen was Grana’s first investor, and came on board after meeting Luke and understanding the simplicity of Luke’s vision.

Our goal is to create a better product at a better price.

Pieter said, “a lot of startups are trying to introduce a new technology, app or software that doesn’t exist yet — our goal is to create a better product at a better price. It’s a simple model that is focused on execution. Meeting Luke and seeing his ability to execute was a huge vote of confidence for me. It was a good match also for me as well, coming from a corporate finance background where I saw the value in Luke’s experienced entrepreneurial background.”

How Grana is using its strategic location in Hong Kong to its advantage

Finding funding for ecommerce in Hong Kong

Grana’s founders on building an ecommerce brand online

What’s next for Grana?