Collection Includes Suits, Dress Shirts, Outerwear And Sportswear#
Lincs by David Chu
This past May, Nautica founder and designer David Chu announced that he would be relaunching his Lincs men’s collection -- originally a golf line that debuted in 2006 -- for fall with a new management team, new, more sophisticated designs and major expansion both in the United States and abroad. As part of the brand's expansion plan, Lincs made its debut in China on June 8 through a partnership with Tri-State Holdings Ltd., organizing a launch event in Shanghai complete with a full runway show. At that time, Chu told WWD that he hoped to have the Lincs line for sale "in 25 to 30 department stores in major Chinese cities" by the fall.
Since then, a few additional details about the progress Lincs has made in China have trickled out. The collection, which is distinctly more tailored and sophisticated than its original, golf-centered roots, is apparently doing well in the mainland China market, as the company recently announced that it will open flagship locations in high-end shopping malls in Beijing and Shanghai this fall and winter. As WWD wrote in May, Lincs stores in China will range between 600-800 square feet and "replicate the company’s townhouse in the Flatiron District in New York City."
To date, there has been no word whether Lincs plans to open free-standing locations in China, but more recently, perhaps indicating the label's confidence in its expansion efforts, David Chu has said that he plans to have 100 locations in mainland China by 2014.