Céline Dion Collection tops $10 million sales, eyes Asia growth

Reporting from Hong Kong —  It’s not yet been a full year since singing legend Céline Dion launched her eponymous bag and accessories line, but after an initial launch in North America, the brand is mapping out ambitions to cultivate the Asian market.

Innee-Sedona International, the Asia partner for Bugatti Group which co-owns of the Celine Dion Collection, said with sales that have topped $10 million after just three collections, the company is now setting up an Asian distribution network in earnest.

“Celine, her fanbase is worldwide,” Jennifer Chan, Innee-Sedona managing director said, speaking at Hong Kong Fashion Week. “We can see in Hong Kong a lot of people know her and we were surprised. In China, a lot of people may not know her name but they know her songs as she was in the 2013 Spring Gala with Song Zuying.”

Dion took the stage for CCTV’s annual New Year Gala special, one of the most widely watched programs on Chinese television, singing in Mandarin.

Positioned slightly below Michael Kors and Coach, the collection is also expected to get some uplift in the region as the singer begins an international tour. Last week, she announced concerts across seven Asian cities starting in June.

“At the moment, she’s not going to mainland China but we’re trying to encourage her. She’s already announced all her other dates,” Gary Gardner, a director at Innee-Sedona said. “It’s going to be perfect for us. [Concert] merchandise is a separate thing but we’ll try to utilize the publicity surrounding the tour to leverage everything else on the market and branding.”