When Lucia Chong, managing director of Hong Kong exporter Neo-Fantastic Fashions Ltd, decided to test the company's first own brand - the elegant, predominantly monotone TantPourElle line - at a Beijing show in 2002, little did she suspect the chain of events being set in motion.

"We had started to do some wholesale in Europe and the US in 2000. At that time these areas were our main target and we did not plan on setting up our own stores. Then we thought it would be good to get feedback on whether people in the mainland were ready to accept a brand like ours," she said. "But we had no intention of doing business in China."

Response in Beijing to the TantPourElle collection soon changed that. "Reaction was very good," Chong said. "Six months later, in September 2002, we had our first shop in Shenzhen." The fast pace of development has continued ever since with China becoming the major focus. By early 2004, TantPourElle stores in mainland China had grown to eight with the number due to reach 20 by the end of this year and an overall plan for 100 shops.

According to Chong, TantPourElle's competitive edge in the increasingly crowded mainland market lies in the fresh look it provides. With a creative team led by a Chinese-French designer, TantPourElle combines European savoir-faire with a delicate Oriental twist to produce city chic co-ordinates and suits for the executive woman using understated detail - a pleat here, a lace trim there - to add trendiness to classics. Fabric is also important with TantPourElle favouring cotton, silk and high-quality denim from Europe and Japan.

Prices for clothes are set in the mid-to-high range from 300RMB to 2,500RMB. "A lot of career women buy five or six pieces as this offers them many ways to combine the clothes. Our price is high for ordinary people but for management or senior personnel it is reasonable especially given the quality, workmanship and fabric," Chong said.

Launching a new brand in the mainland market has proved a challenging experience from the research necessary to target appropriate cities to the patience, energy and persistence required to acquire good locations within those cities for outlets. Marketing in many forms is also important including sponsorship arrangements, media coverage and in-store promotions, such as coupons or free scarves.

Currently, most TantPourElle shops are directly controlled though more franchising is planned in the future. All present the same, refined, clear-cut image using mainly black, grey and white to appropriately reflect the line. "The stores are neat, clean and simple like our clothes," Chong said.

Even with research, it can take time to establish selling patterns as cities at different stages of development may have different reactions, Chong said. In Xian, for example, TantPourElle clothes went on sale at identical prices to Beijing and Shanghai. When the merchandise proved slow to move, there was initial uncertainty whether it was price or style that was the problem. At sale time, however, the merchandise flew. "Then we knew it was the price," she said.

All such experiences now end up in a database where the TantPourElle team can analyse what is selling best in which cities and why, and tailor marketing and promotion accordingly. "We found people in Beijing, for example, don't buy heavy pieces. In Shanghai, they can afford all the expensive items. We had some items with fur trim priced at about $3,500 there and they still moved."