L’Officiel gets green light for Malaysia launch

L’Officiel, a subsidiary of AMTD IDEA Group will be bringing its magazine to Malaysia as it gets the green light from the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs. The permit was obtained soon after L’Officiel’s announcement of its relaunching exercise in Singapore and Malaysia editions under the direct owner’s model.

L’Officiel has been around since 1921, and currently has a presence in 80 countries, with 32 in-language international media. L’Officiel is an international reference for French style and pioneer in fashion, beauty, lifestyle and contemporary society.

The magazine underwent an acquisition last year by the AMTD Group, the shareholders and the central management of AMTD-L’OFFICIEL and soon after announced its ambitions for countries in the APAC region. According to the company, the new operations in Singapore and Malaysia will reinforce the brand’s direct position as a regional hub, and will foster relationships with franchises in the rest of the Asia region and promote greater values for the overall ecosystem.

Singapore and Malaysia will be the two new countries it operates under owner’s model, in addition to major countries and markets in France, Italy, USA, and Brazil.

Feridun Hamdullahpur, chairman of AMTD IDEA Group and a board director of AMTD Digital said: “Since its new beginning under the banner of AMTD, L’Officiel has recreated its global presence where local and global objects in the form of fashion, art, culture and food, to name a few, will intermingle in various local settings.”

“After a successful relaunch in Singapore just recently, I am delighted to see that our magazine is given a green light to start the Malaysia edition. I am certain that it will captivate the readers with amazing, exciting, and invigorating articles,” he said

Aileen Soh, managing director of Southeast Asia for L’Officiel said, “We truly appreciate the confidence and support shown to us by our clients and AMTD IDEA Group, and we are happy to introduce our very first edition of L'Officiel Malaysia under the direct owner’s model. The Malaysian team is committed to doing our best to produce relevant and interesting content for all our fans and readers.”

AMTD IDEA Group, formerly known as AMTD International Inc represents a premier Asia financial institution and digital solutions group connecting companies and investors from Asia, including China and Hong Kong as well as the ASEAN markets with global capital markets.

Meanwhile, this month Heart Media Group is also launching its new fashion magazine, GRAZIA, in Singapore and Malaysia. Touted as the first 100% Italian fashion magazine to have “exported its successful formula worldwide”, from Italy to China, the magazine is published by the Mondadori Group and is also said to be "Italy's fashion bible".

Pakkee Tan and Ian Loh will lead the Singapore and Malaysia editorial operations respectively as editor-in-chief. According to Heart Media, Singapore and Malaysia were chosen as both markets are vibrant fashion hubs within Southeast Asia, boasting large economies and a growing luxury and fashion-savvy clientele. GRAZIA, born in Italy in 1938, plans to use its authority and influence to offer readers in both countries a new lens across the fields of fashion, jewels, watches, beauty, lifestyle and culture.

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