Club 21 is a luxury retail company established in 1972 by Singaporean entrepreneur-hotelier Christina Ong. Club 21 started as a small boutique in Singapore’s Tanglin Shopping Centre and has expanded to operate multi-label fashion stores at Four Seasons Singapore, as well as licensed boutiques in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and USA. Club 21 used to manage the brands Donna Karan, ck Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, A|X Armani Exchange, Balenciaga, Marni, Mulberry, Dolce & Gabbana, D&G, Diesel, Paul Smith, Issey Miyake, Jil Sander, Dries Van Noten, Comme des Garçons and Lanvin. It also operates ck Calvin Klein and DKNY Jeans under license. A joint venture with Giorgio Armani S.p.A is expanding the A|X Armani Exchange brand worldwide. Club 21 has 3,800 employees across four continents, engaged in wholesale distribution, sourcing, brand guardianship and vertical retail. Club 21 is part of the COMO Group. The Group’s COMO Hotels and Resorts division manages and operates the following properties:
2010 UNIFEM Buy to Save
In 2010, Club 21 is once again partnering with UNIFEM Singapore to host Give to Save, where gently-worn designer items are collected from Club 21 clients and the general public during 24–28 November 2010 at the Forum The Shopping Mall. The items collected will be sorted, priced and sold at the Buy to Save event. Proceeds from the sale of these items will benefit women who are at-risk from violence and exploitation.
Controversy
Club 21 UK, which operates Giorgio Armani and DKNY Jeans, was convicted of discrimination against a manager who told his bosses he was HIV positive. From positivenation.co.uk "Diagnosed with HIV in 1993, Mr Pasquarelli disclosed his HIV status to his employers after becoming severely ill with multiple Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer which affected his lungs and liver. When the store closed for refurbishment last April, he claimed was not offered suitable alternative work, was discriminated against and made redundant. His case was reported in the media in the same week as stars flocked to a celebrity party held by Giorgio Armani to endorse the Bono Red campaign to promote HIV awareness and support the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria. Mr Armani’s partner Sergio Galeotti died from AIDS in 1993. In its ruling against the Armani franchise company Orthet, the tribunal said: “We would expect Mr Pasquarelli’s many years of loyalty to be rewarded by the offer of at least a temporary position for the duration of the café's closure. “Orthet discriminated against Mr Pasquarelli by not offering him alternative employment and did so for a reason relating to his disability, treating him less favourably than they treated a person to whom that reason did not apply.” Since 5 December 2005, the Disability Discrimination Act has protected all HIV positive employees in work from the point of diagnosis.
