Ogilvy veteran Keen Yim tipped to take up senior marketing role at Burberry China

Ogilvy has confirmed that Yim (pictured) resigned from Ogilvy Shanghai on 12 October and that there is currently no replacement for his role.

A source close to the news said Burberry China is finalising a title for Yim.

Yim has worked for Ogilvy for over 15 years. His last post was to head up its new engagement planning unit, providing strategic counsel on digital, social and content for the Ogilvy Group.

Yim focused on leveraging Ogilvy’s group resources to help international brands succeed in China. His clients there included Diageo, Rolex, adidas and fashion conglomerate VF Group.

Prior to joining Ogilvy Shanghai, Yim was strategic planner at Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong. Some of his key project includes the launch of Smartone-Vodafone, Hong Kong Disneyland, Google China and Wynn Casino Macau.

Before that he held various roles, including business director at Ogilvy Fashion (where he provided branding and trend reports to a range of fashion and lifestyle clients, including Metersbonwe and Stella Luna) and OgilvyOne Shanghai. He was also senior business director at DDB and business director at Euro RSCG 4D (Greater China).

Campaign Asia-Pacific attempted to confirm the appointment with Burberry and its related agencies. Rachel Catanach, managing director, senior vice-president and senior partner of Fleishman Hillard, told Campaign that Burberry does not comment on appointments.

According to a BBC news article on 11 October, Burberry confirmed weak China sales figures in its second quarter. In early September, Burberry shares slumped 19 per cent after the company issued a surprise profit warning related to the downturn in China.

The article said the poor performance was in large part due to an unexpected weakening of the Chinese economy, yet business in Hong Kong, Germany and France remained robust, Burberry said.

in Hong Kong, Burberry has just opened its 20,000 square foot flagship store in the Pacific Place shopping centre. The store spans two levels. Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts recently told Bloomberg TV that Burberry would be opening more stores in Asia as soon as the market was ready.