HE IS a self-confessed “suit guy”. Dressed in a comfortable beige linen-blend two-piece, Saed El-Achkar laughs as he smooths the lapel of his blazer on a characteristically humid morning in Kuala Lumpur.

The Lebanese-born president of H&M Greater China and East Asia is the personification of the brand’s current pivot – a blend of global authority and hyper-local relevance.