Armani to expand in China

Italian fashion giant Armani plans a major expansion in China with the opening of as many as 50 new retail outlets and investments in other projects, the Italian News Agency Ansa reported. Giorgio Armani, John Hooks, the group's commercial director and Paolo Fontanelli, the chief financial officer unveiled the details of the plan.

Armani already has 35 stores in 12 Chinese cities and expects to have 40 by the end of the year. It also has 28 sale points in large department stores, according to Armani group's managers. The Italian group is currently the sixth largest international fashion company operating in China. Hugo Boss has 67 stores, while Ermenegildo Zegna owns 60.

Ralph Lauren, Burberry and Ferragamo are the other fashion majors in the country. The new retail outlets will focus on marketing Emporio Armani and Armani Collezioni lines and will be set up as joint ventures with Chinese business partners, Ansa reported Thursday. "We will choose these partners by geographic area in order to rationalise our joint ventures to have no more than seven or eight partners," Fontanelli explained.

Armani's other investments in China will centre on its Armani Casa (Home) line and in the hotel sector.

The fashion group already has a hotel in Dubai and within two years plans to open one in Milan. Ten other hotels are in the planning stage, the first of which will be built in Shanghai.