Olympic spirit to boost Shanghai Tang

Leading the way in modern Chinese chic, luxury retailer Shanghai Tang is expecting a significant boost from this summer's Olympic Games. The company's executive chairman was quoted in WGSN that the event is a great chance for the company to raise its international profile.

The Hong Kong-based brand also expects to operate 40 stores by year-end and 50 by 2010 in cities such as Madrid, Moscow and Dubai, according to Reuters. The company is opening a store in Las Vegas in July and is looking for a location in Los Angeles, while it has also just opened a flagship store in New York and there could be another store planned in the SoHo area. The Richemont-owned company currently operates 31 stores with the majority in China.

Shanghai Tang CEO Raphael le Masne de Chermont said: "The Olympics is giving us a fantastic opportunity to put our name on the map and have people discover what we are doing."

At its inception in 1994, Shanghai Tang´s Hong Kong boutique attracted over one million visitors. By the year 2000, store visits had surpassed four million. An Imperial Tailoring Service staffed by Shanghainese tailors offered a made-to-measure clothing service in the finest tradition of old-fashioned tailoring, with painstaking attention to detail, craftsmanship, luxurious fabrics and fit. Today, Shanghai Tang is the only Chinese luxury brand: the apogee of the Chinese Art of Living and Chinese Creativity. The product offer includes a full range of clothing for men, women and children, plus home furnishings, accessories and gifts. Shanghai Tang´s products are renowned for combining traditional Chinese design and motifs with tongue-in-cheek humor and a contemporary sensibility.