Givenchy opens flagship store in Shanghai

French fashion house Givenchy announced yesterday that it has opened a flagship store in Shanghai. Though the luxury brand already has stores in two other locations in Shanghai at Citic Square and Nanjing Road, the flagship store

in the new IAPM luxury mall is the largest and offers the latest ready-to-wear collections for men and women along with luxury bags and accessories.

The 205 square meter store is modelled after the Paris flagship store at 28 Faubourg Saint-Honoré. In the style of the boxes used by Givenchy to deliver Haute Couture garments, the store is divided into four room-sized boxes; two each to display the women’s and men’s collections.

Shanghai stores lucky for Givenchy

With its third store in Shanghai, the company follows up on its announcement in May of this year to triple its number of stores in China in the next two years. Unlike other luxury brands like Givenchy’s parent company LVMH for example that seem more careful in view of China’s economic slowdown and crackdown on the luxury goods market, Givenchy is going full steam ahead.

The company currently has nine stores in China (apart from Shanghai, there are three Givenchy stores in Hong Kong and one each in Beijing, Tianjin and Shenyang) and plans to increase this number to 30.

Givenchy’s first boutique on the mainland opened in Shanghai in December of last year and has done well, showing “high single-digit” growth in terms of revenue and earnings where competitors are scaling down. “Our more diversified product line, including leather goods, ready-to-wear for both men and women, helps us to weather the economic cycle,” explained Givenchy CEO Sebastian Suhl who previously served as COO for Prada.

In addition, compared to other brands like Gucci, Givenchy is underexposed in China and will gain from more exposure in terms of customers, sales, earnings and reaching its market potential in the country.

Image: The new Givenchy flagship store in Shanghai