By
AFP
Published
Nov 28, 2010
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Armani taps Chinese market with online store

By
AFP
Published
Nov 28, 2010

MILAN, Nov 26, 2010 (AFP) - Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani plans to tap the Chinese market with a new online store that opened Friday for Emporio Armani in one of the first such initiatives in China by a major fashion brand.

Giorgio Armani

"In view of the increasing enthusiasm for online shopping and the growing importance of the Chinese market, I have decided to open an Emporio Armani online store in China," Armani was quoted as saying in a statement.

"We have identified a significant group of fashion consumers who will certainly appreciate this new approach to shopping, one that becomes more popular every day," Armani said, referring to the Chinese market.

Online retail sales in China, which has the world's largest web population of at least 420 million, soared 117 percent last year to 39 billion dollars (29 billion euros), according to iResearch, a Beijing-based research firm.

US fashion giant Gap launched an online store in China earlier this month and Wal-Mart -- the world's biggest retailer -- has said it too plans an Internet presence in China soon. Apple opened an online store in October.

Armani said it was "the first fashion brand to offer a 'flagship store' online experience in China." The website is backed by Yoox, an Italian online fashion retailer that has grown rapidly during the global economic crisis.

The Armani Group has more than 5,000 employees and 13 factories, producing clothes, as well as accessories, eyewear, watches, jewellery and perfume.

The group has 609 stores in 46 countries around the world.

Copyright © 2024 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.