Michael Kors Plans Doubling of Greater China Stores by Year End

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (KORS), the luxury-goods maker and retailer, aims to more than double its Greater China stores by the end of the year as the clothing market surges.
Shops in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan will jump to 15 by the end of this year from seven now and may gain to more than 100 over the next three to five years, Chief executive officer John Idol said yesterday.
Kors, named for founder and Chief Creative Officer Michael Kors, joins competitors including Prada Spa and Paul Smith Ltd. in planning expansions in the world’s most populous nation. The clothing market is forecast to more than triple to 1. 3 trillion yuan ($206 billion) by 2020 from 2010 as rising incomes fuel demand, the Boston Consulting Group Inc. said in a report in July.
“The Chinese market continues to be exciting and explosive both at the same time, ” Idol said in an interview in Shanghai. “Chinese consumers understand luxury and they also understand improving life. ”
Michael Kors entered China with a shop in Tianjin last summer, then added outlets in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou. It also has locations in Hong Kong, Taipei and Macau. A 534-square- meter (4, 750 square-foot) flagship store is scheduled to open in downtown Shanghai in the spring of 2013, the company said. The company’s signature label Michael Kors sells products including a $2, 595 Safari Woven Embossed Tote, while its MICHAEL Michael Kors has a line up that includes $124 Tie-Dye Ribbed Sweaters.