BEIJING, April 21 (UPI) -- Saks Inc. will open its first Saks Fifth Avenue store in China in 2008, tapping a demand for luxury products in the world's fastest-growing economy.
Saks, which has sold half of its stores in the United States, expected to sign a licensing agreement April 25 with Roosevelt China Investments Corp. to develop stores in China and Macao, China's Xinhua news agency reported Friday.
The partner will own and operate the stores under the agreement, Saks said in a statement. The first store will open on Shanghai's riverside embankment known as the Bund.
The Saks investment is part of Shanghai's plans to restore part of its famous waterfront area known as the Bund.
Saks' planned expansion in China comes at a time when U.S. retailers expect slower growth. The Birmingham, Ala.-based company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $2.42 million, compared with a $96.6 million profit a year earlier, on expenses to write down assets and close stores.
China's luxury-goods market, worth about $631 million, is growing between 50 percent and 60 percent yearly, Claudia D'Arpizio, a consultant with Bain & Co. in Milan, has said.
