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Marc Jacobs to Tap Rising Fashion Tastes

Marc Jacobs, the American luxury fashion house, expects revenue contribution from China’s mainland to hit 12% in 4 ys, and it will open 40r new outlets to tap rising Chinese appetite for fashion.

The fashion house plans to raise the number of retail stores from 24 to 70 on the Mainland in the next 5 yrs, the Chairman and CEO of Marc Jacobs International LLC, Bertrand Stalla-Bourdillon, told Shanghai Daily in an interview Friday at the opening ceremony for a 4th store in the city.

“The revenue contribution from China is expected to reach 12% in about 4 yrs,” he said. “That is an annual income growth of about 35% for each year. In the early stage, we will focus on the top 10 cities in China to reach that target. With more new doors to be opened, we also plan to expand to new cities.”

Stalla-Bourdillon said that revenue contribution from the mainland, which the retailer entered in Y 2004, is around 4%, which is ranked 10th among the foreign markets. The US and Japan are now the retailer’s top 2 markets.

All the 4 outlets in Shanghai are for the sibling label Marc by Marc Jacobs. The only outlet on the mainland for the signature line Marc Jacobs is in Beijing.

“But we are going to open one more boutique for the classic Marc Jacobs in Shanghai this year,” he said.

Consumers in the mainland may overtake the US to become the top spenders on luxury brands, while lower prices and a stronger yuan are luring a rising number of them to shop overseas. Luxury sales on the Mainland rose 7% last year, compared to a 30% surge in Y 2011, Bain & Co said.