Luxury brand Louis Vuitton has opened its first Maison store in Shanghai China this week, it has been announced.
Designed by Peter Marino, who was the architect behind the London branch, the store is the sixteenth Maison store opened by the worldwide brand.
A whole host of celebrities were at the unveiling, including model and TV presenter Alexa Chung, French actress Clemence Poesy and model Poppy Delevingne who stepped off an express train from Paris to the famous Bund in Shanghai.
A fashion show marked the celebrations in style to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the House of Louis Vuitton in China
China has a burgeoning luxury market and Chinese shoppers have helped boost the luxury market as tourists flood to the UK to capitalise on tax-free shopping.
Last month, traveller services firm Global Blue reported that Chinese shoppers had increased their monthly spend while visiting the UK to £744 from £666 in just five months and it is predicted that there will be an influx of Chinese tourists visiting the capital for the forthcoming Olympic Games
Richard Brown, Vice President of Global Blue UK, which manages in excess of 60,000 international shoppers each day across 40 markets, commented: “Sales from international shoppers have increased 20 per cent year-to-date (Jan-May 2012) and from Chinese shoppers alone have increased 47 per cent year-to-date.
“Each Chinese shopper spends on average £744 per transaction, with Russia not far behind at £634 as shoppers travel to the UK to gain dramatic savings on luxury goods.”
Brown noted that international shoppers are a strong asset to the UK economy, adding: “Global shoppers, especially those from emerging markets, in particular the BRICS – are an increasingly important section of the tourism economy in the UK.”
