The Armani Group has signed a management agreement with House of Three for the opening of an Armani flagship store in a historic building on Shanghai's Bund. Armani/Three on the Bund, with both a Giorgio Armani boutique and an Emporio Armani store next to each other covering a total of 1,100 square meters, is scheduled to open in April, 2004.
Giorgio Armani, President and Chief Executive of the Armani Group, said: #'Today Shanghai certainly qualifies as the world's most talked about city. I am therefore delighted that we have secured such a prestigious and significant location for a flagship presence there. With the opening of the Beijing Giorgio Armani boutique in 1998, Hong Kong's Armani/Chater House in 2002 and now Shanghai's Armani/Three on the Bund this April, the Armani Group will have successfully established a signature retail presence in China's three principal cities. This demonstrates our long term commitment to this fast-growing market, in which we plan to develop comprehensive distribution and retail channels for each of the Group's main brands and product lines. As part of this expansion strategy, we would expect to have a network of between 20 and 30 freestanding stores throughout China's most important cities by 2008.''
Handel Lee, Co-Chairman of House of Three, said: #'Giorgio Armani is recognized as one of the world's most important designers. He is rightly credited with creating an iconic style that is modern yet timeless, elegant yet accessible. This philosophy exactly mirrors the vision for Three on the Bund. We look forward to working with the Armani Group as it becomes a major influence in the fashion and lifestyle of contemporary China.''
Armani/Three on the Bund will be divided between a Giorgio Armani boutique covering 560 square meters and an Emporio Armani store covering 420 square meters on the ground floor of Three on the Bund. There will also be Armani Fiori (florist) and Armani Dolci (chocolates and confectionery) counters within the development. As in the case of Hong Kong's Armani/Chater House, Giorgio Armani will collaborate with the architect Claudio Silvestrin on the Giorgio Armani boutique and the architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas on the Emporio Armani store.
The Armani Group is already well advanced with its stated plan to open between 20 and 30 stores in mainland China by 2008. Today there are Giorgio Armani boutiques in Beijing (The Peninsula Palace Hotel), Hong Kong (Armani/Chater House) with the Shanghai boutique opening at Armani/Three on the Bund in April, 2004; Emporio Armani stores in Hong Kong (Armani/Chater House), Dalian (New World Department Store), Wenzhou (Huaqiao Hotel) with two Shanghai stores planned for 2004 at Armani/Three on the Bund and Plaza 66; one Armani Collezioni store in Shenzhen (Tian An International Plaza) with a Shanghai store opening in October, 2004 at Citic Square; an Armani Jeans store in Hong Kong opening in Summer 2004 to replace the existing Emporio Armani on Causeway Bay's Russell Street; five A/X Armani Exchange stores in Hong Kong (Fashion Island, Canton Road, Festival Walk, Pacific Place, City Plaza); and, two Armani Casa stores in Hong Kong (Armani/Chater House) and Shanghai (Plaza 66).
Three on the Bund, which is owned and operated by House of Three, is a lifestyle destination converging contemporary fashion, art, dining, culture and music in its historic seven-floor building on the Bund. Along with Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani, visitors to Three on the Bund will be able to experience Jean-Georges, David Laris and Whampoa Club restaurants, New Heights rooftop lounge café, Third Degree music room, the Three fashion store, Evian Spa, and the Shanghai Gallery of Art.
The Armani Group is one of the leading fashion and luxury goods groups in the world today with 4,700 direct employees and 13 factories. It designs, manufactures, distributes and retails fashion and lifestyle products including apparel, accessories, eyewear, watches, jewellery, home interiors, fragrances and cosmetics under a range of brand names: Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Mani, Emporio Armani, AJ | Armani Jeans, A/X Armani Exchange, Armani Junior and Armani Casa. The Group's exclusive retail network currently comprises: 58 Giorgio Armani boutiques, 11 Armani Collezioni stores, 121 Emporio Armani stores, 70 A/X Armani Exchange stores, 13 AJ | Armani Jeans stores, 6 Armani Junior stores, 1 Giorgio Armani Accessori store and 15 Armani Casa stores in 36 countries.