US luxury group Michael Kors eyeing China expansion

HONG KONG - Designer apparel and accessories company Michael Kors Holdings Ltd plans to open 100 stores in the greater China region in the next three to five years to tap the burgeoning market for luxury goods, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday.

Michael Kors SS 12

Michael Kors, which operates 231 stores worldwide as of the end of 2011, intends to open 15 in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan this year, the newspaper said citing chairman John Idol.

"Over the next three to five years, we will have 100 stores open in this market," Idol said, including in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenyang and Nanjing.

Michael Kors will open stores in April inside the Sands and City of Dreams hotel-casino complexes in Macau as well as an outlet in Hong Kong, the paper said.

The company, which recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has just a handful of stores in China and six months ago appointed a greater China chief executive in a sign it plans to expand its presence.

China will account for 20 percent of the global luxury market by 2015, with spending in the country nearly tripling to $27 billion by that year from around $10 billion in 2009, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co.  Michael Kors, which is known for its glitzy designs and primarily caters to women in the 30-40 age group, reported robust quarterly results as its namesake luxury brand saw strong demand, and said it expects its accessories business to drive profits in the coming quarters.  (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)