Bebe announces plans to expand into China

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Sep 1, 2015

Despite the current financial woes in China, Bebe Stores, Inc. last week announced plans to expand into the China. The company has entered into a five-year licensing agreement with Longgoal LLC, a Shanghai-based agency of international high-end brands, to open retail and wholesale points of distribution in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. 

As per the agreement, Longgoal will open a minimum of 60 points of sale in Mainland China, including freestanding boutiques, Bebe shop-in-shops and will identify third party retailers in certain provinces of China to sublicense the brand for retail operations. The company is currently eyeing locations in Beijing and Shanghai including flagship boutique locations, the first of which will open in the summer of 2016. 

Bebe will locally design as much as 30 percent of the product for China, and it anticipates further expanding its licensing agreement for handbags, shoes and intimates. Longgoal retains an option for an additional 10-year partnership with Bebe based on performance.

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Liyuan Woo, Chief Financial Officer of bebe stores, inc., said: “The bebe brand has resonated well in key international markets as women continue to look for a distinctive ageless and head turning style which suits their lifestyle needs, and we look forward to doing the same in Greater China over the coming years.”
 
Longgoal was founded in 1996 and was developed from a regional retail agency into an exclusive retail and wholesale distribution partner for high-end brands. The company adds Bebe to its brand portfolio that includes GANT, which launched in the country almost 10 years ago, and Thomas Pink.