Li & Fung to Open 300 Stores in China

Consumer goods company Li & Fung Trading has announced a strategic partnership with two of China’s largest retail groups, Shanghai Bailian Group and Beijing Wangfujing Department Store, with the establishment of a joint venture in the Shanghai free trade zone.

Under the terms of the partnership, Li & Fung will design, source and produce private labels and licensed brands tailored to the requirements of Bailian Group and Wangfujing Department Store.

The key business of the joint venture includes facilitating the development and management of private labels and licensed brands. In the first three-year plan, the joint venture will focus on the development of product categories including menswear, womenswear, children’s wear and home products. It will develop one to three private labels and up to six licensed brands over a three-year period, and may involve the opening of up to 300 stores or store-in-stores and realize up to $161 million in sales.

“We are excited to join forces with two of China’s largest retail companies to bring forth the transformation of China’s retail industry,” says William Fung, group chairman, Li & Fung. “Through this strategic partnership, Li & Fung is able to extend the global supply chain into a substantial retail network that serves a large growing middle class in China.”