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China Major Focus Of LVMH Menswear Subsidiary’s Year Of Global Expansion
The interior of Berluti’s new Shanghai location. (Berluti)
Berluti opened its first store in China carrying its entire product offering at the Shanghai IFC mall last week. The 3,700-square-foot boutique features leather bags, small leather goods, shoes, and ready-to-wear. A private lounge is dedicated to fittings, available by appointment.
The store is Berluti’s second in Shanghai and part of a twenty-store global expansion for 2013. The aggressive expansion dovetails with a menswear year for the China market.
Berluti currently boasts a retail presence in first- and second-tier cities across China including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Shenyang, and Ningbo, compared to just four cities throughout Europe.
Long a luxury men’s shoe brand with limited production and a cult following to match, Berluti was founded in Paris in 1895 by an Italian bootmaker and purchased by LVMH in 1993. In recent years, LVMH has positioned Berluti to compete with luxury menswear brands such as PPR-owned Brioni and Ermenegildo Zegna by hiring former Z Zegna creative director Alessandro Sartori as the the artistic director and acquiring French made-to-measure menswear brand Arnys.
With Antoine Arnault, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault’s son, heading the brand since 2012, it’s safe to say that Berluti is poised to become a global presence.
Berluti’s newly opened Shanghai location. (Berluti)