Kate Spade announces new venture in China

Kate spade new york already has two freestanding stores and three shop-in-shops in China. The brand hopes to grow by 300 distribution points by 2020.

We are very excited to be partnering with kate spade new york on kate spade china, said Jae hung Ahn of E.Land. We believe that the synergy between kate spade new york's brand aesthetic and E.Land's expertise in China will be very successful in penetrating the luxury market in this region.

E.Land Group reported $6.2 billion in sales in 2010 and has become a leader in the Korean fashion industry. E.Land has 61 fashion brands and 500 designers with over 40 points of sale. kate spade new york is a subisdary of Liz Claiborne Inc. and has 36 retail shops, large online sales, 89 locations in Asia and a new flagship store in Brazil.

We believe our proven success in the Asian region has created a strong foundation for tremendous growth in mainland China, said Craig Leavitt, CEO of kate spade new york. This joint venture with E.Land is an integral step in a strategy to create a meaningful presence for kate spade new york in this critical market. kate spade china, together with the planned reacquisition of our mainland China and Southeast Asia businesses, as well as our joint venture in Japan, will solidify our long term commitment to brand ownership in Asia. 

In additon to the joint venture, the brand has reacquired its businesses in mainland China from Globalluxe Limited and in 2014 it will take over its businesses in Southeast Asia, including those in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Singapore. kate spade new york entered the Asian market in 2001 through a distribution agreement with Globalluxe.