Harry Winston Diamond Corp, the Canadian mining group which owns the jewelers, has this week announced plans to build a flagship store in Shanghai.

And it will be hard to miss, boasting a 12-meter high façade a company spokesman says will be like a “billboard to the world, a billboard to the Chinese people.”

The 460-square-meter flagship store — to be opened “before January” next year — will be supplemented by a salon inside the lobby of the Peninsula Shanghai hotel.

So far Harry Winston’s only presence in China has been similar-type salons in venues such as the Peninsula Beijing Palace Hotel and The Peninsula in Hong Kong but the jeweler has been vocal with its plans to expand into China, where its main rivals at the very high-end of the jewelry chain are Cartier and Tiffany.

Jewelry sales in mainland China have gone through the roof in recent times — they surpassed US$30 billion (21 billion euros) last year.

A figure which made the Chinese market the world’s third largest now after the United States and Japan.

Harry Winston’s move is the latest high-profile expansion into the Chinese market by an international luxury brand eager to cash in on the nation’s newfound wealth — and desire for the finer things in life.

It’s getting to be a pretty competitive market too as shown in a recent survey into which brands now have the most outlets in China, put together by the global business consultancy Bain & Co.

On top came Dunhill with 93 outlets, followed by Hugo Boss (89) and Burberry (50). Others to figure prominently were Louis Vuitton (34), Gucci (37) and Cartier (33).

Source: AFPrelaxnews