Galeries Lafayette to open three department stores in China

French department store chain Galeries Lafayette continues to expand into the Chinese market.

French department store chain Galeries Lafayette continues to expand into the Chinese market. The company will open three more stores in the country in 2023 besides the two existing ones. 

Galeries Lafayette announced a joint venture with China’s Hopson Commercial Group on a parity basis. The partnership will see the opening of new department stores in Shenzhen, Chongqing and Macau. The company will become the exclusive representative of the French chain in China. 

Galeries Lafayette was founded in 1893 and now operates a chain of 57 department stores in France and 10 outlets in various stages of opening in other countries. The retailer entered the Chinese market in 2013 by opening a store in Beijing. A second department store opened in Shanghai in 2019. 

Under the new partnership, Galeries Lafayette and Hopson Commercial will strategically collaborate on upscale department stores, open pop-up stores and develop online retailing. The retailer’s total number of stores in China will reach ten by 2025. 

Hopson Commercial (founded in 1992) is a major Chinese commercial real estate development company. The company specializes in the construction, management and operation of commercial properties such as shopping centers, offices, hotels and residential complexes. It has an operation project area of more than five million square meters.