British chain Topshop is opening its first Hong Kong outlet on Thursday, becoming the latest Western brand to brave the city's high rents in a bid to crack the lucrative China market.
The retailer will open the doors on Thursday afternoon to a 1,300 square meter (14,000 square foot) shop in the city's central business district.
Topshop boss Philip Green said he wants to use the store as a "stepping stone" to mainland China. He's looking for possible locations in Beijing and Shanghai to open "flagship" stores.
Other foreign retailers that have launched recently in the Asian finance center include U.S. brands Abercrombie & Fitch, Tommy Bahama and Forever 21.
Foreign brands have been lining up to open up showcase boutiques in Hong Kong as they try to get a share of the spending by the increasingly affluent consumers visiting from mainland China, the world's second biggest economy. The demand has helped drive up shop rents in Hong Kong, a former British colony that's now a special administrative region of China.
Hong Kong is a popular shopping destination for mainland Chinese because of low taxes and a reputation for authentic goods.
Green would not say how much the company is paying for its new location but said the company had spent years looking for a spot.
"It's been hard as most retailers will tell you, finding the right location in Hong Kong, at a sort of sensible price. It's very, very tough. So this just came up, and fortunately we were able to put it together very quickly," he said.
He said that he's starting his search for mainland locations this week, with Chinese real estate agents visiting him while he's in Hong Kong.
"I'd like to have a flagship in Beijing and a flagship in Shanghai," Green said a day before the store opening. "If we can find 2,000 to 3,000 square meters — we'd like to have a Topman as well — if we can find 2 locations, off we go."