Deal will put Macy's brands into China

By HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 5/23/2012 11:07:46 AM

Cincinnati - Macy's will become a stakeholder in China's VIPStore Co. Ltd. and will sell its private label merchandise through VIPStore's new omei.com ecommerce site for luxury and fashion brands.

Macy's has made a $15 million equity investment in the company, which makes it a minority stakeholder. VIPStore also operates jiapin.com, a flash sale site.

This is the third strategic move on the international front for Macy's Inc. Macys.com began selling online in more than 100 nations - including China - last year through a collaboration with FiftyOne, an international ecommerce provider. In 2010, it opened its first international Bloomingdale's store in Dubai through a licensing agreement with Al Tayer Group LLC, a leading luxury retailer and distributor in the region.

"Our relationship with VIPStore will allow us to gain additional experience in the fast-growing Chinese market, and to better understand how consumers across China interact with Macy's and the products we sell," said Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and ceo of Macy's, Inc.

He said the company sees "significant long-term opportunity internationally for both Macy's and Bloomingdale's."