LV opens 16th global flagship store in Shanghai

Louis Vuitton suitcases at the new store.



The new flagship store in Shanghai's Plaza 66.
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Louis Vuitton's largest store in China officially opened in Shanghai's Plaza 66 office and commercial complex on Saturday, showing the importance of the China market for the French fashion brand amid the European debt crisis.

The store, designed by architect Peter Marino, is the brand's 16th flagship store around the world. For its parent company LVMH, the value of China market is indisputable. Last year, people from China spent around 110 billion yuan (US$17 billion) on luxury goods with Europe mired in its debt crisis and the US economy faltering, according to Chinese web portal Sina.

China is now the world's third-largest luxury goods market, worth 160 billion yuan (US$25 billion) a year. It is estimated that the country will surpass Japan and the United States over the next three years to become the largest luxury market in the world.

Because of the taxes the government applies to luxury goods, however, a good deal of the purchases of luxury goods by Chinese consumers take place outside the mainland China area. Chinese buyers tend to buy luxury goods when traveling abroad during the holidays around Chinese New Year, because they can save around 30% on taxes, the brand's chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guinoy said, according to Wall Street Journal.