Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani plans to tap the Chinese market with a new online store that opened Friday, 26 November. Emporio Armani in one of the first such initiatives in China by a major fashion brand.

Online retail sales in China, which has the world's largest web population of at least 420 million, soared 117 per cent last year to $39 billion, according to iResearch, a Beijing-based research firm. US fashion giant Gap launched an online store in China earlier this month and Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, is planning an internet presence in China soon. Apple opened an online store in October.

Giorgio Armani is the first fashion brand to offer a "flagship store" online experience in China, The website is backed by Yoox, an Italian online fashion retailer that has grown rapidly during the global economic crisis. The Armani Group has more than 5,000 employees and 13 factories, producing clothes, as well as accessories, eyewear, watches, jewellery and perfume.