Cheil Industries Inc., a fashion and textile affiliate of Samsung Group, will
spend US$21.5 million in a bid to tap the fast-growing Chinese clothing market
starting in 2013, Chinese officials said Friday.
To that end, Cheil
Industries has agreed with China's leading textile firm Shandong Ruyi Group to
collaborate in building up a textile industry town in the southwestern city of
Chongqing, the city officials said.
The investment will be made in the
Wanzhou District in Chongqing, where Shandong Ruyi has been building the Western
Textile City with an initial capital of 15 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) since
last year. The Textile City is located in Wanzhou's National Economic and
Technical Development Zone.
The expected completion date of the city
was not disclosed.
Shandong Ruyi expects the city will generate annual
sales of 50 billion yuan when it is completed.
Cheil Industries said
earlier it will make inroads into the fast-growing Chinese fashion market from
2013 and open 100 new shops for the brand in China and Hong Kong with sales
expected to reach 300 billion won (US$260 million) by 2020.
It has a
number of its own fashion brands, such as fast fashion brand 8seconds, casual
line Bean Pole, Galaxy menswear, sportswear Rapido and golfwear Astra. Last
year, it purchased Italian luxury fashion brand Colombo Via Della Spiga, which
is famous for premium leather handbags and wallets.
According to
consulting firm PWC, China's market demand for clothing will reach $55.3 billion
this year. The figure is expected to top $90 billion by 2015, growing from $65.2
billion in 2013 and $77.2 billion in 2014.