Dunhill To Begin New Chinese Franchise JV

English luxury goods brand Alfred Dunhill is hoping to build itself into one of the top luxury labels in China.

"We are going to launch our first joint venture in the middle of this year with China Resources (Holdings) Co Ltd, our largest franchise partner," Tim King, managing director of Richemont Luxury Asia-Pacific, Alfred Dunhill division, tells local media.

King says that the new company will control and run approximately 30 stores across 11 major Chinese cities, and that they will maintain this franchise partnership in secondary cities. Dunhill will hold a majority stake.

Since entering the mainland market in 1994, Dunhill has opened 64 stores and department store counters in 35 different cities. All of these stores were opened through its eight franchisees.

China Resources is the largest franchisee, handling 27 Dunhill stores in North, East and South China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Wuhan, Shenyang, Dalian, Changchun and Harbin.