MILAN, Feb 16, 2004/ FW/ --- The Armani Group announced this week that the company has signed a management agreement with House of Three for the opening of an Armani flagship store in a historic building on Shanghai’s Bund.

Two freestanding boutiques, one apiece for Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani labels will have a total of 1,100 square meters. The two stores, which will be adjacent to each other is scheduled to open in April 2004.

In a statement, Giorgio Armani, President and Chief Executive of the Armani Group, said: "Today Shanghai certainly qualifies as the world's most talked about city. I am therefore delighted that we have secured such a prestigious and significant location for a flagship presence there.”

With the opening of the Beijing Giorgio Armani boutique in 1998, Hong Kong's Armani/Chater House in 2002 and now Shanghai's Armani/Three on the Bund this April, the Armani Group will have successfully established a signature retail presence in China's three principal cities.

The Armani Group plans to have a network of 20 to 30 freestanding stores throughout China’s most important cities by 2008.

In the same statement, Handel Lee, Co-Chairman of House of Three, said: "Giorgio Armani is recognized as one of the world's most important designers. He is rightly credited with creating an iconic style that is modern yet timeless, elegant yet accessible. This philosophy exactly mirrors the vision for Three on the Bund. We look forward to working with the Armani Group as it becomes a major influence in the fashion and lifestyle of contemporary China."

Armani/Three on the Bund will be divided between a Giorgio Armani boutique covering 560 square meters and an Emporio Armani store covering 420 square meters on the ground floor of Three on the Bund.

There will also be Armani Fiori (florist) and Armani Dolci (chocolates and confectionery) counters within the development. As in the case of Hong Kong's Armani/Chater House, Giorgio Armani will collaborate with the architect Claudio Silvestrin on the Giorgio Armani boutique and the architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas on the Emporio Armani store.

The Armani Group is already well advanced with its stated plan to open between 20 and 30 stores in mainland China by 2008. Today there are Giorgio Armani boutiques in Beijing (The Peninsula Palace Hotel), Hong Kong (Armani/Chater House) with the Shanghai boutique opening at Armani/Three on the Bund in April, 2004; Emporio Armani stores in Hong Kong (Armani/Chater House), Dalian (New World Department Store), Wenzhou (Huaqiao Hotel) with two Shanghai stores planned for 2004 at Armani/Three on the Bund and Plaza 66; one Armani Collezioni store in Shenzhen (Tian An International Plaza) with a Shanghai store opening in October, 2004 at Citic Square; an Armani Jeans store in Hong Kong opening in Summer 2004 to replace the existing Emporio Armani on Causeway Bay's Russell Street; five A/X Armani Exchange stores in Hong Kong (Fashion Island, Canton Road, Festival Walk, Pacific Place, City Plaza); and, two Armani Casa stores in Hong Kong (Armani/Chater House) and Shanghai (Plaza 66).