Rene Caovilla will open a flagship store on the second floor of Bellavita, with insiders saying the Italian brand is well-known in the luxury footwear market and its chief designer once created high-heel shoes for the late Princess Diana. The top-end shoes generally retail for NT$20,000-100,000 (US$666-3,333) and some 50,000 pairs were sold globally last year to generate NT$2.5 billion (US$83.33 million) in sales.
Other upscale footwear brands as Bally, Dior, Hermes and Louis Vuitton are reportedly planning expansions in Taiwan. After three decades in Taiwan, Bally has 10 stores island-wide, but will set up three more stores next year to meet potential demand from Chinese FITs, with two in the north, one centrally and another in the south.
A senior Bally executive said, besides hand bags, the brand will promote also clothing as part of its line in Taiwan starting this fall, aiming for a 15% growth in revenues this year on the island.
Hermes has decided to double sales floorage at the Grand Formosa Regent hotel in Taipei, as well as launch Hermes-branded furniture soon. Likewise, LV also plans to double the size of its Taipei 101 store and Dior to establish its world`s largest cosmetics counter across some 21,600 square feet.
