Saks management expects the first store to open in 2008, in Shanghai's Bund district, off the Huangpu River. The unit will be 300,000 sf over four floors and will have similar products to the chain's US department stores.

The China expansion follows a push by Saks in the Middle East, where it opened a store in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2001; and a Dubai location in 2004. "While our primary focus remains on our domestic stores, the opening of carefully chosen licensed locations abroad can extend the reach of our brand and generate an incremental income stream for Saks," says Stephen Sadove, Saks' chief executive officer, in a statement.

Saks operates 55 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, 50 Saks Off 5th outlet stores, 38 Parisian department stores and 57 Club Libby Lu specialty stores. Domestically, Saks executives have announced plans to close three Fifth Avenue stores, in Fort Worth; Mission Viejo, CA; and Palos Verdes, CA, at yet-to-be-determined dates.

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