Saks is going to China

Saks Fifth Avenue will be opening stores in China, franchising its name to a local operator. The first store will open in 2008 in Shanghai.

The operator of the world's biggest luxury department store yesterday granted Roosevelt China Investments Corp the right to open Fifth Avenue stores on the mainland, according to Stanley & Partners which offers real estate investment banking services to the two US-based firms.

Roosevelt China Investments Corp will be responsible for selecting locations and managing the Fifth Avenue stores in mainland and Macau.

The Shanghai location will be on the Bund, the city's legendary waterfront. I was hoping it would be on Nanjing Road where it could compete with what I think is the best-named store ever: Shanghai Department Store #1.