GRAND ARRIVAL: Two years after SKP entered the Wuhan market with a property that includes an outdoor luxury retail corridor, Chanel has finally unveiled its stand-alone store hoarding, a first for the central China city.
According to posts shared by users on Xiaohongshu, the social commerce platform, Chanel‘s future SKP door will live between Louis Vuitton and Cartier along the SKP K Avenue, a 1.5 kilometer-long pedestrian promenade that will have a total of around 40 stand-alone stores upon completion.
The Wuhan store will be the second for Chanel in the central China region. The capital of Hubei province, the historical city of Wuhan is known as “the city of a thousand lakes” and counts a population of more than 13 million.
SKP Wuhan will welcome the opening of Celine, Giorgio Armani and Prada, which will coincide with the launch of the WWD x SKP Global Fashion & Beauty Summit on Thursday.
SKP Wuhan, the fourth location for the established department store franchise, is located in Wuchang District, a central cultural zone.
“Wuhan, a city that has weathered the storms but is still full of positivity and optimism, is a city where its people stick together; it’s a place where people truly enjoy and celebrate life,” SKP said in a statement at the time.
As China undergoes a prolonged market reset, luxury players are closing unproductive stores, exploring untapped regional markets and unlocking differentiated crowds with pop-up formats.
Chanel counts 13 boutiques in China, with four located within SKP establishments, one each in Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu and now Wuhan.
The brand most recently reopened its Plaza 66 boutique after an 18-month renovation, bringing its entire ecosystem under one roof.
Venturing out of the traditional luxury shopping mall format, Chanel recently launched its Coco Neige collection — Matthieu Blazy‘s first for the French house — at a Spanish-style villa house on the tourism-friendly Wukang Road.