SHANGHAI, China ― Manolo Blahnik, the high-end shoe brand with many celebrity fans and often worn in the TV hit 'Sex and the City,' has opened its first store in mainland China after a 22-year battle over the legal right to use its name.In addition to the new boutique in Shanghai's Plaza 66 luxury mall, the company expects to open a store a year in China for the next five years, with Beijing and Chengdu the next likely locations.
'We were very, very grateful to reclaim our trademark. Before that point, we were just focused on getting it back. we very much turned our heads toward Asia,' Chief Executive Kristina Blahnik, who is the founder's niece, said in an interview.The brand also opened two new stores in Hong Kong in October.