Brand Ferragamo boosts China stake

Italian luxury fashion group Salvatore Ferragamo on Thursday said it had boosted its stake in joint ventures for distribution in the "strategic" Chinese market from 50 to 75 percent. The operation follows agreements with Imaginex Holdings and Imaginex Overseas, the company said in a statement, without giving the value of the deal. Ferragamo already has around 100 sales points in continental China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao. Asia is Ferragamo's biggest market, accounting for more than a third of its total revenues last year. The company was set up in 1927 by Salvatore Ferragamo, a Florentine shoemaker who came back to Italy after living in the United States where he became famous for designing shoes for Hollywood stars. Ferragamo now also makes clothes, leather goods and eyewear.