- - - - Kunden kaufen Schuhe in einem Laden der Italienischen Schuster Geox in einem Einkaufszentrum in Wuhan City, Central China Provinz Hubei, 31. August 2013. Ich
--FILE--Customers buy shoes in a store of Italian shoemaker Geox at a shopping mall in Wuhan city, central China's Hubei province, 31 August 2013. Italian shoemaker Geox SpA is looking forward to making the most of the rise of the 109-million-strong newly affluent, quality-conscious and brand-happy Chinese middle class consumers. On Nov 19, Geox signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Pou Sheng International, a Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed sportswear retailer for brands such as Converse, Rockport and Keds with 4, 586 retail outlets and another 2, 691 sub-distributors across China. The Geox-Pou Sheng agreement will also spawn 350 new stores by 2020, including standalone single-brand outlets and presence in high-end footwear retailers, malls and department stores. Geox is undeterred by the exponential growth of e-commerce in China. It believes bricks-and-mortar stores still have enormous scope. The Chinese middle class "is definitely the best thing" that could have happened to Geox, according to Giorgio Presca, its chief executive officer. "On the one hand, the rise of the middle class will boost the economy. On the other, it is the perfect thing for brands like us."
