China’s first International luxury brand, Shanghai Tang has opened its Kowloon flagship store in the former Marine Police Headquarters, one of the oldest surviving government buildings in HongKong.

Fusing current design concepts with innovative Chinese-inspired elements, Shanghai Tang offers ready-to-wear for women, men and children, as well as accessories and home ware.

Hurun Report, renowned for its annual “China Rich List” of tycoons, has recently hosted Shanghai’s Best Presidential Suites Awards.

The awards ceremony was held on 15 June, timed to coincide with the opening of the Asia Luxury Travel Market, the region’s leading showcase for the luxury travel industry.

“Before now China’s luxury consumers have had little idea of Shanghai’s top suites and executive club lounges, despite the fact that hotels spend so much money on them,” says Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of Hurun Report.

Porsche said China may pass Germany as its second-biggest market within three years on rising wages and demand for new Panamera sports sedan.

Porsche unveiled the car at the Shanghai auto show in April, the first time it debuted a new model outside of Europe or North America.

“All premier manufacturers are showing good results” in China, Helmut Broeker, Porsche’s China head, said in a June 12 interview in Shanghai.

China may become the world’s biggest luxury market in some years but cultural challenges to win customers’ hearts for certain types of products remain, industry executives said this week.

Champagne house Taittinger said it could make high-end sparkling wine in China but the market was not ready for it yet…

… while Lamborghini said the country’s tradition of luxury chauffeurs, bigger than sports driving, made expansion there a challenge.

China will overtake Italy as the second-biggest market behind the United States for iconic sportscar maker Lamborghini within three to five years, the group’s chief executive said on Wednesday.

The Chinese associate luxury more with chauffeur-driven cars than sports cars because of bad road conditions, traffic congestion and driving standards, Stephan Winkelmann told the Reuters Global Luxury Summit.

But the sports car culture will gain ground in China, he said, as road infrastructure develops fast and Chinese consumers aspire to own well-known European luxury brands.

Hermes believes turbulence could hit the global luxury goods industry for the next two years and has put some expansion plans on hold, the French fashion and leather goods group said on Monday.

Watches and jewelry will take at least two years to recover from the current luxury spending downturn but fashion sales could pick up faster, Hermes Chief Executive Patrick Thomas told the Reuters Global Luxury Summit in Paris.

“In my opinion, turbulence will last rather long, maybe two years,” Thomas said.

The world’s second-largest luxury goods group in terms of market value behind LVMH said it had postponed the opening of two shops in China and two leather goods plants in France.