Hermes is to open fewer new stores over the next five years to protect its high-end image from over-exposure in a retail market where being one of the most exclusive brands seems to guarantee smooth sailing through global financial turmoil.

To celebrate the brand’s 20th anniversary in China, Louis Vuitton has opened its first Maison in Shanghai on July 21.

LVMH has opened a Louis Vuitton jewelry store on Paris’ Place Vendome, in an effort to expand the brand’s image within in the global luxury jewelry market.

“The store and the workshop are an important step, a foundational decision, indicating that we look ahead with optimism,” said Hamdi Chatti, Director of the group’s jewelry and watches divisions, as quoted by Reuters.

Luxury department store Harrods has just opened a new Louis Vuitton store situated in The Central Hall on the Ground Floor.

The impressive space houses a wide selection of luggage and scarves, in addition to areas devoted to exotic skins and a much-increased selection of handbags and accessories.

BMW offered a preview Wednesday of what would be on offer at its first i Store. The London space is designed to be a showroom for the carmaker’s new premium brand BMW i, based around electric and hybrid engines.

In the spotlight are electric concept cars like the BMW i3 urban design and the i8 sedan, as well as BMW iPedelec, an electric bicycle concept.

BMW has opened a flagship store in Paris, set to be the first of an Apple-like network of ‘experience stores’.

The new 800-square-meter store is designed as part-showroom, part-tourist attraction and occupies a central location in one of Paris’s most desirable streets, the Avenue George V.

Among the retail store’s gleaming white walls and large display screens are several BMW models, ranging from sports cars to sedans, which visitors can get close to.