Already Zilli’s presence on the Russian market accounts for 50% of its business. Now the brand has joined the rush to get in on the Chinese market. Its first store just opened in late June in Beijing in the Peninsula Hotel in collaboration with a partner.

Also in June 2012, the brand headed to Macao where it already has a shop, now opening two more in the Four Seasons Hotel on the Cotai Strip and in the Grand Lisboa Hotel. By the end of July, Zilli will open a 120 sq. meter location in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sand, its first store on the island and ideal for meeting its target clientele – wealthy businessmen and those who appreciate finery. Next September, two new retailers will open their doors in Changchun and Shenyang. And in October, a second 200 sq. meter flagship store will open in Bejing, located in a shopping center currently under construction to the west of the capital.

Zilli Fall-Winter 2012/2013. Photo Zilli

"The development strategy must undoubtedly pass through Asia," said Lawrence Schimel, CEO of the family-owned company. Last year, Zilli opened a store on rue François Ier in Paris while continuing to manufacture in Lyon. “The planned opening of several stores over the next two years creates vast prospects for development, and the international impact of our brand will be strengthened ever further," he added. Schimel did not discuss the the terms of the partnership that make him feel confident about the future.

Zilli said its 2011 sales were up 20%, or around 75 million euros. Its network of stores now numbers 45 locations across 34 countries, plus points of sale in some one hundred multi-brand stores.