French connection

Christian Dior opened its new flagship boutique at Plaza 66 in downtown Shanghai on Oct 18. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"And with the women's and men's sections connected, you can buy gifts for boyfriends or husbands as you shop for yourself," Toledano says.

With the opening of the boutique, Dior also launched exclusive products for China including handbags, scarves, earrings, watches and a series of men's products.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Christian Dior. In 2017, Dior ranked 234 on the Fortune Global 500, and remains the only luxury fashion company still making the list. It is also the second event the French fashion house has undertaken in Shanghai this year. In June, they launched the "I Feel Blue" event to promote the 2017 autumn/winter ready-to-wear collection by womenswear artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri.

"Since 1994 (when Dior opened their first boutique in Shanghai), we have believed from the very beginning that China was going to be not only an important market, but a super-high-quality market, so we needed to show excellence in our boutiques, their location, and the teams," says the CEO.

"The market is really good. I'm always optimistic about China, even when people say China is slowing down in terms of economic growth. But you are still growing faster than Europe. It's a growing market, and it's kind of dynamic. People like to spend."