Sephora, the cosmetic unit of the world's largest luxury goods retailer of LVMH, will open its first Chinese store next month in Shanghai, China's largest business and financial center, a company source announced in Shanghai recently.

The demand for luxury cosmetic and beauty products in China has been increasing with each passing day. With its rapid economic growth, people in China is acquiring more disposable income, increasingly allowing them to pursue a high quality of life. Shanghai stands as the most dynamic fashion center in the country,said Richard Lim, general manager of the Sephora Shanghai Company Ltd, on Tuesday.

Sephora are expected to open three shops in Shanghai this year and double that number by 2006. It will also open shops in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other large Chinese cities next year and plans to have 100 shops nationwide by 2010, Lim said.

Sephora, founded in France in 1969, is the largest retailer of perfumes and cosmetics in Europe. It has opened 520 stores in 14 countries. Its stores in Europe total 420 and those in the United States number 100.

Cosmetics sales in China has been growing at an annual rate of 15 percent in the past decade. Nationwide cosmetics sales topped 52 billion yuan (some 6.3 million US dollars) in 2003 and is expected to reach 100 billion yuan (12 billion dollars) by 2010. There are approximately 40 million consumers of luxury brands in major cities across the country.

Allured by its great market potential, a number of other world-renowned foreign cosmetics retailers, such as L'oreal and Estee Lauder, have also set footholds in China.