Prada has packaged its initial public offering in a typically artful way. The Milan-based fashion house has chosen to list in Hong Kong, it says, largely because of its proximity to China, the world’s fastest-growing luxury goods market. But Prada has just 14 stores across the entire mainland, fewer than in Tokyo. Its aggressive expansion plan (the primary justification for selling shares) is to fill holes in its global network rather than in China – it has no stores in Stockholm, Barcelona or Brussels, or anywhere in Russia or Brazil. An outlet on every Chinese corner, after all, makes little sense. High taxes mean that a large portion of luxury items is bought offshore.
Prada對其首次公開發行(IPO)的「包裝」具有它典型的設計感。這家總部位於米蘭的時裝公司選擇了在香港上市。該公司表示，這主要是因爲這裏毗鄰全球成長最爲迅速的奢侈品市場——中國內地。但Prada在整個中國內地僅有14家門店，還不及東京一個城市多。該公司的大規模擴張計劃（這是發行股票的主要理由）旨在填補其全球網路（而非中國）的空白——該公司還沒有在斯德哥爾摩、巴塞隆納、布魯塞爾以及俄羅斯或巴西的任何城市開店。畢竟，把門店開到中國的所有角落沒什麼意義。這裏的高稅率意味著，中國人很大一部分奢侈品是在海外購買的。