PARIS, Dec 3: French high-end retail group Galeries Lafayette has signed a preliminary deal with a Hong Kong-based clothing group with a view to opening a department store in mainland China, the companies announced on Monday.

The deal, signed on Saturday, gives Galeries Lafayette and I.T nine months to reach an agreement to open a first store in either Beijing or Macau, the former Portuguese colony and gambling enclave on the coast of southern China.—AFP