House of Fraser will undoubtedly be thrilled at finally tying up the deal with Sanpower which hands it a prime opportunity to conquer China.

House of Fraser will undoubtedly be thrilled at finally tying up the deal with Sanpower which hands it a prime opportunity to conquer China.

House of Fraser will be able to target the Chinese emerging middle and upper-middle classes – which will give them access to almost half a million of China’s keen shoppers – and is ideally placed to capitalise on China’s growing tastes for luxury items and upper-middle class desire to define themselves against the wider market.

However, with this in mind, it will be interesting to see how House of Fraser manages to balance its strong equity as an “iconic heritage brand” whilst simultaneously adjusting its offering for the Chinese consumer.

Will it retain the mainstream luxury positioning that it has built in the UK or push for something more high-end? Or will it adopt a two-pronged approach to capture both ends of the spectrum by appealing to the middle tier of mainstream luxury whilst also creating a more exclusive proposition for the lucrative - and massively growing - higher tier?

China’s retail market is notoriously difficult to tackle, with major foreign brands, such as Google, experiencing many hurdles along on the way. However, by tying up with Sanpower, House of Fraser will be able to leverage the skillset and expertise of its new partner and also benefit from Sanpower’s local knowledge and access to the Chinese market. As a result, it may be able to navigate these hurdles much more easily.

However, whilst embarking on this exciting journey, House of Fraser must be sure to retain tight control of its core brand in order to safeguard exactly what has made the store so successful thus far. Otherwise, the retailer risks losing its identity in the gap between these two markets. Luckily, this is a pitfall that is easy to avoid: with the right internal processes in place to control its growth in this new market without diluting its brand, House of Fraser will quickly reap the benefits of this expansion.

Whichever way the Chinese adventure goes, all eyes will be focussed on the outcome. If the effect of a Chinese boom is able to provide tangible benefits for the retailer’s employees and improve its offering in the UK, then we may be facing a golden age of creativity for the great British brand. And that is a very exciting proposition for our high streets.

Tristan Rogers is chief executive of Concrete, which advises large retailers including Tesco, Wal-Mart, Marks & Spencer and Clarks on international expansion.