The high-end shoe brand has opened its first store in mainland China after a 22-year battle over the legal right to use its name.
In addition to the new boutique in Shanghai’s Plaza 66 luxury mall, the company expects to open a store a year in China for the next five years, with Beijing and Chengdu the next likely locations.
The shoemaker, named after its Spanish founder, had been limited in its ability to trade under its name in China after a local businessman filed trademarks related to “Manolo Blahnik” in 1999.
China is a “first to file” jurisdiction which doesn’t require companies to prove prior use to claim a trademark, but a ruling two years ago from the Supreme People’s Court of China found in favour of the company.
“We were very, very grateful to reclaim our trademark. Before that point, we were just focused on getting it back. (Since then) we very much turned our head towards Asia,” CEC Kristina Blahnik, who is the founder’s niece, said in an interview.
The brand also opened two new stores in Hong Kong in October.
