PARIS, Dec 3, 2007 (AFP) - 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, December 3rd.

Galeries Lafayette store

The deal, signed on Saturday, December 2nd, 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.

If terms can be agreed, a joint venture making I.T the majority owner will be created to develop and manage the store and others that might be launched in the future, the statement said.

Galeries Lafayette was founded at the end of the 19th century. The group operates 64 shops, including one of Paris's most famous department stories, and employs 12,000 people.

I.T is a Hong Kong clothing group that distributes "hundreds of international labels" as well as its own fashion brands.

Galeries Lafayette, part of the bigger Groupe Galeries Lafayette, has one shop outside France -- in Berlin -- which it opened about 10 years ago.