Italian fashion group Emenegildo Zegna, which has more than 50 shops in the Chinese mainland, reported better-than-expected results for 2005.

The company had its best results in Germany, followed by China and Russia. Zegna ended 2005 with turnover reaching 713 million euros (US$877 million), an increase of 12.5 percent from the previous year.

Asia played a decisive role in sales growth linked directly to the Zegna brand, as its sales growth was 41 percent in China, 18 per cent in Japan, and 29 percent in South Korea.

(China Daily January 26, 2006)