The UK-based online luxury fashion retailer Net-a-Porter Group Ltd on Monday launched its Chinese website Theoutnet.cn, which is the result of the fashion retailer's acquisition of Hong Kong-based Shouke.com, said Mark Sebba, the company's chief executive.

Shouke.com was also in the luxury e-commerce sector and has come to be "an important part of Net-a-Porter'sChinaoperations", Sebba said. He declined to comment on the cost of the acquisition.

Net-a-Porter's entry into the Chinese market adds to the local presence of its parent company Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, which already has operations in China including the brands Chloe, Cartier and Montblanc.

Net-a-Porter is also planning to release a mobile application that will allow customers to use their Apple Inc products to purchase items by taking snapshots of the company's products from catalogs.

"China's an exciting place to be. You don't need me to tell you what sort of growth some of the luxury companies have seen here. If you combine the growth of luxury (in China) and the growth of e-commerce, the two are an interesting partner," Sebba said.

According to research by McKinsey & Co Inc in 2011, sales of luxury goods inChinawill 180 billion yuan ($27 billion), about 20 percent of global market share, by 2015.

Contact the writers at touyannan@chinadaily.com.cn and waynechou@chinadaily.com.cn