A GAP store in Shanghai. Although quickly growing, the Chinese market is still at an early stage of expansion offering attractive opportunities for foreign apparel brands. [Gao Erqiang / China Daily]

In the busy shopping area of Solana in Beijing's Chaoyang district, young women and men dressed in the latest fashion wander around the mix of foreign clothing stores carrying their latest purchases.

In this trendy commercial landscape, similar to that of other big metropolis like New York or London, it is easy to see why China has emerged as one of the biggest markets for consumer products, particularly for clothing.

The surge of avid fashion-conscious consumers and weak performances of the world's largest fashion retailers in their home markets in the United States and Europe, have triggered a rapid expansion of big names in China. Although quickly growing, the Chinese market is still at an early stage of expansion offering attractive opportunities for foreign apparel brands.

Magnus Olsson, country manager at Hennes & Mauritz AB for the Chinese market, said: "In 2015, China and the US will once again be our biggest expansion markets."

Stockholm-based H&M will continue to expand this year its higher-end brand COS (short for Collection of Style) in several locations, including a new store in the commercial area of Sanlitun in Beijing. The Swedish company plans to open 400 new stores globally this year, with China and the US hosting the highest number of store openings.

H&M, which first entered the Chinese market in 2007, opened 69 new stores last year in China, taking the total to 271.

Meanwhile, San Francisco-based GAP Inc is shifting its focus to the global market and particularly to China to reduce its dependence on North America, where it is struggling to win back consumers.

"For 2015, we plan to continue our global growth, including opening additional stores in Asia with a focus on GAP China, Old Navy China, and Old Navy Japan," GAP revealed in June.

Susan Anderson, a senior research analyst at FBR Capital Markets & Co, said: "GAP will open 115 stores this year with a focus on China, sports brand Athleta, and Global GAP outlets."

GAP has more than 100 stores with the Gap brand and about 10 stores with the Old Navy brand in China, according to Anderson.

Spanish Industria de Diseno Textil SA, known as Inditex and owner of the Zara brand, has 501 stores in China, its second-largest market after Spain.

Paul Rossington, consumer and retail analyst at global lender HSBC Plc, said: "China accounted for about 40 percent of Inditex new store openings over the last couple of years."

Even if the Chinese market is increasingly important and a top priority for fashion retailers, it is still far from becoming their first source of revenue.