Luxury goods firm targets China's wealthy

A craftsman works on a product at Larrot.Ray's first "customer experience" store in Beijing, July 7, 2015. [Photo /chinadaily.com.cn]

Larrot.Ray, a home-grown brand specializing in hand-made luxury leather products, is poised to become a leading personal supplier to China's wealthy.

"We seek to fill the market niche for tailored leather products as more rich people are looking to give a personal touch to their luxuries," said Raymond Dong, co-founder of Beijing Larrot.Ray Trading Co Ltd that owns the brand.

The company, founded in 2007, aims to expand in Beijing and Shanghai in particular, tapping into the growing spending power of the world's second-largest economy.

It opened its first "customer experience" store in Beijing on Tuesday where people can see how a leather bag or wallet is made - probably the first of its kind in the city.

China's population of high net worth individuals grew to more than 1 million last year, doubling its total in just four years, according to global management consulting firm Bain & Company, and China Merchants Bank.

Although still at its infancy, the company's products rival world-renowned brands in terms of craftsmanship and quality, "making us unique in the domestic market," Dong said.