BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The world's leading luxury brand, Louis Vuitton Malletier, will open three new stores in China this year, China Daily reported Saturday.

    "We plan to expand to an average of two new cities each year inChina, and the stores will be located in Chengdu, Wenzhou and Shenyang," the newspaper quoted Christopher Zanardi-Landi, chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton China.

    Chinese customers of the company have become the firm's third-largest consumer group in the world, after Japan and the United States, Zanardi-Landi said during the re-opening ceremony of the company's oldest store in China.

    The store was first opened at Beijing's Peninsula Palace Hotel in 1992. It has been refurbished twice over the past 14 years; thestore's new look aims to provide a more luxurious and spacious shopping experience for customers, with a greater range of products.

    The company gave no sales figures, but Zanardi-Landi said, "We have never lost any money in any store in China."

    Zanardi-Landi also said the firm has put major effort into fighting counterfeits. "We have zero tolerance to it (fakes), justlike all other luxury brands. We are working closely with the authorities to tackle the problem."

    Late last month, the Shanghai Second Intermediate People's Court handed down a preliminary ruling ordering a Shanghai outlet of French retailer Carrefour to pay 300,000 yuan (37,500 US dollars) to Louis Vuitton's parent company, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, for selling fake Louis Vuitton bags.

    In another case, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court ruled that Chaowai Men's Department Store had violated the Louis Vuitton trademark. The court awarded the French firm 150,000 yuan in its suit against the store, which was selling fake Louis Vuitton handbags. Enditem