Les Enphants, the Taiwan-based company that manufactures, retails, and distributes baby and children’s apparel and accessories, plans to expand its footprint in China by the year’s end.

About 200 stores are to be added to its current network of 1846 across China.

While hit by rising operating costs and taxes for foreign investors in China, Les Enphants plans to seek profitability through store efficiency improvements.

Les Enphants’ earnings per share were recorded at NT$1.38 (US$0.047) last year, down from previous year’s NT$1.73 (US$0.059).

In Taiwan, Les Enphants expects high consumer spending on baby’s apparel and accessories as birth rates traditionally increase during the Year of the Dragon. Newborns increased by around 17 per cent to 52,079 during the first quarter which helped Les Enphants’s sales to grow by 10 per cent. The number of births in Taiwan is expected to exceed 210,000 by the year’s end.

In a bid to broaden its customer base, the company also promotes another brand in Taiwan – iBabymall – which targets children and mothers.

Founded in 1971, Les Enphants also distributes international kid’s apparel such as Barbie, New Balance Kids, Disney Baby and Peter Rabbit. The company has operations in Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

GB