French department store Galeries Lafayette is set to make a comeback in China after a failed attempt 15 years ago.

Galeries Lafayette will open a flagship store in Beijing in September.

The department store briefly operated in China in 1997 with a store in Beijing, however, it shut down after just a year of operation.

This time, Galeries Lafayette is confident the business will thrive, predicting annual sales of 50 million euros.

“The market conditions were not mature enough at that time. Now China’s economy has changed a lot and I’m very optimistic about the new store that will open this September,” said Thierry Vannier, director of the international department at Galeries Lafayette.

The department store chain plans to open 16 stores in China in five years.

This time, Galeries Lafayette will operate in China with partner Hong Kong-based I.T. Group, which runs more than 200 stores in the mainland China.