Superdry parent SuperGroup plans to open an e-commerce site in China in the next 12 months to test its market appeal.

The UK retailer operates 17 franchise stores and 49 concessions in Asia, but is not yet in China.

Its brand Superdry offers apparel, footwear and accessories with Japanese imagery, and the company fears the graphics may not work well in the Chinese market. And the only way to test that is to offer the products to consumers online, it says.

According to investor relations officer Tony Newbould, the website would be an ‘exciting’ opportunity to see if it will work.

SuperGroup has recently appointed Hans Schmitt to spearhead the international and wholesale operation of Superdry.