Australian fashion accessories retailer Oroton is seeking a partner to open up to 30 stores in China over the next three to five years.

Oroton’s Chinese expansion is part of its strategy to take advantage of the middle class in the country which is expected to grow to 1 billion by 2030.

The retailer entered China in October, opening a store in Shanghai.

“We’re not looking to roll out a whole lot of our own operated stores in China, we’re really looking for a franchise partner or a series of partners,” said CEO Mark Newman.

“Once we do that, and depending on how quickly we find those relationships, the rollout could be quite quick after that. It’s a vast country so there’s an opportunity, depending on the availability of good real estate, to have 20 to 30 stores over the next three to five years,” he said.

In the past three years, Oroton has also opened stores in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.