The company will also open units in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Hong Kong-based licensee Lane Crawford, which also operates stores under such names as Coach and Hugo Boss in Asia, will undertake the expansion.

Liz Claiborne has limited the retail expansion of it popular Juicy Couture clothing line. The company operates six Juicy units, and expects to have 16 to 20 open in the US by the end of the year.

"International expansion is a key element of our growth plan for Liz Claiborne Inc., and moving into China/Asia is an important component," said Trudy Sullivan, president of Liz Claiborne, in a statement. The company also has stores on tap in San Francisco and Milan.

During its most recent quarter, which ended July 1, locally based Liz Claiborne's same-store sales for all 348 of the company's specialty-retail units, which also include the Elisabeth, Lucky Brand Jeans, Mexx and Sigrid Olsen banners, were up 6.3% year over year. During the period Liz Claiborne opened 29 Lucky Brands, 20 Sigrid Olsens, 12 Elisabeths and 5 Juicy Coutures.