Lane Crawford, the glitzy Hong Kong department store owned by real estate billionaire Peter Woo and overseen by his daughter Jennifer, has two units in Beijing.
Wharf has one advantage over newcomers in the scramble for real estate gains in China: Woo can tap a private retail entity, including the Lane Crawford chain, run by his daughter Jennifer, 36, which does business in 40 cities, compared with 16 for Wharf.