International Luxury Retailers Scramble For Shanghai Market

According to an article published on an American website, this winter, on the streets of Shanghai, you will see a lot of new trademark Shopping bags.

After Seoul and Tokyo, Milan's famous concept store 10 Corso Como opened its third branch in Shanghai, an international city and a fashion capital in mainland China.

In October this year, Lane Crawford, the oldest mall in Hong Kong, will unveil its flagship store of 14000 square meters in Shanghai. Value Retail, the most successful luxury fashion wholesaler in Europe, will build a "Suzhou Village" in Suzhou, an hour's drive away from Shanghai, where famous brand clothes in the past season will be sold at a discount.

These three companies all said that Shanghai is very important for their development in mainland China, and they also understand that Chinese consumers are crucial to their success.

Andrew Keith, president of Lane Crawford, said: "Mainland China needs your time and patience." "It is very different from Hong Kong. There are countless markets here, and there is the kind of cultural and material diversity you see on a continent like Europe."

On Nanjing West Road, the busiest pedestrian shopping street in Shanghai, 10 Corso Como's 2500 square meter glass building is a spectacular new building.

This spacious four floor space is designed by American artist Chris Ruth, including a fashion and lifestyle boutique, an art gallery and a restaurant - all planned by the company's founder, art dealer and publisher, Carla Sousani.

"Shanghai's art and clothing industries are very active, so it's a perfect place," said Susanne. In 1990, she opened the 10 Corso Como concept store in Milan. "This store is close to Jing'an Temple and a park, and I like it very much because it achieves a wonderful balance between modern and traditional."

Noriko Villanti, the commercial director of the Shanghai store, said that the operation of the store was no different from that of the Milan store. "In the future, we want to cooperate with Chinese designers, which will become a feature of 10 Corso Como's Shanghai store," Vilanti continued. "Our store is essentially a well planned experience place, a cultural survey of various galleries, and we encourage customers to contact and experience various ideas here."

The project was supported by Hickey International Group, a fast-growing Chinese retail operator, part of which belongs to L Capital of LVMH Group. Hector Group also owns Miss Sixty, a women's wear brand.

"Shanghai is a major fashion market in China," said Chen Jinyu, senior vice president of Heji Group. "Chinese customers are developing rapidly, looking for new and different experiences. Our goal is to exceed customers' expectations and desires. I think 10 Corso Como will be very successful."

The article said that the new store of Lane Crawford also aims at fashion seeking customers. It plans to open in Shanghai Times Square, located in the business district of Huaihai Middle Road Shopping Street, in early October.

Unlike 10 Corso Como's meticulous selection, Lane Crawford Shanghai boasts more than 500 fashion brands. It claims that its cosmetics retail department is the largest in mainland China. This 3000 square meter area will have a hair salon and many private compartments for beauty care.

"It's bigger than our previous stores," Keith said Promotion Lane Crawford is unique. " It owns the most complete clothing and accessories brands in Greater China, and cooperates with some franchised design brands.

Keith stressed that customer service is crucial. "The store will set up a VIP area, private shopping suites - where there are private stylists, lifestyle and beauty concierges - and private spaces for customers to spend time with his/her friends," he explained. "The important thing is to make Shanghai people feel that it is their store and are willing to bring friends to hang out."

The article points out that data shows that four out of every five Chinese tourists to the UK will stop at Bicester Village, a wholesale shopping center near Oxford, which takes about an hour by train from London. Considering the above situation, Value Retail, which operates nine wholesale shopping centers in Western Europe, chose Suzhou near Shanghai to open its first franchise store outside its headquarters. The store is planned to open in the spring of 2014, and the second store is planned to open near the Shanghai Disneyland to be completed in 2015.

There are other wholesale centers in China, such as the Surprise Outlet opened by Lane Crawford near Beijing Capital International Airport. However, the additional services provided by Suzhou Village - it has attracted some customers to Suzhou Village on its website, and provides 14 language services and international goods delivery - may change the rules of the game.

"Shanghai is the most important commercial city in China, while Suzhou, only an hour's drive from Shanghai, is an important domestic tourist destination, receiving 80 million Chinese tourists and 3 to 4 million foreign tourists every year," said Scott Malkin, chairman of Value Retail, "We will provide a shopping and tourism experience, and let our brand partners sell their inventory in a way that can not only reflect the brand value but also reach potential customers."

The jeans giant Diesel said it would make its debut in Suzhou Village. "This model of Autolite is really suitable for us, because Autolite's customers are different from our boutique's customers," said Christopher Arsambo, president of Desai Greater China, "they can save half the money when buying a pair of jeans in Autolite. If not through this way, these customers will not buy our jeans."

The article points out that all foreign brands entering China have to pay import taxes, which makes their retail prices 30% higher than those in Europe or the United States. Therefore, Autolite will provide these brands with a way to deal with the goods in previous quarters and recover some costs.

"We have studied the characteristics of Chinese consumers, and the speed of their transformation to high-end clothing, new designs and fashion trends is unprecedented in the world," said Ma Erjin, chairman of Value Retail.

The article said that although everyone agrees that the behavior of Chinese consumers is changing rapidly, it is too early to judge whether these new concepts will succeed.

Lane Crawford opened a store in Shanghai before, but it was unsuccessful and closed in 2006. But in 2007, it opened another store in Beijing.

Keith said, "We think market It has developed to a new stage. Customers are ready to accept our business model, and also need diversified services we provide: relevant businesses, online stores and physical stores with cross channel services in China.