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Tag: Shanghai

  • Shanghai Fashion Week goes digital with Alibaba

    Shanghai Fashion Week goes digital with Alibaba

    Shanghai Fashion Week is partnering with Alibaba’s B2C marketplace Tmall to hold its first fully digital event due to restrictions on gatherings caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

    The entire roster of runway shows will be streamed online on Tmall from March 24–30. More than 150 international brands and designers will showcase their latest autumn-winter collections via the Alibaba Group digital platforms.

    Readers can watch the opening show of Shanghai Fashion Week here tonight (March 24) at 6pm Beijing time via Taobao Live from your phone or computer watchers of this year’s Shanghai Fashion Week can immediately purchase the items they see on the runway without having to wait for the collections to hit the shelves.

    “We have integrated some of Alibaba’s most advanced technologies to bring a new and elevated experience to consumers,” said Tmall Fashion and FMCG GM Mike Hu. “This partnership with Shanghai Fashion Week allows us to leverage our experience in digitizing brick-and-mortar retail stores and explore a new format for the brand and product launches, bringing together technologies like live-streaming, short-form videos, DingTalk and Tmall Flagship Store 2.0 in a full-chain solution.”

    Covid-19 has forced the cancellation and rescheduling of many global fashion events, including the Milan Fashion Week originally scheduled for February

    Tmall intends for its “cloud launch” format to broaden out the reach and appeal of traditional product-launch events this year. According to material released by the firm, brands will interact with consumers virtually across an extended timeline and physical locations, from warm-up previews to the live broadcast and post-event interviews.

    The platform plans to team up with global brands to launch 360-degree marketing campaigns that cater to Chinese audiences, said Hu.

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  • Shanghai Fashion Week to continue despite coronavirus threat

    Shanghai Fashion Week to continue despite coronavirus threat

    Shanghai Fashion Week organizers announced that the event will proceed after early fears it would be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

    The organizers released a statement saying Shanghai Fashion Week will be held on the same dates earlier scheduled: March 24-30.

    Since the coronavirus crisis began in late January, Chinese fashion industry professionals have been unable to participate in fashion weeks held in London, Milan, and Paris. But they are expected to participate in the coming event where more than 100 Chinese designers and brands are expected to showcase their 2020 Autumn/Winter designs.

    Live Streaming is also expected to be used in marketing their Spring/Summer products.

    “We hope this new form will allow designers to try different ways to display their design and different channels to market and sell,” vice secretary of Shanghai Fashion Week committee, Lu Xiaolei said.

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  • Shanghai retail sales slowly returning to normal after coronavirus outbreak

    Shanghai retail sales slowly returning to normal after coronavirus outbreak

    Roughly a third of the 11,000 stores in Shanghai that closed for the coronavirus outbreak has opened for business.

    Among the reopening stores is Starbucks’ largest global outlet, Starbucks’ Reserve Roastery, which attracted daily queues before the epidemic. The store, which counts as a tourist attraction in its own right, opened just one of its doors on Wednesday – although its air conditioner remains off.

    All 57 Starbucks stores in the area have been working with officials to protect staff and customers as the outbreak continues. Half of the Reserve Roastery tables have been removed to keep customers at a distance from each other.

    “Well on the way to containing COVID-19, Shanghai is gradually returning to normal,” reported local English-language media Shine News. However, it said local residents are still taking precautions to protect themselves from infection.

    “I feel like a vegetable after being stuck at home for so many days,” said one elderly customer. “I miss these butter cookies so much. But I’ve learned from the news that we should take protective measures, so I’m wearing a mask and gloves.”

    “It’s always of vital importance to keep a balance between epidemic control and resumption of business, so we have to provide a good service,” said Jing’an Market Regulation director Chen Ping.

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  • Shanghai Seeks Fintech Hub Status in Five Years

    Shanghai Seeks Fintech Hub Status in Five Years

    The Shanghai government announced a series of policies to motivate firms and talent while formally challenging the similar ambitions of nearby Hangzhou.

    Shanghai’s municipal government is taking an admittedly expedited path, according to a report citing a statement, to becoming a fintech center and will accelerate this development through a series of incentives including a tax cut on related tech firms to 15 percent (from 25 percent) and attractive housing and medical benefits to lure talent.

    Ant Financial, Hangzhou’s homegrown fintech pioneer, also announced yesterday that it would host a fintech conference to support Shanghai’s efforts with expectations to draw up to 30,000 global attendees. The «INCLUSION» conference held in late April will cover themes such as the global digital economy, digital finance, innovative technology, commerce and cities, and sustainability.

    Shanghai’s plans parallel that of Hangzhou’s which is also aiming to be a major hub in the field. In May last year, its local government delivered a plan in to transform the city into a global fintech center by 2030 while leveraging the sector to provide 120 billion yuan ($17.4 billion) in added value to the economy by 2022.

  • RELX China flagship set to open in Shanghai

    RELX China flagship set to open in Shanghai

    E-cigarette company RELX Technology has opened its first RELX China flagship and says it aims to have 10,000 stores globally within three years.

    Located in Shanghai’s CBD, the RELX China flagship occupies a 140sqm area, creating a space to educate existing adult smokers and vapers on RELX vapor products.

    “Consumers nowadays prefer immersive shopping experiences, and we want to make this flagship a place where we can not only better communicate with them about our product and values but also better understand their needs,” said Wang Tao, head of RELX’s new retail business.

    According to Wang, RELX will launch stores in various cities, such as Beijing’s 798 art hub and Shenzhen’s Hai Gang Cheng, to provide what he describes as “avant-garde experiences” to consumers.

    The RELX flagship features four zones including a brand experience area, a consumer education area, an interactive zone, and a device-engraving service. The store uses a facial-recognition technology called Project Sunflower to identify minors attempting to enter the store. Customers also have to undergo another layer of verification to ensure their ID matches before making a purchase.

    RELX says it plans to invest RMB 500 million in establishing 10,000 stores globally over the next three years.

    “RELX is investing heavily in breakthrough technologies to enhance franchisees’ profit margins and increase consumer loyalty during the course of its brick-and-mortar expansion,” said Jiang Long, co-founder and head of sales at RELX. “As always, our focus will remain on preventing minors from using e-cigarette products and leading the path of innovation for the entire industry by developing advanced retail technology.

    Launching its first retail store last January, RELX China operates more than 1400 outlets across 300 cities.

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  • Harrods opening store in Shanghai

    Harrods opening store in Shanghai

    British department store Harrods will open a location in Shanghai.

    According to Retail Gazette, the store will be the brand’s first standalone site outside the UK and will target China’s growing middle class.

    “If you look at all of the reports, they say, quite categorically that all of the growth in the next five years is going to come from Southeast Asia. And is going to come from millennials,” said Harrods MD Michael Ward. “So we’ve got to go after that. It’s very important that you follow the money. We see continued growth of China, but we see a need to be a more permanent resident in China.”

    Harrods has been making investments in China for a decade, and will launch in the Pudong area in response to strong consumer demand. The store will serve private shoppers targeting the high-end market.

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  • Galeries Lafayette Shanghai opens with three-week long festival

    Galeries Lafayette Shanghai is mid-way through a three-week-long opening celebration featuring art, technology, European brands, and celebrities.

    After a high-profile opening ceremony, the new store at L+Mall in the Pudong financial district is now hosting a campaign titled Let’s Celebrate Fashion featuring a rolling program of events, limited-edition collaborations and exclusive products.

    A spokesperson for Galeries Lafayette’s China partner I.T Group described the new store as “a piece of the romantic Paris grafted onto the modern cityscape of Shanghai … with quintessential Parisian style”.

    “The store stands out with the chic setting of a Parisian street, where customers soak up the immersive lifestyle of the City of Light as they saunter through consignment stores, alongside landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and street-side bistros.”

    Galeries Lafayette Shanghai features ornamental patterns designed by French graffiti artist André Saraiva which boosts the dramatic setting of the space. Saraiva’s motifs include the Eiffel Tower and a French bistro.

    Galeries Lafayette Shanghai has also collaborated with French fashion house Paco Rabanne as an official partner for the opening. In an immersive, experiential journey, visitors can pose for photos in an interactive snapshot booth and share them on social media.

    A Creative Theme Park co-presented with Ryodan by Seiya Nakamura 2.24 Inc is another opening feature. Inspired by traditional children playgrounds in Paris, the pop-up exhibition draws together eight emerging designers, who were given creative carte blanche in their own renditions of current fashion trends. Brands participating in the theme park include Fumito Ganryu, We11Done, Random Identities by Stefano Pilati, Namacheko, Stefan Cooke, Koche, Feng Chen Wang and Mame Kurogouchi.

    To mark the 120th anniversary of Galeries Lafayette, the Shanghai store features a recreation of the glass walk and Art Deco dome of the Paris store where visitors can take selfies with Parisian landmarks.

    Galeries Lafayette Shanghai is open daily

  • Peet’s Coffee opens 60’s-inspired Shanghai pop-up store

    Peet’s Coffee opens 60’s-inspired Shanghai pop-up store

    US coffee chain Peet’s Coffee has launched a pop-up cafe in Shanghai, inspired by the design of its heritage store in California.

    The Peet’s Coffee pop up offers a wide selection of coffees and experiences, including personalized t-shirts, tote bags with distinctive patterns influenced from the 1960s period. A photo booth was installed inside the store for the customer to take photos and print out or share on social media.

    “This Peet’s Coffee pop-up experience showcases the power of experiences in transporting audiences to a different time and place, and bringing the origins of the brand to life,” said Matalie Ackerman, executive VP of design agency Jack Morton Greater China.

    Peet’s Coffee also offers live music performed by buskers outside the pop-up store to add to the retro vibe.

    To explain the message behind the brand’s legacy approach, marketing director of Peet’s Coffee China Elaine Liu said: “When Alfred Peet opened his first coffee bar in Berkeley, California in 1966, he established our long-standing commitment to roasting the highest-quality coffee and Peet’s continues to stay true to that in China.”

    Peet’s Coffee is planning to expand into other cities in China in the future.

  • Starbucks Launches Bar Mixato in Starbucks Reserve Roastery Shanghai

    Starbucks Launches Bar Mixato in Starbucks Reserve Roastery Shanghai

    Starbucks today announced the new addition of Bar Mixato to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai, further elevating the multi-sensory experience of China’s coffee wonderland. Starbucks unique interpretation of the modern café and bar experience, Bar Mixato brings together the craftsmanship of specialty coffee and the artistry of cocktail concoctions to offer a novel nighttime third-place experience that will enthrall coffee lovers and bar-goers alike. It features a full bar menu, which includes the global debut of 11 innovative coffee- and tea-based cocktails specially created and available only at the Shanghai Roastery.

    “The Roastery has been at the forefront of innovation since its opening two years ago, epitomizing Starbucks relentless efforts to create imaginative new experiences that exceed customers’ expectations,” said Belinda Wong, chairman and chief executive officer, Starbucks China. “The launch of Bar Mixato elevates the nighttime third-place experience with the exquisite fusion of coffee and cocktail art, to delight customers with unique Starbucks Experiences throughout the day. As Starbucks Innovation Lab in China, we will continue to leverage the Starbucks Reserve Roastery to pilot and gradually scale new products and offerings that our Chinese customers love.”

    Bar Mixato extends Starbucks passion for coffee to the theater of cocktail mixology, conjuring new creative expressions of coffee, while adding a novel dimension to cocktails to meet the discerning tastes and growing thirst for unique experiences among consumers in China. Customers at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery may now enjoy Starbucks ReserveTM Coffee expertly handcrafted by Starbucks Coffee Masters by day, and connect over coffee- and tea-inspired cocktails mixed with precision by Starbucks Mixologists by night. Altogether, Starbucks has launched seven Bar Mixatos at Starbucks Reserve stores across Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Shenzhen since the concept was first introduced in China in May.

    Located on the second floor of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, the bar was personally designed by Starbucks global design officer, Liz Muller. It is helmed by Timothee Becqueriaux, winner of the globally prestigious 2019 Chivas Bartender Competition (China region), and his team of more than 20 talented Mixologists, who are not only experts in cocktail mixing, but also coffee and tea aficionados. From the use of ingredients to mixing techniques, they have reinterpreted traditional cocktails to create drinks with unique taste and aesthetic profiles, providing an unprecedented sensory experience for customers.

    Headlining the comprehensive bar menu are 11 unique coffee- and tea-based cocktails specially created by Starbucks China in collaboration with leading bartenders in the industry. Classic cocktails, Italian aperitivo, wine, draft beer and mocktails are also available, as is a thoughtfully curated selection of complimentary food choices that customers can pair with their favorite cocktails. The menu will be refreshed quarterly based on the flavors of new Starbucks Reserve coffees.

    Since opening in December 2017, the Roastery has played a leading role in Starbucks retail innovation, incubating new offerings such as Modern Mixology, a new beverage category boasting natural fruit ingredients. With the addition of Bar Mixato, the Roastery will expand to serve as the hub for Starbucks cocktail innovation, before launching to other Bar Mixatos locations nationwide.

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  • Duoyun Books’ flagship in Shanghai is 52 floors above ground level

    Duoyun Books’ flagship in Shanghai is 52 floors above ground level

    Design firm Wutopia Lab has designed a unique “books above clouds” store in Shanghai’s tallest building for Duoyun Books.

    The design for 2259sqm flagship located on level 52 of Shanghai Tower was commissioned by Shanghai Century Publishing to provide space for 60,000 books. As well as the book-retailing area, the store features a lecture room, exhibition space and a cafe.

    Wutopia’s scheme centres around a “white abstract mountain” of stacked translucent bookshelves and includes curved entrances and large windows offering expansive views over the city.

    A “Tiffany-blue” cafe is embedded amidst the bookshelves, while a pink dessert house is positioned at the end of the store to surprise visitors.

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  • Costco China opens first store in Shanghai

    Costco China opens first store in Shanghai

    US warehouse retailer Costco opened its first store in China today, against a background of an escalating trade war between the US and China and at a time the local economy is showing signs of slowing.

    The giant store will open in a suburb of Shanghai boasting a catchment of 2 million consumers and follows a four-year program by Costco to build brand awareness among local consumers through a presence on Alibaba’s Tmall Global.

    The company has a target of signing up at least 100,000 members to make the venture viable.

    Costco’s business model relies largely on the sale of memberships giving consumers the right to shop there, with tight margins on products and large pack sizes giving the brand a cost advantage over traditional supermarkets.

    Richard Zhang, Costco’s senior vice president for Asia, said the membership model was not foreign to locals.

    “Chinese consumers are ready to pay for a membership card that grants them an exclusive privilege to buy at a warehouse store, it’s not a new concept in the country,”

    Costco also takes encouragement in that – despite the failures of European hypermarket chains Carrefour, Tesco and Metro in the Chinese market – its US rival Sam’s Club, operated by Wal-Mart on a similar business model, has been trading there for 20 years.

    “A mature market saves us efforts in educating customers.”

    However Jason Yu, GM of Kantar Worldpanel China, is less bullish about Costco’s prospects there.

    “The Chinese market is very complicated and requires retailers to innovate and localise,” he said.

    Local retailers like Hema, Alibaba’s tech-enhanced food store network, are proving popular with consumers and can adapt quickly to changing consumer preferences.

    “Local retailers are reaching out to customers via all distribution channels while foreign retailers are not so flexible to adapt to new situations,” he said. “The old way of a large and all-inclusive hypermarket doesn’t work in China.”

     

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  • Aldi China Opened in Shanghai Last June 7th

    Aldi China Opened in Shanghai Last June 7th

    Aldi will launch in China a week from now opening the first of 11 stores initially planned for Shanghai. But the Aldi China store format will be considerably different to the German discount grocer’s shops in the other 11 offshore markets it has entered: sources in Germany report the stores will have a more upmarket feel, stocking cosmetics and a broader range of dairy products.

    The stores will carry the signature brand positioning line “Everyday value – hand picked for you”.

    The location of the first two stores are in “noticeably prosperous neighbourhoods,” reports Lebensmittel Zeitung.

    The first Aldi China store opens on Friday June 7, and has been described by Aldi insiders as “more modern than company stores in Europe”. They will stock shelf-stable goods imported from Europe and Australia and fresh produce sourced locally.

    Nick Miles, head of Asia-Pacific at IGD, said that while Aldi Sud (South) has been testing the Chinese market for some time, having launched on Alibaba’s Tmall Global platform in April 2017, China will be “a new challenge” for the discount retailer.

    “Aldi currently operates stores in Europe, Australia and North America. Trading in Asia, and particularly China, will be very different. Many international retailers have entered this market over the past 20 years and not succeeded, while discount is a grocery channel that doesn’t currently exist in China – or Asia – in any meaningful way. Discounter Dia sold its business in China in April last year, while Lidl has recently pulled back from selling products via online platforms in the market,” said Miles.

    Lebensmittel Zeitung reports that Aldi South has been working on a plan to enter China through its thriving Australian subsidiary. “The growing business contacts between these two countries mean that the no-frills retailer can also draw on Australian suppliers with considerable experience in exporting to China.”

    Miles, meanwhile, predicts a significant challenge for Aldi will be overcoming potential resistance to its own-label lines.

    “Brands are king in China, while Aldi relies heavily on its private-label ranges.”

    Another challenge is that online grocery retailing and digital technology in retail are “exploding in the market” while Aldi’s business model has traditionally been through physical stores.

    “Aldi will be aware of all these challenges and more but plans to position its stores so that they appeal to China’s rapidly growing middle class and their desire for high-quality, imported products. It has ambitions to open 50-100 stores in the medium term and will be aware to not spread its operations too wide – a mistake other retailers have made in the past.”

    Choosing Shanghai to launch Aldi China makes sense because of the city’s population of more than 30 million, the sophisticated supply-chain infrastructure in the city and the local population’s relatively higher level of income compared with other Chinese cities. It is also a major global logistics hub.

    Meanwhile, IGD forecasts China to overtake the US and become the world’s largest grocery market by 2023.

    “The opportunity for Aldi to be present in the market is therefore clearly significant, but it will not come without its risks,” added Miles.

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  • 10 Corso Como Leaving Shanghai

    10 Corso Como Leaving Shanghai

    Italian fashion concept store 10 Corso Como is withdrawing from China.

    The firm’s Shanghai retail outlet, which has been open since 2013, will be shuttered late this month in the absence of interest in a license and lease renewal from its local partner Trendy Group.

    The Milanese brand launched its early version of the concept store format at the beginning of the 90s, leading to global popularity and continuing global expansion – its New York location opened just late last year.

    Trendy Group is a late 90s fashion conglomerate that operates more than 3000 retail locations in almost 300 cities worldwide, and holds brands such as Ochirly, Five Plus, Coven Garden, Trendiano and Miss Sixty.

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  • Urban Tea to roll out More China Stores

    Urban Tea to roll out More China Stores

    Chinese beverage and baked-goods retailer Urban Tea says it plans expansion from the middle of this year.

    The company will expand its network to 28 stores initially, through a combination of franchise partnerships and opening its own stores, with plans to speed up the rollout next year.

    Last October, Urban Tea set up a subsidiary company Shanghai Ming Yun Tang Tea, which controls Hunan Ming Yun Tang Brand Management Co (Hunan MYT), to focus on catering, along with health, training, retail and wholesale. Headquartered in the Changsha Xingingmen Fanchen International Center, Hunan MYT will integrate strategic brand positioning, offline operations, store management and brand marketing – all which will be used to expand the planned retail cafe network.

    Hunan MYT will operate stores under three brands: Buoyance Manor, Your Ladyship Tea (pictured) and Meet Honey. Buoyance Manor mainly features bakery products and coffee. Your Ladyship Tea sells specialty teas and light snacks and Meet Honey will primarily sell snacks and kitchen goods such as coffee mugs and tea cups.

    Currently, the company operates seven stores itself in Hunan province branded Buoyance Manor, along with a tea shop in Changsha Youyou Township.

    Urban Tea plans to focus on health and nutrition, using fresh, green, high-quality ingredients, positioning itself as an “all-natural baker”. Beverages offered include milk teas, fresh fruit teas and coffee.

    Light meals include salads, sandwiches, tacos, pizza, pastas and other meals primarily drawing from French cuisine and other western cuisines, and emphasising healthy meals and fresh ingredients.

    The company says it has established a research-and-development centre and will place an emphasis on seasonal research and product development, by picking fresh fruits, using seasonal tea, and using in season grains.

    “By offering seasonal menus we ensure fresh delivery to meet customers health and dietary needs to cultivate long term customers,” the company said in a statement.

    Urban Tea CFO Kan Lu said: “Our professional operations and R&D teams have many years of industry experience. We desire to make every product uniquely impressive to our customers, and bring consumers fresh, healthy and beautiful food and beverages.”

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  • C-star Shanghai sets records for Exhibitors

    C-star Shanghai sets records for Exhibitors

    C-star – the China spin-off of the world’s largest retail show, the triennial EuroShop in Germany – is underway in Shanghai this week. This year’s event, the fifth, features a record 138 exhibitors at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Pudong, with exhibits including shopfitting and store furnishings, retail technology, store design and visual merchandising, lighting, and catering and refrigeration.

    A parallel retail forum features an international line-up of speakers covering trends, technology and design, among other topics.

    C-star was the first international spinoff of EuroShop and while still a shadow of the German event, which boasted 2400 exhibitors from 60 countries and 113,000 visitors the last time it was held in 2017, the Shanghai event is growing in stature each edition. The number of exhibitors this year is up 30 per cent. After the success of C-star, organiser Messe Dusseldorf has since launched another event focused on technology, EuroCIS, and its latest new venture, In-store Asia in Mumbai, India.

    Elke Moebius, global head of retail & retail technology with Messe Dusseldorf, and director of EuroShop, EuroCIS, C-star and In-store Asia, says the company wants C-star to become “the most influential retail event in China”.

    “Our decision to come to China was absolutely the right one,” she told the opening ceremony yesterday.

    “We have succeeded in distinguishing C-star from other events.”

    Messe Dusseldorf (Shanghai) GM Marius Berlemann says with mobile and ‘smart’ retail solutions developing quickly the internationalisation of the retail industry is following suit.

    “This presents even more opportunities for global investors and corporations to flourish in China’s retail industry, and our goal as the organiser is to build the bridge and bring the world of retail together.”

    A key feature of this year’s C-star event is the ReTailor Hub where creative solutions are shown in a real-life environment. Exhibitors include apparel-store Elf Sack, cosmetics-brand Fox Fairy, food-and-beverage brand Rio (which has a robot on site mixing and serving cocktails) and unmanned store concept 24 Jian. These exhibits are complemented by retail technology and equipment suppliers showcasing instore solutions including customer-flow analytics, interactive smart displays and virtual fitting systems.

    C-star’s Brand Zone offers a premium stage for exhibitors to present their newest and most promising products and solutions to a global audience.

    This year, exhibitors include design house Malherbe Paris, Storymaker, Hideki Azuma, Onewedesign, MPlus and Koscar sharing new store concepts and smart retail solutions.

    C-star 2019 continues today and tomorrow in Shanghai.

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