International shopping brands are banking on the city’s future

New store openings and original retail formats further strengthen Shanghai’s position as a shopping landmark.

Mainstream brands are encouraged by favorable buying sentiment, while the China International Import Expo continues to be an important window for brand debut.

Shiseido’s luxury brand THE GINZA opened its first store in China at the IFC Mall in Shanghai in September, after making an appearance at CIIE last year.

The first outside of its home market, Japan, it is supported by changing demand for new skin care offerings and a dynamic purchasing environment.

Ti Gong

Valentino Beauty of the L’Oréal Group, also coming to China for the first time via the CIIE, in July opened its flagship online store on Tmall, presenting its haute couture make-up segment.

Retailers are taking note of the booming beauty and skin care sector, which saw an annual increase in sales of 9.5% last year, compared to an overall drop of 3.9% for spending on consumer goods.

In the first half of this year, a total of 513 brands and retailers debuted in Shanghai, and the number of premier stores and flagship stores continued to rank first among national cities.

About 15% of these openings are made by foreign brands, with Japan, the United States, France and South Korea being the main countries.

Total new store openings are expected to reach 1,000 by the end of this year, as Shanghai prepares to become a global consumer pioneer and a premier destination for global debuts.

Shanghai is already home to the headquarters of around 60 multinational skin care and beauty products, and has also attracted research facilities of various sizes and functions.

The Shanghai Commerce Commission has set a target for retail sales of consumer goods in the city to reach more than 1.8 trillion yuan ($ 277 billion) annually by 2023, while the figure of ‘online shopping business is expected to exceed 1.6 trillion yuan.

Shanghai’s latest action plan aims to accelerate the development of the international consumer hub, an important part of the city’s efforts to transform the pattern of economic growth and meet people’s aspirations for a better life.

Ding Yining / BRILLIANCE

Fans of fashion and alternative shopping experience will be delighted to read that the first physical Tamburins store is now open in the latest HAUS Shanghai shopping and art space on Huaihai Road M.

Tamburins hand creams and perfumes were previously only available on foreign shopping sites and online stores.

The four-story building on Huaihai Road M. is the new home of the concept store, the first of its kind outside its home country of South Korea, which brings together art installations, decorative elements of cyberspace, food and drink as well as fashionable clothing under one roof. roof.

Along with the Gentle Monster eyewear lines, it will also host the country’s first Tamburins flagship store and the NUDAKE dessert and drink offering on the ground floor.

The company credits the city’s reputation as an international fashion design hub as an important factor in establishing the new store.

“Haus Shanghai is a bold try for the next generation retail space, and China remains a very important market for us,” added Hankook Kim, Founder and CEO of Gentle Monster.

Following the opening of the first Gentle Monster store in Shanghai in 2016, the enhanced store format houses an immersive perfume experimental space.

Alibaba’s cross-border import business, Tmall Global, has seen more than 200 new brands of import fragrances and fragrances launch their presence in the online marketplace over the past year, with sales increasing by more than by 70%. Cumulative sales of salon fragrances since the start of this year have more than doubled.

According to a latest Mintel study, perfume spending in China is expected to increase by 17% per year and reach 15.4 billion yuan in sales by 2025.

Li Yumei, deputy research director of China Beauty and Personal Care at Mintel, said perfume is an essential category for meeting consumers’ emotional demands and reflecting individual tastes.

“Brands use as many sensory, visual and audio formats to appeal to buyers,” she noted.

Ti Gong

The opening of a Sam’s Club flagship store in the Pudong New Area is the latest testament to Shanghai’s rapid adoption of new retail formats. Local authorities have also actively responded to link consumer demand for a new shopping experience and original retailer offerings.

The 70,000 square meter complex is home to the world’s largest Sam’s Club in terms of floor space, and it also has the largest Sam’s Club dining room in China.

It only took 16 months from the start of construction to the official unveiling of the pay store, which normally takes two to three years.

Two additional new openings in Shanghai are already planned for next year, said Andrew Miles, president of Sam’s Club China.

Christina Zhu, President and CEO of Walmart China, added, “The Waigaoqiao bonded area provides a convenient environment for our imported products.”

The flagship store welcomes more than 100 products available to Chinese buyers for the first time. It will be a testing ground for original products and will also provide the latest interactive opportunities for buyers.

Miles noted, “A spacious shopping area, rich experience and rich events are important factors for us when setting up a physical presence.”