Shanghai home to abundant new retail experiences and shopping locations
Editor's note:
High-quality growth, the most-mentioned phrase during the Two Sessions, will keep guiding China's new route of development. As a bellwether city, Shanghai takes a model role in mapping out growth of high quality, and here is what we find in different sectors of our life.
Ranging from the latest hair-rinsing shower-head to luxury eyewear and the latest member-exclusive supermarkets, new retail experiences and shopping locations are abundant in Shanghai.
They have brought to light that the city's position as a leading consumption hub and trade center for imported consumer goods will be further elevated.
Multinational and local retailers are pledging further investment with new store openings and partnerships to respond to higher demand in the consumption scene.
Sam's Club is opening its fifth store in Shanghai and it continues to view Shanghai as an important market with increasing demand for high quality and value-for-money products.
Located in the Zhonghai UniPark Max in Putuo District, which is about 20 minutes drive from Jing'an Temple and the People's Square, it is the closest Sam's Club to the city center.
Walmart's Sam's Club, which is exclusive to annual subscription members, plans to add five more new stores in China by the end of this year.
The membership-exclusive retailer continues to offer high value for money with further discounts for popular offerings such as Lego toy sets and imported seafood, said Zhang Qing, chief procurement officer at Sam's Club China.
Retailers are seeing distinctive value, for example securing more exclusive items in addition to raising operations efficiency with technology advancements, secretary general Peng Jianzhen of the China Chain Store & Franchise Association told the China Retail Innovation Summit earlier this week.
One of the priorities for retailers is to enhance their global supply chain and to establish a mid- and high-end consumption market for domestic shoppers, added Wang Wei, director at the Institute for Market Economy of the Development Research Center of the State Council.
Banking on Shanghai's strong position as a trading hub, Freshippo will step up efforts to introduce signature products from overseas fresh food suppliers.
The company is making preparations for a new black label store in Shanghai targeting high-end customers with a premium selection of offerings, chief executive office Hou Yi added.
Over a dozen overseas retailers and food providers including Coles, NH Foods, O'Connor, Zespri, and Driscoll's became the latest players to join with Freshippo to speed up the introduction of high quality products from their point of origins.
A total of US$1billion worth of import contracts were signed earlier this month by Freshippo with countries along the Belt and Road, including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Cyprus, Russia, and Italy.
As part of the city's efforts to promote e-commerce exchanges between Shanghai and countries and regions along the Belt and Road, Freshippo is also planning further overseas expansions with processing plants, logistics facilities in these regions.
For fashion lovers, multinational companies introduction of the latest overseas products means they could enjoy the most cutting edge technologies. The companies have also combined new products with more tailor-made services.
L'Oréal Water Saver, an innovative sustainable hair washing device jointly developed by L'Oréal and the environmental innovation company Gjosa, is finally available for customers after its Asian debut at the China International Import Expo in 2021.
The L'Oréal Professional Global Flagship Salon on Tongren Road in Jing'an District was unveiled last week, bringing technological and sustainability elements to the hair salon.
New hair dying, styling products and scalp care services are available at the new store.
EssilorLuxottica's luxury eyewearbrand Oliver Peoples also opened its first boutique store in China at the Jing'An Kerry Center.
The latest tie-up collaboration with Italian fashion house Brunello Cucinelli is also available alongside a wide selection of seasonal collections including sunglasses and opticals.
This marks a crucial expansion to provide Chinese consumers with shopping experiences that could match with their knowledge and appreciation of high quality and professionally crafted eyewear, according to Giuseppe De Biasi, general manager of retail business at EssilorLuxottica China.
Vision care solutions, a wide range of eyewear as well as services have also been brought under one roof.