Prestige shopping streets collaborate
Shanghai's Nanjing Road W. has linked up with some of the world’s top shopping streets to import merchandising concepts and export local brands.
The collaboration was revealed at the annual nanjing Road Forum this month.
Nanjing Road has forged ties with the Champs-Elysees in Paris, Via Montenapoleone in Milan, Orchard Road in Singapore and Regent Street and St James’s Street in London.
These iconic commercial zones will hold a variety of joint activities in art, fashion, sports and theater, and will launch tourism projects to encourage people to visit. They will also share information and apply emerging technologies to study customer preferences and upgrade commercial layouts to counter online retailing.
The partners will support local brands to promote their names in overseas countries, with brick-and-mortar stores, pop-up stores and exhibitions.
Edouard Lefebvre, manager of the Champs-Elysees management committee, said both streets are rich in history yet showcased by many new arrivals.
According to Lefebvre, cultural ambience is of vital importance to attract people.
“We sell about 10 million tickets every year in our museums, galleries, theaters and other cultural venues surrounding the Champs-Elysees,” he said. “More than half of the ticket buyers are actually from outside Paris, and many are overseas tourists. They are attracted by our high-quality cultural offerings.”
Steven Goh, president of Orchard Road’s commerce federation, suggested governments step up efforts to improve local infrastructure and expand greenery. He said adding roadside installations or activities encourages people to come and stay.
“It’s not just the business of retailers,” he said. “government departments need to get more involved because they play a big role in improving the street environment.”
Jill Sinclair, a representative of Regent Street and St James’s Street, said nanjing Road could further combine heritage and design, and offline and online retailing. The key is to make the road a brand in itself and an example of a particular lifestyle, she said.
Stores on the road together form the personality of the road and can satisfy needs from shopping to eating, she added.
Zhu Peiliang, chairman of the Commerce and Company Federation of nanjing Road, said world-class commercial zones not only have great shopping ambience but also showcase local history and culture.
Facts about Nanjing Road W.
- Home to 31 top-class office buildings and 26 regional headquarters of multinational companies
- Home to more than 1,800 brands, almost two-thirds of them international names. Luxury giants LVMH, Kering and Richemont have established their Shanghai offices in Jing’an. Kering has its Chinese headquarters there.
- Visitor numbers total more than 300,000 a day, with per-capita spending of nearly 2,000 yuan (US$288).
- In the first nine months of the year, sales increased 25 percent.