City introduces 19 int’l retail brands in first 3 qtrs


Friday, January 03, 2014 by Great-Idea Business Resources Company

According to CBRE's "Retail Hotspots in Asia Pacific" report for this year released on December 17, the number of international retail brands that entered the city totaled 19 in the first nine months of 2013, ranking among the top 10 in the region and topping Seoul, Taipei, New Delhi and Manila.

The new entrants fall into the following business categories: coffee, restaurants, luxury, leisure, mid-range fashion, homeware & department, consumer electronics and supermarkets.

Coffee shop lovers may have discovered that a number of international brands have opened stores in the city. Mid-range fashion brands that have already opened stores or will shortly do in the city include Michael Kors, Tory Burch in Hangzhou Mansion shopping city and Kate spade, Sandro in MIXC. These brands are cheaper than famous luxury brands and hence increasingly gaining popularity.

In the mean time, luxury brands are slowing their pace of opening new stores. Statistics from Hangzhou Mansion indicate that the only luxury brand that has opened a store in the mall is the shoe brand Roger Vivier.

Given the decelerating expansion of luxury brands in China, the market is currently dominated by mid- and high-end fashion brands, said Sebastian Skiff, executive director of CBRE Retail Asia.

More luxury brands have upgraded their existing stores by offering more custom products and services instead of opening new stores.