City's retail scene continues to expand despite virus
New store openings from local and international brands are expected to inject momentum into Shanghai's retail scene with fresh shopping experiences and fashion offerings.
A wide range of new offline shopping destinations will be available for the city's residents, the latest demonstration of brands' confidence in Shanghai's vibrant consumption market.
Local sports and leisure apparel brand Maia Active said its first flagship store will open on Saturday in the downtown Xintiandi area amid rising demand for domestic sports offerings.
The local brand that says its designs fit Asian female sports lovers better set up its first offline store in 2019 in the Xintiandi area and now has 25 physical stores in 10 domestic cities.
The flagship store occupies close to 300 square meters and has more sports and leisure activity areas on the second floor, as well as a designated space for tailor-made apparel embroidery service.
Founder and Creative Director Lisa Ou expects additional flagship stores in Beijing and Shenzhen to open in the next few years, expanding in first- and second-tier cities with strong demand for high-quality sports and leisure apparel.
LEGO bricks on the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street
Last year, Shanghai recorded a total of 1,078 debut stores and flagship openings, an 18.6 percent increase from a year ago, and more than 3,000 domestic and overseas brands hosted product launch activities and exhibitions in 2021.
In the first eight months of this year, Shanghai has added 609 debut stores, according to the Shanghai Commerce Commission.
LEGO officials said it's on the right track to achieve its original store opening plans in China with 80 new physical stores by the end of this year.
The Danish toy company opened a new brand retail store at the Taikoo Li Qiantan in July, the first new LEGO store opened after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in Shanghai.
In the first half of this year, it opened 66 new LEGO stores around the globe, 46 of which are in China.
"We've seen reasonably good progress for stores in China, and our investment in offline retail stores is a testament to our long-term commitment," said LEGO Group Chief Executive Officer Niels Christiansen.
Despite the impact of COVID-19, LEGO continues to expand its global store network based on the company's original plan.
The company currently has more than 360 stores in 100 domestic cities and remains confident in its China strategy – continuing to focus on retail experiences and digital interactions with local shoppers.
New brand and product debuts are adding momentum to China's burgeoning beauty and fashion consumer market.
Prada's first perfume and beauty boutique in China officially landed in downtown Jing'an District's Réel Mall on Tuesday.
Prada's newly launched "Paradoxe" perfume is available offline along with blind boxes offering exclusive customization of goods.
Vice President of L'Oréal China and General Manager of its High-end Cosmetics Department Ma Xiaoyu expects the new opening to inject more impulse into the booming high-end beauty segment and perfume market.
A Prada perfume pop-up store will also be open through October 12.
The Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga collection went on sale on Monday at the Gap flagship store on Nanjing Road W., the first time the collection has been made available at a physical store in China after debuting at overseas stores and online retailers.
Gap's Shanghai flagship store extends the utilitarian vision seen in Gap stores in the United States and Ginza in Tokyo, offering a fresh shopping experience in a special section dedicated to new items, including logo T-shirts, denim jackets and hoodies.
The second batch of limited-edition products will arrive in the store next week with a tie-up collection that includes crossbody bags and baseball caps.
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