Upbeat multinationals bullish on Shanghai's consumption trend
Shot by Ding Yining. Edited by Zhong Youyang.
Shanghai is a landmark for retail and flagship stores that have attracted a wide range of overseas and local brands.
Multinationals remain upbeat about the business environment in Shanghai, continuing their efforts to localize new offerings, with consumer goods giants pinning high hopes on the city's consumption momentum.
Fabrice Megarbane, president of L'Oréal North Asia Zone and chief executive officer of L'Oréal China, said he has full confidence in Shanghai, which already is a landmark for retail and flagship stores.
"We firmly believe in Shanghai's consumption sentiment and expect recovery in the second quarter and further acceleration in the rest of the year," he suggested.
And Shanghai is also leading the new digitalized and sustainable consumption trend.
This year, the French cosmetic giant is unveiling the first Skin Ceuticals skincare salon in the Pudong New Area to offer personalized skin assessment and relevant skincare products under a pilot program.
"It's opening up a bigger opportunity for the beauty market to grow in China with not only speed and scale but also precision," he noted.
L'Oréal is eyeing ambitious growth with new initiatives to co-create and foster local innovation, while also adding smart fulfillment facilities at its Suzhou factory in Jiangsu Province to allow shoppers to choose tailor-made packages.
Personal and home care giant Unilever is adding a new innovation pilot production line in Shanghai.
Personal and home-care giant Unilever is adding a new innovation pilot production line in Shanghai, which will be put into operation later this month.
With the speed of new product launches picking up, it's adding the product innovation faculty to test new offerings on a small scale.
Zeng Xiwen, Unilever's vice president for China corporate affairs, said that Shanghai is already a central hub for economic development not only in the Yangtze River Delta region but also China.
"We have very deep feelings for Shanghai and are rooted in the city, which is already a central hub for economic development not only in the Yangtze River Delta region but also in the whole country," he pointed out.
As the company celebrates the 100th anniversary of entering China this year, it's already looking forward to forging ahead with the next 100 years of development in the country.
"We have a long-term development plan in China and hope to keep growing our business here," he added.
Unilever's combined investment in China exceeds US$3 billion with eight production sites across the country.
The Shanghai research and development center had an investment of over US$1 billion and is dedicated to basic science and applied research in personal care, home care, and catering service.
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