Retail

‘Phygital’ has become a buzzword in the retail industry in recent years, referring to blending the physical and digital aspects of the retail journey to offer customers a more immersive, often more personalised, experience. Examples could include ordering a coffee ahead of time via an app and picking up your order in-store; visiting a store to try on clothes and then ordering the items you like to be delivered directly …

In a bid to strengthen its consumer economy and boost its global influence, Shanghai is offering brands that open their first store in Asia (or indeed the world) in Shanghai a one-time reward of RMB 1 million (about £111,000). High-quality product launches and debut exhibitions held in the city will also have access to subsidies of up to RMB 1.2 million. The incentive is part of the “First in Shanghai” …

Focus speaks to Simon Mitchell, co-founder of global design studio Sybarite, about the future of retail in China Simon co-founded Sybarite with Torquil McIntosh in 2002, since which time they have delivered nearly 3,000 projects, including retail and experiential concepts, and designs for notable brands and retail operators of varying scales, from monobrands through to master planning. Their successful repositioning of the Shin Kong Place mall to ‘SKP’ in China …

Ahead of China Consumer 2023, Focus speaks to Michael Ward, Managing Director of Harrods, about being the first department store in Europe to embrace Chinese payment methods such as Alipay, and infusing creativity into the brand’s digital interactions Tell us more about how Harrods entered the China market At Harrods, we have been actively involved in the Chinese market for over 10 years, building strong relationships with Chinese customers both …

These days Chinese consumers can browse, buy and watch product live streams on all manner of platforms, from Douyin to Taobao to Xiaohongshu – here, in their own words, is how they choose between them According to Statista, almost 60% of China’s online live commerce shoppers are female, and they make up around 51% of Chinese e-commerce users in general. But with so much noise, and so many choices, what …

China is the world’s second largest luxury market thanks to a rising middle class and many high net worth individuals (HNWIs) with huge disposable incomes. It also has a growing number of millennials and Gen Z consumers with a considerable interest in premium and luxury brands. Hawksford’s Fabio Stella and Dario Marotta explore the opportunities for luxury brands China’s luxury market has bounced back following the reopening of the country’s …

The southern Chinese island of Hainan has become a consumer hotspot, driven by duty-free spending in huge new malls. But will economic slowdowns and continued Covid uncertainty dampen demand? On Friday, 28 October 2022, the world’s largest duty-free shopping mall opened in Haikou, the capital of China’s Hainan Province. Owned by China Duty Free Group, the 3,000,000-square-foot cdf Haikou International Duty Free City is home to more than 800 international …

Singles’ Day (also known as Double 11 or 11.11) is the world’s biggest shopping festival – that much became clear as soon as Alibaba launched its first Singles’ Day event 14 years ago in 2009 – so how has it changed, and what do you need to be aware of this year? Although Alibaba recorded gross merchandise volume of RMB 540.3 billion (£64.9 billion) during 2021, this year looks set …

If your brand is looking to open its first store in China, or open a flagship, this may be the perfect time to do it. Kristina Koehler-Coluccia from Woodburn Accounts & Advisors explains the financial and commercial incentives that are now available to brands open to focusing on Beijing In March, the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, together with nine other government bureaus in Beijing, announced the continuation of financial support …

In the third of our series on exporting to China, Kristina Koehler-Coluccia from Woodburn Global reviews the main routes to the China market, from e-commerce to distributors  Deciding on the right route to enter the China market is the first step if you want to export and sell into the country, whether that’s through cross-border e-commerce or a local distributor. The second step is to evaluate your market potential. There …