China’s deal-seekers now have another destination close to home. As part of Shanghai Village’s grand debut on May 19, shoppers welcomed the opening of 140 high-end boutiques that provide customers up to 75 percent discounts on a range of big-name fashion, homeware, and lifestyle brands. Meanwhile, the adjacent Shanghai Disneyland Resort is already giving some tourists a sneak preview ahead of their June opening, and these visitors likely will spill over to new the luxury outlet and lifestyle spot located within the sprawling Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone.
The shopping mecca is brought to Shanghai by European outlet company Value Retail, which opened its first location in China in May 2014 in Suzhou in addition to its nine other locations in Europe. Shanghai Village is expecting to bring in mainly local tourists, but its proximity to Disneyland should also attract an international market. Still, its consumer strategy aims to satisfy the goal put forth by Value Retail’s local partner, state-owned Shanghai Shendi Group, which manages the entire zone that includes Disneyland: to encourage outbound Chinese travelers and big spenders to give back to the domestic economy.
The first group of shoppers had the chance to try out Value Retail’s VIP services aimed at helping clients easily and efficiently navigate the 55,000-square-meter space. Designed with an internationally-inspired Art Deco theme, taking cues from artist movements in New York, Paris, Milan, Vienna, and Shanghai, the village also offers an array of restaurants and cafes with Chinese and European cuisine, plus a range of sites dedicated to allowing visitors to enjoy a heightened cultural and art-related shopping experience. In fact, Shanghai Village prides itself on offering a second level of experience that goes beyond consumption, which comes through via exhibitions and promotional events, continuing right down to the architecture.
(Source: Jing Daily )