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New luxury retail malls planned

WHILE the three golden shopping centers along Nanjing Road W. - Plaza 66, Citic Square and Westgate Mall - have been long regarded as the city's premier luxury retail district, Huaihai Road M., coupled with a few more precincts on both sides of the Huangpu River, are now emerging as major competitors.

"With the rebirth of Hong Kong Plaza and Lippo Plaza, Huaihai Road M. is vying hard for the second major destination of luxury shopping in the city," said James Macdonald, head of research with Savills China, a leading international real estate services provider. "The long-established retail environment along the entire Huaihai Road will definitely offer it strong support."

Lippo Plaza reopened its doors at the end of April, showcasing flagship stores of two top-tier global retailers - Zegna and Louis Vuitton. And within a stone's throw, Hong Kong Plaza, while having only opened a number of stores including Coach, Tiffany's and Cartier, is planning for a grand opening sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, when more international brands are expected to be introduced.

The upgrading of Huaihai Road M. is not only limited to these two projects, however. A Hermes store is scheduled to open across the street sometime later this year and shopping malls including Infiniti Plaza and Shanghai Times Square are also undergoing a tenant mix reshuffle.

Being the closest competitor to Nanjing Road W., Huaihai Road M. is by no means alone as some other usurpers, both in Pudong and Puxi, have also proved their potential to be developed into future luxury shopping meccas in the city.

Lujiazui on the other side of the Huangpu River, with the brand-new Shanghai IFC Mall at its heart, is certainly in contention.

The six-story Shanghai IFC Mall, an integral part of IFC, Sun Hung Kai Property's first landmark development in the city, unveiled its goods just a few days before the official opening of World Expo in May.

With a total gross floor area of more than 92,900 square meters, the mall will house the largest collection of international luxury brands in Shanghai, according to developer SHKP.

Top-tier brands

Of these brands, 15 percent are debuting in China and 40 percent are entering Shanghai for the first time. So far, more than 20 top-tier brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, Prada, Gucci, Cartier, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Salvatore Ferragamo and Tiffany have already secured space on the ground floor.

However, given the dearth of other sizeable retail projects in the area at the moment, Lujiazui will have to wait for the completion of the retail components of Shanghai Tower and CITIC's Lujiazui New Financial District project before being able to compare itself to Huaihai Road M. and Nanjing Road W., industry analysts say.

The Bund and the Hongqiao area in western Changning District might be the other two contenders.

For instance, Waitanyuan on the Bund, scheduled to be built into a landmark lifestyle, arts and fashion zone in Shanghai in about two years, has already become a new magnet for retailers from around the world.

The area, sited along the northern stretch of the Bund and mainly surrounded by the Huangpu River to the east, Suzhou Creek to the north, Sichuan Road M. to the west and Dianchi Road to the south, will have up to 100,000 square meters of retail space in operation by the end of next year, according to latest research released by Jones Lang LaSalle Shanghai.

"The Waitanyuan project, whose first phase mainly consists of Rock Bund, Park 33, Yi Feng Building and Bund 27 as well as the Peninsula Shanghai, will grow into another major retail hub in the city by the end of next year," said Eugene Tang, head of retail for central China operations at Jones Lang LaSalle.

"With unique architectural and historic elements rooted in the Bund area, retailers from around the world have shown keen interest to expand their footprint there, and in the top-tier segment in particular we can already find big names such as Giorgio Armani, Prada, Chanel, Piaget, Berluti, Chaumet and Ralph Lauren."

Another likely candidate for expansion is Hongqiao area with the planned completion of the L'Avenue building and the Japanese Takashimaya department store, both scheduled in 2012.

A US$500-million joint development by Stanley Ho, the king of Macau's gambling empire, and Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, the L'Avenue project, at the intersection of Xianxia Road and Zunyi Road, will house all 60 luxury brands in the LVMH Group as well as other leading international brands upon completion.

"It is an international trend that luxury retail precincts will emerge in more locations across metropolitan cities like Shanghai as a result of the increasing number of affluent people amid economic growth," said Raymond Wei, director and head of retail department, DTZ East China. "In most cases, luxury retail hubs emerge initially in top-tier CBD areas and will gradually extend their footprint in other locations as more wealthy communities are established across the city."




 

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