Chengdu rocks and rolls as luxury shopping heaven

Southwestern Chinese city's increasingly internationalized residents being drawn to buying premium fashion brands

Chengdu in Southwest China not only boasts the hot pot and giant panda, but also becomes increasingly known for its luxury goods and services.

The city's most famous high-end business area - Chunxi Road in Yanshikou - houses three commercial complexes, including the Chengdu International Finance Square. Chengdu is a large consumer market, which makes the area always popular.

The size of consumer spending in the city has been consistently expanding since China's reform and opening-up policy was adopted in 1978, and total retail sales of consumer goods hit 640.35 billion yuan ($97.08 billion) last year, data from the local government showed.

There were 69 international first-class luxury brands in Chengdu by the end of 2017, with the city also home to 122 brick-and-mortar luxury stores, ranking it third nationally behind Beijing and Shanghai.

Christina Hau, general manager of operations of property company Wharf China Estates Ltd, said that the availability of international luxury brands had increased in Chengdu because of the huge demand from the city's shoppers.

She said that with the increasingly internationalized taste of its residents and their penchant for leisure, they were particularly drawn to retail therapy and love to try out new things.

People in Chengdu like chatting and having a hot pot - but now fashion is becoming an important part of their lifestyle, too, Hau said.

She added the international premium brands not only offered Chengdu residents the chance to keep pace with overseas trends, but also improved their general levels of satisfaction.

Fashion is becoming the city's happening sector, local media reported. Last year, luxurious lingerie seller Victoria's Secret opened its fifth flagship store in Chengdu and global high-end perfume, apparel and makeup brand Chanel organized a big show in the city. Chengdu's fashion sector is gaining a high profile, the media reported.

Officials said the city has set the goal of becoming an "international consumption city".

By the end of 2022, the city is set to have five key markets: commerce and trade, tourism, culture, dining and health, according to a life services development conference hosted in Chengdu earlier this year.

The conference concluded Chengdu would focus on building three internationalized top business areas such as the Tianfu New Area.

Chen Lin, director at the Chengdu Commission of Commerce, said that an international consumption city can make innovation at the forefront of overseas consumer trends.

Developing Chengdu into this kind of metropolis is necessary, for it to expand its high-quality economy and become a sustainable world city, Chen said.

He said Chengdu will build three core business areas and five commercial pedestrian streets this year. It will also launch events such as an international fashion week and an international food promotion event.

Chengdu will also extend the application of cloud computing and big data technology to the consumer sector, local officials said.

"In addition, we should deepen reforms and create an internationalized business environment," Chen said, adding that Chengdu would make efforts to promote reform of the consumption tax.

The city's long history in commerce and the increasing size of its consumer market has laid the foundations for Chengdu to become an international consumption city, Chen said.

He added that the city's commercial trading could be dated back before the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the world's earliest paper currency was born in Chengdu.

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 06/29/2018 page13)