Shanghai aims to be city for launches

SHANGHAI wants to entice the world’s leading brands to pick the city as their first choice to debut their new products as well as open their first store in China.

The city will develop platforms to help these leading fashion brands to debut and will promote the Shanghai Fashion Week to become the fifth biggest fashion week globally. The city will also foster the development of new platforms to debut certain products such as cars, costumes, cosmetics and electronic devices.

Shanghai held a launch ceremony to promote the city as the choice for global debuts on June 15, part of the city’s ambitious implementation of its three-year action plan for the Shanghai Shopping brand.

Shanghai will also establish professional agencies to provide services in terms of media, advertising and promotions for brands which are willing to launch their new products in the city.

The city will capitalize on the the opportunity offered by the first China International Import Expo to be held in November in Shanghai to boost the influence of the Shanghai Shopping brand, according to the Shanghai Commerce Commission.

“As the import expo will bring together the world’s top brands, products and services, it can be the best chance and support for us to first build up a reputation of the Shanghai Shopping brand and further improve its global influence,” the commission said.

Innovation, being the driving force behind consumption upgrading, will be emphasized to boost the attraction of the Shanghai Shopping brand.

Shanghai has become the biggest retailing city for consumer products and the distributing center for imported goods as its total commodity sales amounted to nearly 12 trillion yuan (US$1.85 trillion) last year. Its retail sales of consumer goods exceeding 1 trillion yuan for the third straight year.