Changle Road Rents Close To Nanjing East Road Commodity Prices To Catch Up With Luxury Goods

"For me personally, Changle Road is dead, and I have no reason to go again." Last weekend, Ye Qizheng, founder of the tidal wave network and a famous fashion critic, told the Morning Post reporter. At this time, it is less than two years since the US international media Herald Tribune issued the prediction that "Changle Road will become the next fashion center". From "the next fashion center" to "no reason to go further", behind Changle Road's high and low walk reflects the frustration and weakness of China's fashion and creative industries under commercial impact.

Chaos in Changle

Skyrocketing rent: when Wu Mindan, a shopkeeper, went shopping in 2008, 20 square meters of shops had a monthly rent of 6000 yuan. In 2009, the monthly rent rose to 13 thousand yuan, and now the monthly rent is close to 20 thousand yuan.

Crazy cottage: many shops sell foreign trade goods, but they say they are designers.

Many shops close on Changle road. Morning Post reporter Miao Aotu

Shanghai's "Harajuku" designers are moving away.

In August 24th, several decorators were busy painting bricks in wooden doors of No. 284, Changle Road, Shanghai. Decoration workers said that shops have just changed hands, and the two old and new owners are selling. clothing . On the opposite side of No. 284, it was a shop next to the three. All the doors were closed and the window was posted on the "rent" sign. Who would have thought that two or three years ago, Changle Road was also a gathering place for Shanghai fashion and fashion, attracting a large number of independent design brands, fashion designers and customers.

The most famous shop on the Changle road is the ACU opened by Hongkong entertainer Edison Chan. On the day of opening in 2006, many stars joined the crowd to stir up the city. Since then, more and more designers have chosen locations on the Changle road.

"When young and dynamic designers look to Changle Road, people say that it will become the future Harajuku." In 2008, the American media Herald Tribune focused its attention on Changle Road. Harajuku, a shop in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan, is different from other parts of Harajuku, which is famous for its large number of design brands.

Including a number of new domestic designers, such as Qiu Hao, Gao Xin and Yin Jianxia, began to run their own brands in Changle Road. "At that time, there was a real fire in Changle Road, and fashion magazines and TV stations all ran to shoot reports." A shop owner in Changle Road said.

"At that time, we really believed that Changle Road could become the next Harajuku." The founder of the tidal network. Clothing marketing Master Ye Qizheng recalls.

Time shifts. Nowadays more and more designers are moving away from Changle Road, including Edison Chan's ACU.

Rents close to Nanjing East Road commodity prices to catch up with luxury goods

"Many of the designers I know have left Changle Road because the rent is too expensive and the operating cost is too high." Ye Qizheng told the Morning Post reporter that today's Changle Road has no attraction for independent designers.

Wu Mindan, who runs a clothing store in Changle Road, does not agree with the statement that "Changle Road is dead." this is too sensational. But she admitted that rents rose much faster than housing prices. Wu Mindan recalled that when the store was sold in 2008, the monthly rental of 20 square meters of shops was 6000 yuan. When the landlord came back in 2009, the monthly rent rose to 13 thousand yuan, and now the monthly rent is close to 20 thousand yuan.

Yin Jianxia, another famous designer in China and Estune brand store owner, is also a deputy general of Metersbonwe. He also expressed dissatisfaction with Changle Road's rising rents: "too high."

Compared with the raging rise in rents, customers are getting thinning. "Usually ten customers a day, less shopping, better weekend." A shop owner in the eastern part of Changle Road said. When interviewed by reporters in Changle Road, Zaobao noticed that most customers were deterred from the price of clothing.

"Things in Changle Road are indeed more expensive, and many designer brands are catching up with luxury goods." Ye Qizheng introduced. Including Estune, NPC and other famous designer brands in Changle Road, the price of a garment can easily exceed 1000 yuan.

"The price is not falling down. Now it's basically about maintaining costs." Wu Mindan, a shop owner, said. Wu Mindan is also planning to withdraw from Changle Road. She has chosen a pavement on Maoming road.

More and more people left without affecting the rent in Changle Road. A landlord who was rentying told the Morning Post reporter that his base price was 30 thousand yuan per month, and stressed: "Changle Road lots are good, fame is great, even foreigners come around."

Ye Qizheng did not agree with him. He thought that the rent of Changle Road was close to the price of Nanjing East Road commercial circle. "But the passenger flow of both is not comparable, how many people are there in Nanjing East Road and how many people in Changle Road?" {page_break}

Shanzhai affects original atmosphere, but not overall media promotion.

Chaos is what many designers describe the current Changle Road. Qiu Hao, a designer who participated in the creation of One by one brand, recalled that many of the new shop owners who came to Changle Road had even taken the decorating master to the window of One by one, pointing to the pavement design, saying, "I want this, and this."

Today, many shops in the western part of Changle Road maintain an astonishing consistency in the decoration design, simple design and dim lighting, but not all shops are designer's creative brands, many are just Shanzhai and imitation.

"Many shops sell foreign trade goods, but they say they are designers." A shop owner told the Morning Post reporter, in fact, most of the shops are also imported from Guangzhou.

Yin Jianxia, the owner of Estune brand store, regrets: "in promoting sales, designers are not as good as businessmen. Many designers can only find new ways."

Shops full of Shanzhai and imitation are affecting the original flavor of Changle Road, but this is not the only bottleneck. Zhao Hui, the first financial reporter who has been tracking the fashion of Harajuku in Japan for a long time, said: "in Japan Harajuku, the media is the best cooperation promoter of Chao Dian. All Japanese magazines will cooperate with brands or tide shops to introduce the source and price of model clothing. At the end of the magazine, there is a store directory and detailed address and telephone index.

Changle Road lacks such promotion and publicity. In the interview, the Morning Post reporter met several tourists from Guangzhou. They looked for Edison Chan's tide shop near Changle Road 139. In fact, the shop had already closed down, and the new shop was on the Julu road.

"Before media coverage, it is also because reporters and a few designers are familiar with it and promote it, and it does not involve the whole Changle Road." Ye Qizheng said.

Lack of unified planning and management, creative industry is still very young.

Fleeing Changle Road is the choice of more and more designers. "Before Changle Road was the only popular gathering place in Shanghai, the situation is different now." Yin Jianxia told the Morning Post reporter that in recent years, designers began to gather on Xinle Road, Julu Road, and even farther from mealong town.

This seems to coincide with the bottleneck of the development of China's fashion and creative industries. Chen Dayang, a famous real estate observer, once concluded: "some low cost lots are occupied by creative people such as artists and designers, and form a consumption pattern. Subsequently, commercial organizations follow up, and the cost of land rent rises, which makes it difficult for creative people to take the responsibility to evacuate, and then to find new places of interest."

In this regard, designers on the Changle road believe that the lack of unified planning and management is an important reason for the gradual decline of Changle Road. "Changle Road has always been lacking in a clear position, and there have been reports that it is necessary to relocate or rebuild. There is no unified planning and management, so it is difficult for designers to provide a viable market and space." Yin Jianxia emphasized.

A special department has been set up with the Huaihai Middle Road adjacent to Changle Road and the prestigious Tianzifang. "The advantages of unified management are appropriate positioning, access mechanism, and better publicity, of course." Ye Qizheng said.

Ye Qizheng recalls that once a consortium wanted to contract the Changle Road shops to a unified management plan, "but the difficulty was too great to end it." Changle Road across the three districts of Xuhui, Jingan and Luwan, has a large number of hotels, historical buildings and residential buildings, and the property rights are complex.

"We also need to understand that China's fashion and creative industries are still at a young stage of development, and designers and consumers are just beginning." A member of the Shanghai Fashion Week Organizing Committee, who does not want to be named, believes that the harmonization between commerce and art is an eternal topic. "Many designers are somewhat idealistic, and they lack experience in business."

"And now the Shanghai municipal government also attaches great importance to the development of creative industries, and has been supporting and paying attention to the fashion design industry, providing a platform for them." The personage emphasizes that, on the website of Shanghai Creative Industry Exhibition and service platform, it clearly lists the development direction of the fashion design industry in the future: "we need to increase the brand of local designers, mainly through design adheres to localization, designs clothing with Chinese culture, and coordinates the relationship between designer's concept and business philosophy."

At present, some designers from Changle Road have been stationed in shopping malls, which believes that this will help designers better integrate into the mainstream market.

Another group of designers flocked to nearby roads to find new clusters. However, the opening of the new store has also stimulated the rents of Xinle road and Julu road. No one knows whether these roads will repeat the mistakes of Changle Road.