Shenzhen Xiwu Department Store Will End Its 10-Year Cooperation With New City Plaza

A big news came out from the retail industry in Shenzhen: In the minds of Shenzhen consumers, there was a time when Xiwu Department Store, CITIC City Plaza (now renamed New City Plaza), Dongmen Pedestrian Street, International Trade, Huaqiang North, Shennan Tianhong, Shekou Baijia, etc., became famous business labels in Shenzhen. However, since the end of last year, the news of "divorce" between Seibu Department Store and New City Plaza has been reported in the industry, but it was denied by the relevant responsible persons of both parties at that time. Recently, Yang Jingyu, the general manager of Shenzhen Ping An Commercial Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd., made it clear in an exclusive interview that the New City Plaza and Xiwu Department Store The ten year long cooperation relationship will end at the end of September this year, and insiders of Seibu Department Store also confirmed the above information. Many insiders in the industry feel very sorry for the dismal departure of Xiwu, because it has created a brilliant commercial sales myth in Shenzhen. The most important thing is that "Xiwu Department Store", a brand that impressed Shenzhen people, may leave the local business circle.

Xiwu and New City Plaza will end the ten-year "guest host" relationship

Many old customers in Shenzhen Xiwu Department Store Very familiar: it entered the Shenzhen business circle at the end of 1993, and is the first department store in China to operate high-end department stores and take the route of international brand agency. The first LV store in Shenzhen was located in Xiwu Department Store Luohu Store. According to senior buyer ANITA, when new European products arrived at the store, in addition to waiting in line to buy, customers from Beijing, Shenyang and other cities would come to buy them by plane at the first time. Many domestic consumers bought LV, BALLY, FENDI, VERSACE, HUGOBOSS, etc. for the first time in Xiwu Department Store International famous brand Products.

However, in recent years, Shenzhen Shopping Mall The industry has developed rapidly. So far, more than 20 large SHOPPINGMALL have settled in Shenzhen, and the urban commercial pattern is expanding westward and northward, with more fierce competition between them. In 2006, Ping An acquired CITIC City Plaza for 2 billion yuan, but it was not until last October that CITIC City Plaza was officially renamed as New City Plaza. At the same time, large-scale strategic transformation, brand adjustment and image upgrading projects were carried out on the site. The rumor that Xiwu Department Store would withdraw from the shopping center also came from inside at that time.

In Yang Jingyu's opinion, the "going all the way" between the New City Plaza and Saiwu Department Store is purely the expiration of the 10-year contract period. After careful coordination, everyone calmly announced the "break up", without too many disputes.

"For the original tenants of Xiwu, we welcome you to sign contracts with us as individuals. From the perspective of the operation of the New City Plaza, we will also investigate these tenants. After all, at the beginning of next year shopping The first to third floors of the center will be upgraded accordingly, and some business problems that have not been dealt with since the reopening last year will be thoroughly rectified, so as to meet the challenges brought by the shopping center era with a new look. "

The internal management of Xiwu Department Store has confirmed the above statement, but until this article was published, Xiwu has not made a clear response on where to go after evacuating the new city square. A few years ago, it was rumored in the industry that it would enter the soon to open imperial IAMALL. Later, because of the lack of agreement on the entry conditions, there was no following.

Did Xiwu Department Store miss the best time for transformation?

As the super anchor store of New City Plaza, Xiwu Department Store occupies the most important shop positions on the first to third floors Clothes & Accessories 、 shoes Class A and cosmetics are the main products for sale. Nandu reporters found that the scene was not as lively as expected. On the first floor, a store is holding a discount promotion clothing 5 Fold ". According to the salesperson, they did not know that Xiwu would formally withdraw from the New City Plaza. This promotion was purely a normal marketing method, and there was no saying of "off site sale". In a men's clothing store on the second floor, a person in charge of the store told the reporter in a very positive tone that after September, the store will continue to operate in the New City Plaza, "Because there are too many frequent customers, and the management promised to make a series of upgrades and adjustments in the shopping atmosphere and brand introduction, we have to wait and see while we operate. After all, it is difficult to find a satisfactory store in other shopping centers with moderate rent." However, the reporter from Nandu found that, In the Xiwu Department Store area, a large area has been enclosed for decoration. According to insiders, some businesses have left early, and the operator has also agreed to let some brands enter the site for relay.

Wang Biao, a senior businessman, is the most representative of Xiwu Department Store's upcoming departure. He believes that the break up between the two parties was actually caused by the lack of consensus on the distribution of benefits. As a very strong anchor store, Xiwu Department Store put forward many additional conditions such as rent concessions before re signing the contract; As the operator, Ping An Commercial Real Estate must accurately calculate the input-output ratio when the shopping center has entered the mature period. Moreover, the shopping center has the confidence to challenge the anchor stores, and bypassing this "commercial intermediary agent" can also save a lot of costs. "In fact, everyone will lose, but it may be more serious in Xiwu, because this agency business model is quite backward and needs to be eliminated. But I think the most critical point is that Xiwu Department Store missed the best opportunity for transformation in the past few years. If it can seize the opportunity like Jizhi Island to build its own shopping center and department store brand, This is definitely not the case now. "

Is the main department store the biggest concern of the shopping center?

Since last year, there has been an upsurge of "de anchor stores" in domestic shopping centers, and many well-known SHOP-PINGMALL, including Beijing and Shanghai, have begun to transform anchor stores. This trend naturally also flows to Shenzhen. At the channel conference of China Buying Federation held in Shenzhen in April this year, Yang Jingyu was the guest who made the keynote speech "What kind of shopping center has the condition of no anchor store and its risk research and judgment", which caused many speculations in the industry at that time.

It must be pointed out that the main stores in the broad sense of commerce include supermarkets, cinemas, skating rinks, department stores, etc. These stores play a role in attracting customers and improving performance for shopping centers. However, large-scale supermarkets, skating rinks and other businesses cannot be rapidly adjusted due to hardware and other relationships. Businesses can only attract audiences by upgrading the main stores of department stores to make the whole shopping center take on a new look. Therefore, the fate of the main stores of department stores has become the most concerned object of operators.

At the beginning of the opening of a single shopping center, in addition to bringing a steady flow of customers to become the "nail of the sea" of the shopping center, the main department stores also contributed a lot to the shopping center's business positioning and attracting investment. Tianhong Department Store in Shenzhen Jingji Baina Plaza and Ruiou in the MIXC are good examples. However, with the increasingly fierce competition in shopping centers, the disadvantages of major department stores are beginning to appear: too long lease term and too low rent will restrict the development of shopping centers. It is worth noting that the shopping center can not effectively control the development and operation of many department store anchor stores because they have too much say. In addition, the anchor stores have been greatly developed in recent years, which has deepened the contradiction between the two. Some insiders even pointed out that the main department stores have become the biggest concern for the development of shopping centers, and it is imperative for operators to carry out the business adjustment of "going to the main department stores".

A person in charge of a large shopping center in Shenzhen said that the "breakup" between Xiwu Department Store and New City Plaza is the most true portrayal of commercial cooperation, contradiction and separation. Commercial institutions that do not make corresponding adjustments according to commercial laws will eventually be abandoned by the market. For the new city square, the external environment has undergone significant changes. The dual pressure of MIXC and KKMALL in the same business circle has made the operators rethink the community oriented business positioning; However, Xiwu Department Store needs to sort out its own business model and internal management mechanism from the "breakup" event, otherwise it will encounter similar setbacks in the future development process.

Expert opinion

The shopping center "goes to the main department store"

Can't generalize

Guo Zengli Director of China Shopping Center Industry Information Center

Indeed, in the past one or two years, many large shopping centers in China have discussed the scale, voice and cooperation mode of department stores in many aspects, and "going to the main store of department stores" has become a very popular topic in the industry. On this issue, we should not simply use "good" and "bad" as affirmation or negation, but should use "suitable" and "unsuitable" as the criteria for evaluation. It has no fixed model.

It is observed that no matter in the international market or in the domestic market, at least 90% of shopping centers use high-quality department stores as a bargaining chip to attract investment. Many well-known retail brands at home and abroad will also inspect SHOP-PINGMALL's main stores before entering. From this point of view, the main department store can not disappear in a short time, nor should it disappear. It plays a very important role in the initial development stage of shopping centers.

But at the same time, we should also see that the rise of secondary anchor stores has brought a new proposition to the operation and management of shopping centers, and launched a strong challenge to the department store anchor stores. Some mature and high-quality shopping centers rely on their own channels to develop a strong strength. The shopping center itself is a gold lettered signboard. At this time, the status of major department stores will inevitably be weakened. Shoppingmall, such as Coastal City, Yitian Holiday Plaza, KKMALL, will be replaced by secondary major stores or small specialty department stores, which will become the focus of operators' cultivation The main means of attracting passenger flow.