Primo Japan is pleased to announce the opening on December 18th (Fri.) of our I-PRIMO TIANJIN MIXC Store, located in the large-scale commercial facility Tianjin MixC in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China. This will be our 15th store operating in mainland China, following our 13 existing stores: 5 in Shanghai, 2 in Hangzhou, 1 in Shenzhen, 2 in Beijing, 1 in Chengdu, 1 in Suzhou, and 1 in Chongqing, and 1 in Wuhan.

◆Tianjin MixC: A Shopping Mall with Many Fine Jewelry Brands

Tianjin, a directly administered city in the People’s Republic of China, is one of the country’s National Central Cities. Located 30 minutes by high-speed rail from the capital city of Beijing, Tianjin is home to 15.6 million people.(*1) The city has a large number of so-called MAC households, meaning families made up of “middle-class, affluent customers”, and a total number of couples marrying each year that is comparable to Shanghai. As more wedding-related events are held, more and more customers are looking for bridal merchandise. Tianjin MixC, the location of our new store, is a large-scale commercial facility that was originally built as the former Galaxy Mall in 2012. The facility underwent renovations and reopened as Tianjin MixC in April 2019. With approximately 160 stores, Tianjiin MixC is packed with mainly international brands, including many jewelry brands, so we can expect to attract many customers shopping for bridal jewelry. Easily accessible by short 3-minute walk from Leyuandao Metro station, we also expect to attract a large number of customers and increase brand awareness of our I-PRIMO brand.

◆Mainland China Business Outlook: Continued Store Openings for Greater Market Penetration

Since opening our first store location in mainland China in Shanghai in July 2016, we have expanded our coverage area with stores in Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Chengdu, Suzhou, Chongqing and Wuhan. The spread of COVID-19 infections since February 2020 has had a major impact on the retail industry in mainland China. However, sales have been strong since infection rates began leveling out in April and also due to resistance to strong regulations of economic activity. Our percentage of overseas sales as of the end of 2019 stood at 30%, and, in order to achieve our 40% sales percentage set forth in our medium-term management plan, we will continue to open stores in mainland China to raise brand awareness of our I-PRIMO brand and to further develop our business in mainland China.

 

* Source: China National Bureau of Statistics