With the Grand Opening on 7/28 of I-PRIMO Shanghai HKRI Taikoo Hui Store, located inside the HKRI Taikoo Hui shopping mall and our 3rd store in Shanghai, PRIMO JAPAN will reach a total of 100 stores globally since its founding in 1999. 

◆HKRI Taikoo Hui: Shanghai’s Puxi District’s Largest Commercial Complex

 

The HKRI Taikoo Hui commercial complex, which is said to be the latest large-scale redevelopment project in the Puxi district developed jointly by HKR International and Swire Properties, features approximately 170,000 square meters of office space, a hotel & serviced apartments (approx. 50,000 square meters) and a shopping mall (approx. 100,000 square meters).(*1）The shopping mall stands 3 floors above ground and 2 floors below ground, and is accessible through convenient transport links with 3 subway lines.

 

The shopping mall’s store interiors and the designs are targeted at female shoppers attracted to store brands that have newly opened in China. Even before the shopping mall’s grand opening, the center was able to generate a lot of buzz, attracting a great deal of interest and anticipation from customers. The I-PRIMO Shanghai HKRI Taikoo Hui Store will open in the middle section of the 2nd floor, surrounded by well-known clothing and accessories brands, so we expect to have good brand recognition among a large number of women.

 

◆About Our Business in Shanghai & Our “Human Resource Initiatives for Globalization (H-RING)”

 

Following our first store in Shanghai, the I-PRIMO Shanghai Hong Kong Plaza Store, which opened in July 2016, our second location in the city, the I-PRIMO Shanghai Grand Gateway 66 Store, opened in November that same year. In accordance with on our “Human Resource Initiatives for Globalization (H-RING),” many human resources from various business sites in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong have been invested in the Shanghai businesses from the very beginning, and we have actively provided back-up support and group-wide exchanges. As a result, in the Shanghai market where growth from "consumption of things" to "consumption of products and services” is remarkable, the product and service capabilities of "Japan Quality" have been highly appreciated and our results are steadily growing.

 

◆Growth Potential of Our Business Overseas

 

After the opening of the “I-PRIMO Shanghai HKRI Taikoo Hui Store," we plan to open one store in Shanghai and one in Hangzhou this autumn. That results in five stores in total in the Greater Shanghai area (*2) at the end of 2017. From 2018 onwards, we are also considering expansion into other cities in China. In the Chinese market, where wedding-related consumption is robust owing to the expansion of the middle class, we will also continue to offer the convenience of various online / offline promotions while at the same time pursuing our aggressive store-opening strategy in order to achieve early “I-PRIMO” brand market penetration among this customer base.

 

※1）Opened in May 2017, the total development area is 322,000 square meters, which, for reference, is an area equivalent to seven Tokyo Domes.

 

※2） A huge economic zone spanning Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province with Shanghai city at its center. While the total area of these three regions is about 2% of the total land area of China, it will have reached 20% of GDP in 2016 (as determined by China’s National Institute of Industrial Trade & Industry).

 

※3） The number of stores (projected) as of July 28 is as follows:

    -Japan: 82 stores (I-PRIMO 68 stores + LAZARE DIAMOND BOUTIQUE 14 stores)
    -Taiwan: 11 I-PRIMO stores
    -Hong Kong: 4 I-PRIMO stores
    -Shanghai: 3 I-PRIMO stores