On Friday, September 1, 2017, PRIMO Japan Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President and Representative Director: Naoki Sawano), which operates bridal jewelry specialty stores in Japan and other Asian countries, is opening its I-PRIMO Grand Canal Place Store inside “Grand Canal Place”, the new shopping center in central Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. The store is our fourth business location in mainland China following our three existing stores in Shanghai. 

Located about 1 hour by high-speed train to the southwest of Shanghai, the city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province had a population of over 7.2 million at the end of 2015 (*1). A celebrated old city renowned for its picturesque West Lake, Hangzhou is also known as the home to a number of global IT companies. Total consumption in this area has expanded by more than 10% from 2014 to 2015 (*2), making Hangzhou one of China’s leading commercial centers. Wulin Square District is the largest of several commercial districts dotted around Hangzhou. The city’s infrastructure underwent rapid development in preparation for hosting the G20 Summit in September 2016, which also resulted in the successive development and expansion of newly established businesses and commercial districts in Hangzhou’s surrounding suburbs.

 

Our store is opening in “Grand Canal Place”, a large-scale shopping center which will also be celebrating its Grand Opening this fall. This facility covers a total floor area of approximately 110,000 square meters and is located in the Da Guan District adjacent to the northern end of Wulin. Featuring a large atrium covered by a glass-ceiling, “Grand Canal Place” also offers experience-based amenities, including an ice skating rink, a movie theater and event facilities to accommodate international competitions, in order to meet increasing demand for “experience consumption.” The retail sales area houses 280 tenants over 6 floors, with our company store opening in a space on the 1st (ground) floor just inside the main entrance.Alongside globally expanding clothing, cosmetic and jewelry brands, we will offer customers in Hangzhou the highest standards of Japanese product quality through the I-PRIMO brand, and attentive customer service and hospitality to give them “the shopping experience of a lifetime.”

 

At PRIMO Japan, we have invested substantial human resources in our business in mainland China from our main offices in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong based on our "Global Human Resources Development Strategy: H-RING（Human Resource Initiatives for Globalization）. We have also actively provided background support and inter-group exchanges. Utilizing the experience that our group has cultivated through our overseas business over the past ten years, we will continue to develop not only the I-PRIMO Grand Canal Place Store, but also our overall business in mainland China in the future.

 

*1) A huge economic zone centered on Shanghai and spanning Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province. While the total area of the three regions is about 2% of the total of China, the GDP of 2016 will reach 20% (as determined by China’s National Institute of Industrial Trade & Industry).
*2) Data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China