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Shanghai Kerry Centre
LIGHTS, CAMERA, PUDONG!!
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Pudong Retail Market
By Sam Crispin
Most people's perceptions of Pudong do not include much about the retail
market there but Nextage, Asia's largest department store which opened in
Pudong at the end of 1995, started the process of putting it on the map. A
number of major foreign retailers including Carrefour, Lotus and Park n'
Shop have set up shop in Pudong since then. While Pudong, with a population
of 1.5 million out of a total of 14.7 million, appears to lack a critical
mass of shoppers, its population is in fact 50 per cent higher than the
combined populations of Huangpu, Jing'an and Luwan Districts in Puxi. Over
50 per cent of apartments being sold in Pudong are sold to Puxi residents
helping to build a more solid consumer base and before long Lujiazui, the
prime business core of Pudong, will have the wealthiest daytime population
in Shanghai.
Retail sales in Pudong have already scorched their way from Rmb1.4
billion in 1990 to nearly Rmb18 billion in 1998 and a further 13.6 per
cent increase, to Rmb5 billion, took place in the first quarter of 1999. In
1990 there were hardly any shops or restaurants in Pudong and a bold foray
to seek out the nightspots of Pudong in 1994 drew an almost blank apart from
the odd dance hall that my grandparents would have enjoyed. Similar visits
to Pudong now yield attractions such as B.A.T.S., ZIPS, Roxy Music and the
noble Dublin Exchange.
The Senmao Building boasts 5 fine restaurants and a convenience store
and World Plaza is only a 5 to 10 minute walk from 'Little' Lujiazui and 5
minutes walk from Pudong's prime existing retail area on Zhangyang
Road.
Pudong is well established as the land of the 'mega-project' and
following those already in Pudong is no easy task. Detailed plans for a
37,000 sq.m. GFA. World Food Mart and Shanghai's grandest boulevard were
announced earlier this year. The food court will be built on 60,000 sq.m.
plot of land between the Pudong Shangri-La and the Jinmao
Building. Lujiazui is perhaps not best known for its tourism but impetus for
the food court comes from tourism figures which in 1998 reveal that the
total number of tourists to Pudong was recorded at 4.7 million in 1998; over
2 million people visited the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Riverside Avenue saw
1.5 million tourists and the Central Green Area received 1 million. This is
set to grow in future and Lujiazui Metro Station, scheduled to open in
October has a designed capacity for 73 million passengers a year, the
Pedestrian Tunnel has capacity for 20 million and an aquarium due to be
completed by 2001 is expected to attract 3.6 million per year.
Close to the food mart, Chia Tai is expected to restart the construction of
their retail project Riverfest by the end of this year. The mall has a
projected investment of US$305 million and work has been suspended for
nearly a year. The nine-storey project has a gross floor area of 240,000
sq.m. and is a multi-function complex providing commercial, trading,
entertaining and dining services.
With several major residential projects under construction in Pudong the
residential population is on the increase. Yanlord Garden, Chrysanthemum
Park and Central Garden are among the best quality. These projects will
build momentum for the 'gentrification' of the area and create demand for
the retail space that is already there.
Although Pudong cannot be considered a prime retail area, pedestrian
counts are increasing as new infrastructure projects are opened to
traffic. Tenants and owners moving into the major residential projects
will belong to high-income groups enhancing spending power of the local
consumers. At the same time the relatively wealthy daytime population will
increase as business in Lujiazui expands and Pudong will then be home to a
large proportion of Shanghainese with the highest disposable
incomes.
_____________________________________
Sam Crispin first came to Shanghai in August 1988 and has been resident here
full time since 1994. He now works for FPDSavills who are dedicated to
providing the best real estate services in Shanghai. Sam can be contacted by
e-mail: scrispin@fpdsavills-sh.com
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