Fashion
Parkson Retail Group Ltd (PRG), a unit of Parkson Holdings Bhd, is confident its new shopping mall in Qingdao, China, which opens later this month, will attract strong retail interest, even as rapid economic growth in China cools down.
The Asian Development Bank has predicted the Chinese economy to grow 6.5% this year. Retail sales in the world’s second largest economy expanded 10.6% in the first two months of this year.
PRG currently operates and manages 57 department stores in China, of which two are located in Qingdao, including the new Lion Mall, expected to open its doors later this month,
The group has already forked out close to RM1bil for the acquisition of the mall from Shanghai Industrial Qingdao Development Co Ltd, via its indirect unit Qingdao Lion Plaza Retail Management Co Ltd.
For the financial year ended June 30, 2015, the group’s China operations contributed about 70% to both the revenue and profits of Parkson Holdings.
Parkson said its first store in Qingdao has been in operation since 1998 and has since established strong brand equity, providing the platform for the group to further increase its market share and strengthen its foothold in the fast-growing market with the new mall.
“In order to maintain the group’s competitive edge and continue to further capitalise on the growth of the retail industry in Qingdao, there is a need to further expand its operations in the east side of Qingdao city where Lion Mall Qingdao is located,” a spokesperson from Parkson told StarBiz.
“With the ideal size and modern infrastructure, Lion Mall will provide a fully integrated shopping experience to customers, with comprehensive offerings such as Parkson department store and Foodpark serving as one of the anchor tenants, coupled with cinema, fast fashion brands, international cosmetics and accessories brands, F&B, entertainment and other amenities,” the spokesperson said.
The mall will be located at the Laoshan district of Qingdao, which is the new financial and commercial hub of the city, and will be part of a fully integrated development project, known as Beer City Project.
It has a total gross floor area of about 230,000 square metres, of which about 130,000 square metres are for retail use and the balance for ancillary and 2,000 car park lots.
The spokesperson said the mall had a planned exit gate to be directly linked to the subway line M2, which is currently under construction and will commence operations next year.
The company has spent some 1.5 billion yuan (RM905.78mil) on the acquisition, including the costs related to payment of underground land premium, following a new law imposed by the Government there.
In January 2015, the Qingdao Government implemented the management rules which set out, among other things, the procedures and requirements for registration of titles to properties situated underground.
It also outlined the mandatory payment of land premium to the Government for those underground properties which are to be used for commercial purposes.
Following this new ruling, Parkson had entered into a supplemental agreement on Feb 25, 2016 to provide for the additional land premium payment.
On the group’s future plans, the spokesperson said an upcoming Lion Mall Phnom Penh in Cambodia was currently under construction with foundation works almost completed.
“Another development is Parkson City Centre in Phnom Penh where Parkson has taken a lease of 36,500 square metres in the building and will open the first Parkson department store in Cambodia together with other sub-tenants in the fourth quarter of 2016. Notable names within Parkson City Centre are Golden Screen Cinema making its debut in Cambodia, and Giant Supermarket opening its second store in the country,” he said.
