Becoming the current traffic leader | Shanghai Vitality Mall ②, Shanghai Global Port: Why was the brand not favored 10 years ago | Shanghai | Traffic

"Global Port is very big and easy to explore, never going all the way." "The food queue is too long, and it's normal for popular restaurants to queue for two hours." "There are quite a few trendy shops, with a wide range of shopping options, and there are always high, medium, and low-end items that you need." "It's especially suitable for strolling around children."

This is a concentrated evaluation of Shanghai Global Port that the reporter learned from social media and friends. News such as "Apple CEO Cook's appearance at Shanghai Global Port" and "DIOR President's visit" have shown people its increasingly recognized value by the world.

Since its opening in September 2013, Shanghai Global Port has gone through ten years. Since 2019, it has consistently ranked first on the "Shanghai Shopping Center Popularity List". Data shows that Shanghai Global Port has an average daily passenger flow of over 100000, an annual passenger flow of over 35 million, and a sales revenue of over 15.5 billion yuan in 2022, ranking among the top in Shanghai.

What is the reason behind the popularity of Shanghai Global Port?

Is it a "stone" or a "rare jade"?

The location of Shanghai Global Port used to be a narrow corner area between Shanghai Metro Lines 3 and 4 and the Inner Ring Road, with many old factories and shantytowns inside.

In 2013, many people were not optimistic about using this narrow and narrow terrain as a commercial use. Firstly, it is not backed by any commercial district in Shanghai. Secondly, at that time, e-commerce was booming, and there were voices online praising the decline of physical commerce.

But in the eyes of Ding Zuohong, the chairman of the board of directors of Yuexing Group, this is a rare jade wrapped in stone: "It is located in the central area of Shanghai center, at the junction of Putuo, Changning and Jing'an, with convenient transportation, many residential areas around, and the scale can reach the super" Shopping Mall ". What we do must not be a traditional shopping mall, but a city living room for ordinary people, a one-stop service space that can meet the needs of all kinds of beautiful life."

In September 2013, this commercial giant made a stunning debut -248 meters high, with a total construction area of 480000 square meters and over 2000 underground parking spaces. The Global Port resembles a luxury cruise ship, anchored between the elevated inner ring road and the rail transit lines 3 and 4. The towering twin towers in the sky are the chimneys and masts on board. At the bottom of the front deck of the cruise ship is the station of the subway line 13 that crosses over, and the "hull" shops are connected to the transfer platforms of the rail transit lines 3 and 4.

Starting from home furnishings, Yuexing Group pays great attention to the internal design of Global Port. The team inspected well-known commercial entities in major cities around the world, and the design scheme underwent dozens of revisions. Finally, it adopted a European classical style, integrating art into commerce. Entering the interior of the shopping mall, the "Sun Hall" dome space inside the south gate is grand and magnificent. From the Sun Hall, the Central Hall to the Garden Hall, Roman columns and classical sculptures can be seen everywhere, as if crossing the classical luxury of Italy and the literary romance of Venice.

However, this thick European classical style decoration, because of its thick and bright colors, was initially roast of "rustic" by many people. Ten years later, this style still stands out in the shopping malls of Shanghai, but more and more people are accepting it.

Xie Weiting, a 25-year-old girl from Taiwan, just came to Shanghai for an internship last month. One of the important reasons why she likes to visit Global Port is that "the decoration style is unique, with a romantic feeling, and she can feel the charm of humanities and art. There are check-in points everywhere." Many young people also scramble to climb to the residential building opposite Global Port, take photos and videos, because the "love landmark" formed by Global Port and the surrounding road network has become a popular attraction on the internet.

There is a "Golden Performing Arts Hall" in Global Port, which regularly holds concerts. It is precisely because of the special steel structure design of the "Sky Dome Stage" that the audience can hear different contents of music from different angles and witness the performance of the actors with their own eyes.

Beautiful jade needs polishing. In large-scale commercial entities, the gameplay used is also more particular.

Standing in the mall, the shops on both sides of the central corridor are dazzling, covering various formats such as fashion brands, boutique catering, leisure and entertainment, office fitness, hotel services, exhibitions and performances, with nearly a thousand brands and merchants, making it a "concentrated city".

Since May this year, nearly 40 new stores have settled in Shanghai Global Port, including more than ten regional, Shanghai, and national first stores, gathering various trendy and catering brands.

The first online grocery store in East China, Tomato Pocket, opened in June at Global Port. The store manager Zhang Xinyue said, "It has only been two months since its opening, and the daily customer flow exceeds 10000 people. On weekends, the store is even more crowded."

Some online brands are also starting to place their first offline stores at Global Port. The original brand "Shell Space" for mobile phone cases has established its first offline store in Global Port for a year, allowing more people to understand and experience it. Through online and offline linkage, the brand's total sales have been increased.

Is it a "civilian route" or a "high-end strategy"?

Is it a "civilian route" or a "high-end strategy"?

On Xiaohongshu, a food blogger referred to Shanghai Global Port as a "dessert gathering place in Shanghai". If we use 32 gathering places to describe Global Port, there are many things to match: jewelry brand gathering places, sports brand gathering places, catering brand gathering places... In many product categories, Global Port seems to be described as "large and comprehensive".

Eight years ago, Liufu Jewelry settled in Global Port. In the eyes of store manager Luo Min, the gathering brought about a flow of people and consumption. "Jewelry buyers can come here, with a complete range of brands, each with its own unique features, and always loved by consumers. Among the more than 60 stores of Lufu Jewelry in Shanghai, the Global Port store ranks among the top with monthly sales of around 2 million yuan."

Global Port has always had internet celebrities, super popular brands, and trendy business models. Among them, there are over 100 restaurants that showcase a youthful, fashionable, and casual style, resulting in very few high-end banquet meals.

It is reported that Global Port is constantly adjusting and upgrading its brand formats every year, with an average annual turnover rate of nearly 10%. In recent years, the proportion of experiential commercial formats such as specialty catering, fashionable lifestyle retail, sports and fashion brands, and leisure and entertainment has steadily increased, while the proportion of traditional clothing and other formats has narrowed.

With increasing popularity, more and more top tier brands are also beginning to favor Global Port. Nowadays, brands such as GUCCI and DIOR have a place on the first floor of shopping malls.

So, with the upgrading of consumption and the continuous upgrading of shopping malls, will Shanghai Global Port become a gathering place for luxury brands?

Ding Zuohong told a small story to the reporter.

Ten years ago, when Global Port first started attracting investment, it was difficult, but it received support from some civilian restaurants. When inspecting the decoration, he found that Xiaoyang Shengjian was the first completed shop in the food district.

But a few years ago, when the Global Port brand was upgraded, the management team saw that the lease term for Xiaoyang Shengjian had expired and was ready to persuade him to withdraw and switch to other catering brands. This was stopped by Ding Zuohong. "When we were in the most difficult times, they were the first to come in, and this friendship cannot be forgotten. Moreover, the common people also need delicious civilian cuisine like Xiao Yang's fried dough."

So, Xiaoyang Shengjian stayed at Global Port. Now, after the storefront has been renovated, the popularity is still very strong. At 2pm the previous working day, the reporter saw that the store was fully booked, and many customers were tasting its new product: hot pot fat beef pan fry.

This positioning makes Global Port a commercial venue that caters to the general public and caters to consumers of all ages, without being defined by traditional "low, medium, and high" consumption levels.

This positioning makes Global Port a commercial venue that caters to the general public and caters to consumers of all ages, without being defined by traditional "low, medium, and high" consumption levels.

For many shopping venues, their appeal does not lie in the number of high-end brands, but rather in the interaction between various formats, making customers willing to spend more time staying and achieving value conversion.

Global Port proposed a shopping experience approach that combines business, tourism, cultural and sports exhibitions 10 years ago, planning many well received and well received exhibitions, and achieving weekly performances. Among them, there are cultural and artistic exhibitions such as the Louvre Collection Art Exhibition, the Chuanqi Picasso Art Exhibition, and the GAME ON Edgar Plains Fashion Art Exhibition. There are also parent-child interactive exhibitions such as the Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary Carnival and the Super Flying Man Let's Go to the Moon, as well as fashion events such as the Spring Cross disciplinary Art Fashion Week.

By maximizing social, interactive, and experiential experiences, it is evident that more time is spent.

Is it "based in China" or "facing the world"?

Innovating and seeking change in keeping up with the hot topics of the times and national strategies has also been the main theme of Shanghai Global Port in the past decade.

This year, on the rooftop of the 5th floor, Shanghai's first cruise themed commercial space - World Port Town - made a brand new debut.

Compared to the main body of Global Port, this place presents a unique exotic atmosphere. Not only are the first store, themed dining bar, music bar, and exotic cuisine all available, but public activity spaces such as cultural and creative markets, performing arts squares, and immersive theaters also meet the new needs of young people's nightlife.

In March of this year, the Sri Lanka Pavilion and the Iran Pavilion, two "6+365 day" CIIE permanent exhibition halls, were the first to open in the Global Port World Port Town. After a period of time, there will also be new "neighbors" such as the Egypt Pavilion and Pakistan Pavilion, helping to turn exhibits into commodities.

"We have been showcasing Sri Lankan specialty products at the CIIE, and now Global Port has this year-round pavilion, which not only sells products but also showcases culture." Li Delong, the head of the Sri Lankan pavilion and the chairman of the Sri Lankan China Association for the Promotion of Trade, said that since its opening, the sales of Sri Lanka Pavilion have been increasing month by month, and popular products such as Ceylon black tea and gemstones need to be restocked every day. "Shanghai Global Port has provided great support for entry, making the Sri Lanka Pavilion a trade bridge between the two countries."

The World Port Town is a direct result of the spillover effects of the International Import Expo undertaken by the Global Port, which has significantly boosted popularity and business. The store manager of the left and right courtyards told me

The daily average passenger flow of over 100000 has undoubtedly transformed into consumption flow. From the composition of passenger flow, not only do they come from various districts in Shanghai, but also from the Yangtze River Delta and the whole country.

The ambition of Global Port seems to have been hidden in its name from the beginning. In Ding Zuohong's view, China is not lacking in commerce, what is lacking is commerce that is in line with international standards, people's standards, and the times. Relying on Shanghai, Global Port can become a window for the world to see China in the future, as well as a window for China to see the world.