Can the Wujiaochang business district achieve a leap in energy levels| Shanghai Vitality Mall ⑤, the first store of Heshenghui, where "first stores" gather| Shanghai
More than a decade ago, when it comes to commerce in northern Shanghai, especially in the northeast region, local residents always felt a "faint sadness". Baoshan's commercial development is average, while the development of the East Bund is relatively weak. The Waigaoqiao on the other side of the river is even more of a "commercial desert", with only Wujiaochang being the most successful.
On the other hand, the large number of residents and few shopping malls in the surrounding areas have promoted the prosperity of Wujiaochang's commerce. After forming inertia, even today when Daning Jiuguang and North Bund Raffles opened, randomly asking a resident of North Shanghai where to go shopping on weekends, many people answered that Wujiaochang.
However, as one of the sub centers of Shanghai, the problem of insufficient commercial level and influence in Wujiaochang has always existed. Previously, statistics showed that 80% of the passenger flow in the Wujiaochang commercial district came from within a 5-kilometer radius. People are unwilling to come specifically to Wujiaochang for consumption if they live slightly further away. The reason is that there is a shortage of high-end commercial buildings in Wujiaochang, and there are too few formats that can attract customers across regions.
In 2016, the shopping center Heshenghui opened in the southeast corner of Wujiaochang, positioning itself as the perfect convergence of cultural and creative trends and new taste life. It targets young customers and enhances social attributes, attracting customers through various "first stores" and holding flash events, attempting to fill this business gap.
Seven years have passed, and from the data, Heshenghui is undoubtedly successful: during this year's May Day holiday, Heshenghui achieved sales of 128 million yuan in five days, a sharp increase of 199% compared to 2019; The daily average passenger flow is 124000, an increase of 40% from 2019. In the past two years, Heshenghui has been awarded professional institution awards such as the 2022 Popular Commercial Complex Award and the 2023 Urban Landmark Shopping Center Award.
But from a strategic perspective, has Heshenghui, known as the "last piece of puzzle" in the Wujiaochang commercial district, achieved its vision of opening and successfully enhanced the city level influence of the commercial district? Different consumers may give different answers, but at least, Heshenghui has found a unique and worthwhile path to follow.
The "Magic" of the First Store
On an ordinary weekday afternoon, there were many customers at the Apple Store on the first floor of Heshenghui. Young people stood in front of wooden tables with interest, playing with their iPhones and tablets, and occasionally inquiring about technical issues with the store staff.
Mr. Zheng, who lives next door on Huangxing Road, came to the store again that day. He vividly remembers the "crazy" scene when Heshenghui first opened: people rushed straight to the Apple Store as soon as they entered the mall. "I'm an old fruit fan, and I was also looking for the Apple Store at that time. In the past, I could only go to the one on Nanjing Road, which was too far and inconvenient. Now I just come here to hang out and explore new products when I have nothing to do."
A major feature of Heshenghui now is that it has many first stores, but in retrospect, the earliest and most influential first store must be the Apple Store in Wujiaochang. This is Apple's 6th Apple Store in Shanghai and its first store in North Shanghai. Even without considering the peak customer flow when just opening or launching a heavyweight new product, this retail store, which combines strong brand appeal, can still bring stable and high-quality customer flow to the mall every day.
The success of the Apple Store has shown Heshenghui the "magic" of its first store, and the mall has begun to actively introduce various first stores, occasionally opening new "North Shanghai First Store" and "Yangpu First Store". At the end of 2021, Lenovo's first national super flagship store opened on the fourth floor and simultaneously held a New Year's Eve pop-up space in the atrium, attracting many "geeks" to come and experience. In the month of opening, the store's sales surged to the top of the city.
In 2021, Heshenghui introduced the first store of "Dashu Restaurant" in Shanghai, which immediately ignited social platforms such as Little Red Book and Tiktok, and waited in line for hours every weekend. This internet famous restaurant is known for its pure white and minimalist decoration style. Girls are willing to queue up in long lines, mostly not to taste "new Cantonese cuisine", but to take photos in an environment that can produce photos and post on social media platforms. The check-in dynamics with tags such as "# Heshenghui" and "# Wujiaochang" also bring a marketing effect of "tap water" to shopping malls and commercial districts in the process of online dissemination.
The win-win situation between Dashu Restaurant and Heshenghui seems to prove the widely recognized view that the key to mall management lies in catering; Upon closer examination, it actually reveals a deeper logic - as long as there is an attraction to "bring customers into the mall," regardless of whether it is catering or any other business model, it can effectively promote the growth of mall passenger flow and consumption, and enhance the cross regional influence of the mall.
Young people around are the "main force"
The first store is the representative of success under this logic. Other formats frequently introduced by Heshenghui, such as experience stores, pop-up stores, holiday events, offline events, and celebrity meetings, can also expand the reach of the shopping mall. He Sheng Hui summarizes them with four key words: perception, social interaction, sharing, and service.
Mr. Shen, who lives in Huinan Town, Pudong, recalls that as early as 2016, Heshenghui had launched a business model similar to secret room script killing. At that time, this was definitely a bold and innovative measure that successfully brought topicality and increased customer flow to Heshenghui. He invited several friends from Minhang, Pudong and other places to come to Heshenghui and experience a "screaming journey".
Based on the same logic, last Christmas season, Heshenghui collaborated with Xiaopeng Motors to move the high-tech flying car X2 to North Shanghai for the first time, attracting various customer groups such as car enthusiasts and science fiction fans to the mall. In November this year, Heshenghui will also introduce the first "City Market · Paradise" with a space perspective on the B1 floor, featuring high-tech devices, aliens, robots, and other devices, bringing consumers into the spacecraft cabin and becoming the protagonist of the plot. The city fair will also have the city's first Happy Fried Dough Twists Movie and Game Theater with more than 1000 floors, creating an immersive experience.
It is not difficult to see that these formats also have one commonality: their target audience is relatively young. Due to the large number of college students from the surrounding 9 universities, as well as a large number of young parent-child families in communities such as Xinjiangwan City, the positioning of Heshenghui also appears relatively young.
The attributes of young people's values, love for socializing, and willingness to share align with the positioning of Heshenghui. With the preference of young people, although the main customer group of Heshenghui is still distributed within a radius of 10 kilometers, it also has a certain cross regional influence at the city level.
Last year, Heshenghui completed a new round of recruitment, introducing high-end brands such as CHANEL Beauty North Shanghai First Store and Nordic high-end grooming brand STENDERS Shanghai First Store, as well as boutique clothing such as Article, MO&CO, JNBY, as well as popular brands such as Chuu and Kirsh North Shanghai First Store, further enhancing the level of on-site retail formats and attracting customer flow from different regions and circles.
The pentagonal field that has been "diverted"
Next month, the seventh anniversary celebration of Heshenghui is approaching. This year's celebration lasts for one month and covers the entire Golden Week holiday. During the event, the mall will launch group buying, giveaways, lucky draws, and other activities. Some gifts and coupons will also be placed in interesting interactive devices, continuing the concept of integrating shopping and experience.
In addition, Heshenghui will also gradually open a large number of first stores, such as the recently popular Lanhaiyi Dregs Vinegar Hot Pot Shanghai First Store, Shanghai's first FASCINO Collection Concept Store, Rongxiansen Fujian Xiaoguan Yangpu First Store, KCOOKING Concept Korean Restaurant Shanghai First Store, Yimai Xiancut Self Selection Shanghai First Store, French Elegant Women's Clothing Brand MOISSAC Yangpu First Store, Tomato Pocket Yangpu First Store, Lee First Concept Store, CK Combo First Concept Store, and over 600 square meters of Mingchuang IP Flagship Store, further capturing the target customer base and attracting trendsetters from all over the city. Bao Funan, Deputy Director of the Yangpu District Commerce Committee, stated that he will further encourage Heshenghui to continuously transform and upgrade through policies such as first store and first release.
It can be foreseen that the opening of the first store in a new round will bring another wave of "out of the circle" traffic to Heshenghui. But after the hustle and bustle, as various brands continue to expand in other business districts, can the value and significance of the first store still be preserved? With its popularity as a "internet celebrity store" due to its freshness, can only wait for the fate of being "updated" when the freshness is over?
The external environment is also constantly changing: Yangpu is vigorously developing the riverside, Hongkou Ruihong Sun Palace, and Beiwaitan Raffles have successively opened. Baoshan Wusong Sub center and Pudong North Commercial District are all under construction, which will divert customers and purchasing power from the Wujiaochang commercial district. So, although the annual development trend can be described as "rapid", Heshenghui has not been lying in a comfortable area and is always striving for innovation. On the one hand, it constantly adjusts and upgrades its brand format, providing customers with a continuous sense of freshness.
Another way to solve the situation is to combine bold innovation with down-to-earth service. Previously, Heshenghui and Pixar, a Disney subsidiary, jointly launched Pixar's "Pixar" themed exhibition and color flash store. This is not a simple activity of "rubbing against IP". Heshenghui has managed to reproduce the classic scenes in the animation, allowing classic characters such as Strawberry Bear, Mao Guai, and You You to appear one after another. At the pop-up store, you can also buy hundreds of Pixar themed figurines, clothing accessories, and more.
The sincere activity has attracted a large number of parent-child families and student groups. The pop-up event has made Heshenghui ranked first in the comprehensive ranking of the Gaode Guide shopping list, and has also driven the sales of multiple baby and children's brands in the venue.
Industry insiders have commented that the brand image and customer service of this event are both sincere and high-end. Looking back at the past few years, Heshenghui has continuously innovated, upgraded its brand, and improved its hardware, demonstrating the operational level that a mature commercial entity should have. Maintaining this level and continuing on our own path, Heshenghui may truly drive the Wujiaochang business district and transform into a new consumption highland in Shanghai.
