The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The mainland’s largest commercial property company has sold off billions of yuan worth of assets to shrink its debts in recent years, but Dalian Wanda is once again eyeing growth by way of new retail complexes and movie theatres, Nikkei Asia reports, in a move sources see as appeasing Beijing’s focus on domestic investment.
As it takes aim at China’s robust consumer demand, the group appears undeterred by new variants of the coronavirus. In September, Dalian Wanda added a new wing to its Wanda Plaza property in Shanghai. It operated 405 Wanda Plazas as of November — a 10 percent jump from the same period in 2020. Subsidiary Wanda Film Holding is China’s largest cinema operator and opened 97 locations in 2020, followed by 12 in the first half of 2021. The conglomerate’s debts, however, continue to pose risks.
Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group, the property servicing arm of Dalian Wanda Group, has filed for a Hong Kong stock exchange listing and, according to Chinese media reports, is seeking to raise between $3 billion and $4 billion.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
While travel to Europe remains muted, Chinese shoppers are flocking to Singapore, Thailand and other Southeast Asian destinations where fashion retailers are hoping Lunar New Year marketing investments will pay off.
Local fashion designers experimenting with puffers and other down clothing have scored collaborations with outerwear companies like Moncler and attracted the attention of prominent international retailers like H.Lorenzo.