Retail in Asia

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Retailers raise visibility at MIPIM Asia

Major international brands and retailers including Subway, Apple, Prêt-à-Manger and Metro Cash and Carry, will head to Hong Kong next month to take part in MIPIM Asia, the leading international property market for the Asia-Pacific region.

The brands and retailers will use the complete range of MIPIM Asia marketing and business opportunities to develop their profile and meet with potential partners operating in the dynamic Asia-Pacific market.

Subway, the world’s largest sandwich chain with over 34,000 outlets worldwide, has chosen the exhibition floor to promote its brand. So has first-time French exhibitor Orchestra, which started opening international stores for its popular children’s clothing brand some five years ago. Other retailers will visit as participants to learn more about the landscape of the real estate industry in Asia-Pacific and how to adapt their strategy to effectively engage in local markets. They include consumer electronics giant Apple (US), self-service wholesaler Metro Cash & Carry (Germany), Casino affiliate Big C, which acquired Carrefour’s operations in Thailand and became the Thai co-leader in the hypermarket sector, gourmet chocolate manufacturer and retailer Godiva (Belgium), natural food sandwich chain Prêt-à-Manger (UK), footwear brand Bata (Canada), clothing fashion retailers C&A (UK), Camaieu (France) and Celio (France) and Devanlay which manages fashion garment icon Lacoste (France), textile and fashion specialists Miroglio (Italy) and Triumph (UK), as well as fashion master-franchises such as Fairton, which manages brands such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Kookaï or Max Mara and French ID Group managing Okaïdi or Jacadi.

Retailers interested in the Chinese retail market will obtain major business insight from the MIPIM Asia official conference programme, which comprises a dedicated session on the "Globalisation of retail brands in and out of China: successes and challenges".  Richard David, CEO of Treasury China Trust (Singapore) – a leading owner, manager and developer of commercial real estate in China  – will refer to the Trust’s portfolio of shopping malls to review the issues and challenges facing foreign brands which try to enter the complex market of mainland China.

On Wednesday 16 November, MIPIM Asia delegates will interface, live, with retail specialists attending MAPIC the international retail real estate market taking place at the same time in Cannes, France. Carmine Rotondaro, Worldwide Real Estate Director of PPR (France), will share the achievements of his group, which distributes high-growth global brands in more than 120 countries, among them Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Puma or FNAC. Jacques Ehrmann, Chief Real Estate and Development Officer of Casino Group (France), will discuss developments in the food sector, where different supermarket brands such as Casino, Franprix, Leader Price or Monoprix, extended into thousands of locations in Latin America and South East Asia, which now represent 50 percent of the group’s activity.

Retail store design best practices will also be found in the MIPIM Asia Awards gallery, which will showcase the two winners of the "retail store design" category. MIPIM Asia delegates will designate the gold and silver MIPIM Asia Award in the retail category. They will choose between Candylicious, the world’s largest candy store and the company behind the Singapore-located largest pick-and-mix wall in Asia and high-end domestic and kitchen appliances manufacturer and retailer Miele’s Shanghai-based concept store Miele House.

"As purchasing power develops in the Asia-Pacific market and consumer spending evolves, there are significant opportunities for retailers and brands to grow in the region," says MIPIM and MIPIM Asia Director Filippo Rean. "At the same time, individual countries have specific retailing practices. MIPIM Asia 2011 aims to develop a full understanding of the region’s retailing market and bring together the major brands and retailers with real estate developers and professionals."

For more information about this event, visit MIPIM Asia.