K11 scores with culture of success
It's worked in HK, and now Shanghai's trendy set are buying the idea of New World's art mall
The driving force behind Tsim Sha Tsui's popular K11 Art Mall has been buoyed by the response to the opening of a namesake shopping centre in Shanghai's busiest shopping strip.
Cheng, the grandson of property tycoon Cheng Yu-tung, says the move to transplant the K11 model to the mainland's commercial capital was motivated by more than just the idea of introducing affordable luxury with a splash of culture. It is about understanding of the demands of increasingly affluent mainlanders and responding to their individualism, he says.
"They want to get a taste of culture at shopping centres," Cheng said. "They will get bored if the shopping malls display and sell only a variety of luxury items."
New World officially opened its K11 Art Mall on Shanghai's Huaihai Road last month. However, the centre's doors opened late last year, as tenants began filling up the vast 40,000 square metres of space.
Since the centre's "soft opening", the mall that combines an art gallery experience with shopping has drawn rave reviews in Shanghai. It is now regarded as a "must see" among its target demographic of the young and fashionable.
"Well-to-do Chinese shoppers are mostly young people aged between 25 and 40," Cheng said. "Their wealth is the biggest potential to tap in the market."