Chongqing shoppers savor taste of Italy

CHONGQING — To the tune of the Italian anthem, Inno di Mameli, and joyful Chinese festive songs, the water of a glamorous musical fountain in the piazza gurgled behind a happy crowd flocking to Florentia Village Chongqing, a designer outlet mall in the Southwest China metropolis.

Featuring baroque-style buildings glittering with bright Chinese traditional red lanterns and other festive decorations, the Italian-style designer outlet was immensely popular and attracted considerable traffic during the Spring Festival holiday.

"My child loves the architectural style here, which offers us an immersive experience of Italy," says Zhao Jing, a Chongqing resident, adding that the discounted rates are also appealing.

Boasting international luxury brands at attractive prices, Florentia Village Chongqing is one of seven of its kind in China, and it logged robust year-on-year increases in sales and traffic during the holiday, which reached 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

Amid the recovery of the world's second-largest economy from the COVID-19 impact, hundreds of millions of Chinese people got involved in online and offline shopping sprees just before, during and after the seven-day holiday, unleashing huge consumer demand.

Major global players in a wide range of sectors are eyeing the booming Chinese market, including Italian real estate group RDM, which bet on China's shopping bonanza by expanding its business.

Jacopo de Vena, the managing director of Florentia Village and RDM Asia, says China's optimized COVID-19 policies result in constantly improving consumer confidence, and they foresee long-term success in the Chinese market.

During the Spring Festival holiday, total sales revenue of Florentia Village malls on the Chinese mainland climbed by 35 percent year-on-year, with a notable year-on-year traffic increase of 45 percent.

Moreover, the company estimated that total sales of the Florentia Village malls on the Chinese mainland will hit some 13 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) this year, with annual traffic to the malls topping 26 million.

Xinhua