Huang Mingjuan: Promote urban renewal with young power and create a new curatorial retail model

Huang Mingjuan, Vice President of Asset Management Center of Yingzhan Group

China Housing Daily reporter Fu Shanshan reported from Shanghai

With the rise of the Internet age, the consumption habits and payment methods of the masses have changed, especially the generation of young people who are "Internet natives", who have a more independent consumption proposition. The consumption scene of the past is gradually losing its attractiveness, and if we ignore the changes in the consumption characteristics of young people, cities will also quickly age and lose their vitality for development.

In this context, there is a company that keenly captures the changes in the consumption trend of young people and proposes an innovative consumption model of "CURETAIL curated retail", and this company is URF Yingzhan Group.

"URF is the first innovative consumer group in China to focus on exploring the new generation of lifestyle. Huang Mingjuan, vice president of the asset management center of Yingzhan Group, said.

On April 27, the "2024 China Urban Renewal Innovation and Development Summit Forum" with the theme of "More Future: New Qualitative Power in Urban Renewal" was held in Beijing, and the event was jointly sponsored by China Real Estate News and China Institute of Urban and Regional Governance. At the meeting, Huang Mingjuan delivered a keynote speech on the theme of "Making Cities More Vibrant - How to Promote Urban Renewal with Youth", in-depth discussion on how to use youth to promote the development of urban renewal, and shared the practical experience of Yingzhan Group in this field.

Huang Mingjuan said that the current consumption trend has changed, and people's needs for space scenes and functions have changed greatly. This generation of young people has more opportunities to dialogue with the world, has an international perspective or has lived in multiple cities, and the diverse needs also pose more challenges to the operators who operate the real economy today.

Through in-depth research on the interests and hobbies of the younger generation, URF proposes an innovative consumption model "CURETAIL Curated Retail", i.e. Curated Retail, which treats the space as a curatorial scene, so that brands and products become part of the exhibition.

In her speech, Huang Mingjuan shared the practical case of Yingzhan Group's participation in urban renewal projects. From Shanghai TX Huaihai to Beijing THE BOX Chaowai, the curatorial retail concept brings a new way of thinking to urban renewal and offline space. The continuous output of content has a wider meaning than traditional spatial display. This is in line with the fact that young people are interested in trendy culture, which is itself changeable. At a deeper level, this reflects the core differences in the business values of the offline space.

As an observer and practitioner of urban renewal, Yingzhan Group holds a group portrait project of 100 young people every year, by collecting 100 portraits that can represent the current era of young people, and having in-depth dialogues with them, to create a young talent show composed of "national tide brands, Chinese new era youth and trendy KOLs." Witness the feast of trendy content co-created by the offline channel space, brands and consumers, giving a voice to young people, and establishing a closer connection between brands and consumers.

In 2022, URF Group brought the concept of curatorial retail to Beijing.

Huang Mingjuan introduced in detail the innovative measures of Yingzhan Group in the process of renovating Chaowai Area in Beijing. She said that Chaowai Street, as the political, cultural and economic development center of Chaoyang District, as well as an important foreign-related window and CBD, also faces many common problems in the city's core business districts. After summarizing a large number of overseas urban renewal cases, the team found that under the trend of global innovation industries returning to urban centers, UIC (Urban Innovation Center) is a new development model.

In 2022, the implementation plan of the first phase of the Chaowai Street reconstruction project was approved, and THE BOX is the first project to be implemented by the characteristic UIC of the entire Chaowai Street, which is jointly built by Chaoyang Cultural Tourism Group and URF Yingzhan.

Through the upgrading and transformation of regional industries and formats, THE BOX will help the area bring together young elites and realize an innovative industrial area with the four major urban functions of "employment, housing, learning and entertainment".

In the process of transformation, URF Yingzhan Group assumes three roles: one is the business planning, planning and design of the Chaowai area, the second is the transformation investment and operation of the BOX Chaowai project, and the third is the incubation of young cultural consumption content.

In the process of preparing for the construction of THE BOX A, Yingzhan Group has always adhered to the design concept of focusing on young people, creating a "dynamic and changeable box" based on the center of the entire UIC block, which not only visually breaks the heavy sense of closure, but also echoes the external and internal spaces, providing more possibilities for young community activities. The basketball court, skateboard rink and other sports and leisure experience areas in the project provide a platform for young people to show themselves and communicate and interact, forming a distinct atmosphere of street culture gathering.

"Pet-friendly, urban dynamics, night-time economy, art curation, fashion and other sectors" are integrated, so that "Generation Z" can rely on similar interests to generate consumption in social networking. At the same time, URF also pays attention to the city's fireworks, creating a curatorial weekend market "Box Market", and has successively held the most trendy "Fresh Market" in Beijing, Beijing Bread Festival, etc., to explore the lifestyle of contemporary new youth, give inspiration and strength to the re-creation of Beijing youth life, and successfully attract the attention and love of a large number of young people.

THE BOX B IS ALSO IN FULL SWING AND IS EXPECTED TO BE OFFICIALLY UNVEILED IN THE THIRD QUARTER. In the project, the first Tsutaya bookstore in Beijing, jointly invested and built by "Chaoyang Cultural Tourism Group and Beijing Yingzhan", was officially opened on April 20. NOT ONLY CAN YOU FREELY BUY BOOKS, CULTURAL AND CREATIVE PRODUCTS, STATIONERY, ETC., BUT YOU CAN ALSO WORK AND STUDY IN THE SHARE LOUNGE. Huang Mingjuan said that the original intention of the introduction of Tsutaya Bookstore is not only to further promote the renewal of the youth center of Chaowai Street, but also to form a vibrant community with life, culture and warmth, so that residents can share the fruits of urban development.

Times are changing, but it is worth knowing that the original intention of URF will not change. URF values the opinions, emotions and culture of young people, and walks with young people to see more possibilities. At the same time, by supporting the national tide brand, we will create more opportunities for the manager, so that the youth and creativity can circulate.

It is undeniable that Yingzhan Group's practice and innovation in promoting urban renewal have set a new benchmark for the industry, and as a new engine of urban renewal, young power will inject more vitality and impetus into the future development of the city.