Source: People's Daily
New product display area in Galeries Lafayette paris.
Photo by Liu Lingling, a reporter of this newspaper
Exterior view of a theatre in London's West End.
After nearly nine months of closure due to the pandemic, the Eiffel Tower in Paris recently reopened to tourists.
London Covent Garden is one of the largest specialty markets in the region.
Dubai cityscape.
Image China
Relying on convenient transportation networks, comfortable consumption environments, and unique consumer products, cities in some countries have attracted and gathered consumption resources from all over the world and developed into international consumption center cities. Some of them lead the global consumption trend, some continue to prosper in cultural and sports consumption, and some are innovative and brilliant, showing their own unique urban charm
Paris, France
The fashion capital leads the consumer trend
Reporter Liu Lingling
From September 27th to October 5th, the new season of Paris Fashion Week is held. During The Week, 92 brands held fashion shows and online and offline launches, including nearly 70 physical showcases. As the fashion capital of the world, Paris is not only a fashion product design center, but also a "show" for major brands to display new products, leading the global fashion consumption trend.
Relying on various fashion events, shopping festivals, conventions and exhibitions and other "selling points", Paris attracts the attention of consumers around the world. According to the statistics of the International Promotion Office of the French Trade Fair, Paris hosts more than 400 trade fairs, more than 1,000 congresses and more than 2,300 events of different sizes every year, making it an active "exhibition center" in Europe. Paris is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, attracting nearly 50 million visitors a year, including around 20 million international visitors. The colorful exhibition activities bring more distinctive cultural experiences to local people and tourists, and also expand more growth points for traditional consumption.
In order to achieve the optimal combination of brand value and urban resources, the first physical stores of many high-end and fashion brands have chosen to open in Paris, and the "first store effect" has further enhanced the commercial charm of Paris as an international consumption center city. High-quality consumption resources have also attracted world-renowned brands and corporate headquarters to gather here. With the Champs Elysées as the center, Paris has a number of characteristic commercial districts such as Avenue Montaigne, Avenue Haussmann, Rue Saint-Honoré, etc., which are windows to show the charm to consumers. These business districts are one of the most lively areas in the city, on the basis of gathering the resources of internationally renowned brands, they have developed a wealth of fashion culture and festival-themed activities, expanded a variety of functions such as social networking and entertainment, and further stimulated consumption potential while enhancing popularity.
French cities generally pay attention to the integrated development of culture, commerce and tourism. In the process of building an international consumer center city, Paris makes full use of its rich cultural and historical heritage to create commercial clusters around well-known museums, art galleries, monuments and other landmarks. Whether it's a unique souvenir shop, an quaint hotel room, or a well-designed bus tour or cycling route, consumers can get a unique travel experience. Paris will also include various activities such as discount seasons, food festivals, animation festivals, film festivals, and sports events into the tourism chain to enhance the scale and agglomeration effect.
Paris is conveniently located, with high-speed rail and train access to many European cities. In recent years, Paris has further optimized its international airport and public transportation systems, introducing shared bicycles and self-driving cars to provide consumers with more convenient and efficient travel options. While improving consumer hardware, Paris is also making continuous efforts to improve consumer software. Some large shopping malls provide multilingual shopping guides to overseas consumers, and the improvement of supporting services such as tax refunds, after-sales services, and consultation has also greatly improved the shopping experience. There are also a large number of duty-free shops in Paris, and personalized goods and services have won the city more international consumers.
According to the data, in 2020, the GDP of the Paris region reached 709 billion euros, accounting for 31% of France's GDP. A good economic development environment and the ability to consume services have enabled Paris to maintain a high degree of commercial activity. Paris also pays attention to innovative market thinking, actively uses new media communication channels to expand its influence, firmly grasps the global fashion trend vane, and lives up to the reputation of "fashion capital".
London
Cultural industries light up the vitality of the city
Reporter Xu Liqun
As a world-famous international consumption center city, London, Uk Kingdom has many unique consumption places. Veteran high-end department stores Harold and Funan Mason, Wembley Stadium and Stamford Bridge Stadium, which host major football events, Notting Hill Bazaar and Covent Garden, which have a lot of British "fireworks"... All unforgettable. Among them, the theatre in London's West End can be described as a major highlight and a pillar of London's cultural consumption.
"The Lion King", "Les Misérables", "Phantom of the Opera" and other plays are popular among the population, and watching live dramas in London's West End is not only an important entertainment and leisure method for many locals, but also a must-have for many tourists. According to Kenny Vackers, president of the London Theatre Association, in 2019, london's West End performed more than 18,000 times, with more than 15 million audiences, an average attendance rate of 81%, gross box office revenue of £790 million and £130 million in tax revenue. The popularity of the theater also brought about derivative products such as performance manuals, records, souvenirs, and consumption in surrounding restaurants, bars, supermarkets, hotels, taxis and other industries. "Usually £1 ticket revenue drives £2 of additional spending, so the total spending led by London's West End show business in 2019 is around £2.4 billion." Vax said.
High quality, diversified product supply and reasonable consumer prices are key factors in the continued prosperity of the performing arts industry in the West End. London's West End comprises 49 theatres run by the London Theatre Association, ranging in size from over 400 to over 2,000 seats, with a repertoire of musicals, plays, operas, ballets, modern dance, puppet shows, children's plays and more, providing a wide range of options for audiences of all ages and tastes. In 2019, only 1.1% of the tickets for musicals sold for more than £150 in the West End of London, more than 1/3 of the tickets below £40, and theatres also launched discounted ticket prices through promotional activities such as "New Year's Promotion" and "Children's Month", which can meet the needs of audiences with different spending power.
The West End Theatre is also known for its thoughtful and meticulous service, continuously improving the audience's consumer experience. The London Theatre Association updates its London Theatre Guide every two weeks, providing practical information such as a list of all performances in the West End, theatre location maps and tube map. In addition to online ticket sales, the association also set up ticket booths in crowded areas such as subway stations to facilitate ticket purchases for spectators. In order to better serve the disabled, many theaters have sign language interpreters during performances, while others invite visually impaired or blind audiences to the backstage to watch the stage set up close, touch the costumes of the actors and props before the performance begins, helping them better understand the plot and enjoy the cultural products. In addition, in order to allow the audience to watch the repertoire more comfortably, many theaters have also launched a "relaxation repertoire", whose stage lighting and music are more gentle, and the audience does not have to sit in front of the precarious position when watching such performances, and can even talk and move around.
These beneficial attempts by London's performing arts industry not only allow the West End Theatre to continue to enjoy its reputation, but also provide experience for other cultural industries to tap into their consumption potential. For example, some cultural venues, such as museums, organize activities specifically for children to attract young consumers. The British Museum offers electronic tours to visitors as well as customized tours for young people. Many exhibition halls provide oversized font sizes and Braille instructions for visually impaired audiences.
As technology continues to evolve, London's cultural industry is also actively introducing digital technology. During the epidemic prevention and control period, the National Gallery and other places have opened virtual reality channels, and people can browse the official website to enjoy paintings and exhibits with extremely high definition. At last summer's London Proms, although live performances were cancelled due to the pandemic, people could listen to beautiful music online with the support of the media.
Diversified products and experiences, meticulous and thoughtful services and continuous innovation, so that London in the process of building a consumer center city, continue to grow the advantages of the industry, always maintain vitality and vitality.
Dubai, UAE
Innovative marketing attracts the world's attention
Reporter of this newspaper, Zhou Yuan
On the airport runway, on average, a plane takes off every 80 seconds during peak hours; in the terminal, the duty-free shop covering more than 5,400 square meters is open 24 hours, and shopping guides in different languages sell about 30,000 categories of products from all over the world, attracting passengers from all over the world to stop... The busy spectacle of the international airport epitomizes Dubai, UAE's position as an attractive international consumer hub.
Located at the intersection of the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, Dubai has been one of the commercial and trade centers connecting the three continents since ancient times. Since the 1980s, Dubai has invested heavily in hardware facilities to build airports, hotels, shopping malls, entertainment venues, etc., to create conditions for attracting global consumers. Nowadays, Dubai takes the construction of an international tourist destination as the core, and the advantages of the global tourism consumption center are gradually highlighted, receiving 16.1976 million international tourists in 2019 and international tourism revenue of 32.108 billion US dollars, ranking the forefront of the world. "In 2019, Dubai Duty Free traded a total of 24.284 million transactions and sold more than 64.578 million goods." Salah, executive vice president of institutional services at Dubai Duty Free, said sales of Dubai Duty Free reached AED 7.4 billion (US$2.015 billion) that year, accounting for about 7% of total sales in the global airport duty free market.
The construction of the free trade port is an important part of Dubai's urban development. In 1985, relying on the advantages of sea and air ports, Dubai initiated the establishment of the UAE's first free trade zone - Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone, which currently has more than 7,000 enterprises settled in the zone, and the trade volume accounts for more than 25% of Dubai's total non-oil trade, which has become Dubai's economic center and a gathering place for the world's top 500 enterprises. Products from various countries coupled with a free and tax-free trade environment have led to further activation of the consumer market in the region. After years of operation, there are more than 30 free trade zones in Dubai, involving commerce, finance, medical treatment, media, Internet and other fields.
Thoughtful and perfect service is the soft power to enhance Dubai's reputation. Dubai for many countries tourists to adopt visa-free, visa-on-arrival or transit visa-free policy, airport customs clearance is convenient and smooth; attractions are common multilingual signage and introduction materials, staff can provide warm and meticulous service in different languages; the hotel has a tour counter to provide guests with a variety of tourism products; shopping malls are equipped with banks, telecommunications operators and even immigration office counters, tourists can extend visas, exchange foreign currency and other services while leisure shopping.
The diversified and stable social environment has made the international consumer population coming to Dubai to work and live continue to grow. Dubai has a permanent population of about 3.3 million, of which about 80% comes from abroad. The local government formulates policies to attract talents, creates a good business environment, provides comfortable working and living conditions for people from different cultural backgrounds, and guides foreigners to buy and settle down. According to statistics, the annual growth rate of Dubai's population is more than 5%, and the rapidly growing population continues to provide momentum for the local consumer market.
Dubai has also adopted many bold and innovative marketing concepts to attract the world's attention. Dubai has a number of "world's best" such as the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, the largest artificial island, the world's first seven-star hotel Burj Al Arab, and actively invites foreign film and television crews to come to film and shoot, so that the image of the city is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Dubai also sponsors world-renowned teams and large-scale sporting events in the name of the city, builds advanced sports facilities, provides training venues for sports celebrities, and actively hosts international events. A series of initiatives have both increased the visibility and influence of the city and created considerable economic benefits.
Typography: Cai Huawei