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2008/03/13

Update on Joy City and 2 Brit Stars Coming to Beijing (and one's named McCartney)

Last night having some time to look around, I headed to Joy City, the new mall at Xidan (discussed here), to see how things were going. Well, right now almost all the stores are open and the mall was pretty crowded. Occupancy is very high and its a great mix of shops and restaurants, many who are entering the capital's market for the first time. It's Xidan location is perfect and has a great mix of mid-priced western brands as well as the cheaper Chinese brands. As of right now, almost everything is open except the I.T. brands, Uniqlo (coming March 29th), Zara, and Nike.

Some highlights:
-Great to see Muji finally in Beijing and the store was pretty crowded
-I really like Wagas and hope that it will spread around the capital like it did in Shanghai. This location has two seating areas, one an "intimate" setting that is dark and woody overlooking the madness of Xidan, the other is bright and airy overlooking the mall's atrium.
-This is the sports fan in me, but the Adidas store has a small collection of Beijing Guoan clothes,
something I've never seen before, Guoan's move to Adidas seems to be a great choice
-Along with the discussed Japaneseness of the mall is a store that I didn't notice, Asics' Ontisuka Tigers, which carries their great shoes, but also a decent selection of casual clothing

As for my other teaser in the title, a McCartney is coming to Beijing, but sorry to disappoint the Beatles fans, its not Paul, but his daughter, Stella. Guomao is currently advertising that a Stella McCartney boutique is "coming soon" and who will her neighbor be? King of women's shoes and made famous by Sex and the City, Jimmy Choo. It's going to be the first boutique in the capital (there is one in Plaza 66 in Shanghai), though I believe his shoes are also carried at Lane Crawford. No help for us guys, but now Beijing women will be even more stylish.

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