(16 June 2009 – Beijing) New World Department Store China Limited (“NWDS” or the “Company”; Hong Kong stock code: 825), one of the largest owners and operators of department stores in the PRC, is pleased to announce that the Company is going to rebrand its image with new operation concept of “Fashion Style” & “Living Style”, bringing customers with an entirely new shopping experience.

“Fashion Style” & “Living Style” Concept Entirely New Shopping Experience

Brand new NWDS abandons the conventional store positioning by “Class Basis” and initiates “Fashion Style” & “Living Style” concept in the retail industry by categorizing the stores into 2 types: “Fashion Gallery” and “Living Gallery”, aiming to satisfy the trendy pursuits and high-quality living desire of customers as well as offering services precisely. Stores with a smaller gross floor area (“GFA”) will be converted to “Fashion Gallery” while selected stores with a larger GFA will be transformed into “Living Gallery”.

“Fashion Gallery” is a “Thematic Department Store” selling fashion and accessories, themed as “Trendy” and “Characters”.  It emphasizes “Mix & Match” with exclusive brands and designer brands introduced, striving to become the “Trendy” landmark in the cities.

“Living Gallery” is a “One-stop Shopping Department Store” mixed with the elements of department store and shopping mall which targets people of all ages and both genders, catering for their needs in terms of “Clothing”, “Dining”, “Living”, “Travelling” and “Entertainment”.  20%-30% of the store area of “Living Gallery” is reserved for providing complementary services, like dining, fitness center, spa center, bank, entertainment, other services, etc., striving to be an ideal place for family shopping, gathering and holiday enjoyment.

The rebranding programme will take place by phases in different regions. Northeastern China will be the first region to be inaugurated with Shenyang as the launching city.  NWDS will launch a celebration event in Shenyang on 9 September 2009 to share the joy with customers.

New Icon New Image Enhance the Corporate Ethos

To tie in with the rebranding, NWDS has specially designed 2 remarkable icons for “Fashion Gallery” and “Living Gallery”.  The design idea came from “Hundred Birds Forwarding to the Sun”.  Eight flying birds form a blooming flower implies that the corporate ethos of NWDS will be enhanced and glorified. The blooming flower represents happiness, reflecting the pleasure and joy that customers can enjoy when shopping.  The largest bird lies at the bottom of the icon embracing the bud, showing a kind of reliability and supportiveness.  At the same time, the bud is opening upward symbolizes the stable and glorious future of NWDS.  The icon of “Fashion Gallery” is purple in color delivering a feel of trendy and modern while that of “Living Gallery” is red which means happiness and cheerfulness, truly reflect the outstanding image of the two galleries.

Icon of “Fashion Gallery”	Icon of “Living Gallery”

Apart from that, the interior design and decoration of the store will be revamped according to the different positioning of “Fashion Gallery” and “Living Gallery”.  Through the use of contrasting images and colors, the trendy and modern characteristics of “Fashion Gallery” will be illustrated.  Multi-media spaces are developed for customers to receive the latest trendy news when shopping.  Leisure area will be decorated with art pieces to bring out a unique artistic mood.  As a whole, it is a good demonstration of “Trendy”, “Modern” & “Excellent” by mix & match of the elements.  “Living Gallery” will be designed as “Environmental Paradise”.  The elements of nature like butterfly, flower, forest, rainbow, grassland and river will be the core design concept in the store, giving customers a lively, cheerful and leisure shopping environment, providing a chance for the busy metropolitans whose life are fast-paced and lack the chance to be in touch with the nature to return to the natural ecology, and highlighting the importance of environmental protection for treasuring the nature.

Upgrade VIP Services Cater for customer needs

Brand new NWDS will launch a series of exceptional VIP services to satisfy and meet the needs of consumers wholeheartedly.  “Perfect Mommy Club” in “Living Gallery” will organize activities like travel seminars, cooking and household courses, festive food recipe and home decoration workshop etc.  “Pink Collar Trendy Club” in “Fashion Gallery” offers bridal services, wedding commodities tips, make up and fitness seminars, trendy news sharing and mix & match fashion courses, etc.  Platinum VIP members can enjoy guidance purchase/accompany purchase, 12% discount on purchase, specific bonus points on birthday purchase, taking part in the “VIP of New World Group－Sharing of Benefits” programme in “Premium Club”.

NWDS Strives to Reform Abandon the Old to Take the Lead

Mr. Adrian Cheng, Executive Director of NWDS, the Chief of this rebranding programme, said, ‘NWDS is determined to reform in order to lay a solid foundation for the gigantic retail kingdom of New World.  Department stores in the current China market carry similar images in which hard to be outstood in such a keen competitive market.  NWDS takes the lead to originate the trend in the industry by making a breakthrough to abandon the conventional store positioning by “Class basis” and introduce the concept of “Fashion Style” & “Living Style” as the new positioning of department store, creating an image of “Enriching Lives Enhancing Characters”. We expect the rebranding plan will act as an example for our counterparts to follow.  We believe not only the no. of transactions will increase, customer traffic will raise, loyalty to the store will enhance, but also customer base will be enlarged, leading to huge benefits for the Company.’

‘The rebranding program will be implemented by 3 stages.’ Mr. Cheng continued, ‘Firstly, we will revamp the merchandize mix.  “Fashion Gallery” will establish its “Category Killer” according to its theme while “Living Gallery” will focus on interactive and composite mode of operation, together with the multi-function Event Hall to lift the traffic flow.  Secondly, the graphic design and decoration of the store will be refined to demonstrate the elements & characters of “Living Gallery” and “Fashion Gallery”.  Thirdly, the exterior & interior design and the shopping atmosphere of the store will be upgraded in order to offer a delighted shopping mood and a refreshing outlook to consumers.  We believe the commodity, services and shopping environment will be ideal for customers after rebranding, in which enhancing our foundation to be the leading department store operator in China.’ 

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