(3 August 2017 - Hong Kong) 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 Mainland China, is pleased to announce its winning of the “CAPITAL Outstanding Chinese Department Store Enterprise” award, presented by CAPITAL Magazine at the “12th CAPITAL Outstanding China Enterprise Awards” thanks to its innovative operations strategies based on the direction of “refocusing on the core of retailing”. The Company was commended for its contribution in promoting the development of the department store industry in the mainland. At a time of innovating and reforming, effective corporate and investor communication are crucial to keep stakeholders updated on the latest development of the Company. As such, the Company spared no effort in producing its FY2016 annual report and sustainability report, which are detailed, comprehensive and easy to understand. The two reports successfully garnered 14 honors at the LACP 2016 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition, including the Platinum Award in the “Retailing – Multi-line Retail” category.

The “CAPITAL Outstanding China Enterprise Awards”, organized by CAPITAL Magazine, aims to assess China enterprises in terms of their business results and total assets, marketing strategies and development, etc. and to recognize outstanding enterprises. Last year, NWDS actively promoted its customer-centered business reform and management innovation and implemented the “One Store, One Strategy” as part of its capitalized store management approach and encouraged stores to formulate their customized operations strategies according to their own growth potentials, business models, and operating conditions. To elevate brand character and uniqueness, the Company has been actively engaged in developing its direct sales business by establishing private labels. It also listens attentively to consumers’ needs so as to bring better benefits and services to consumers. The series of reform carried out by the Company based on the direction of “refocusing on the core of retailing” was recognized by CAPITAL Magazine with the much deserved “CAPITAL Outstanding Chinese Department Store Enterprise” award.

As business reform was pressed ahead with full steam, the Company tirelessly traced, collected and consolidated the latest progress of various projects and presented them to investors and other stakeholders through communication channels such as annual reports, press releases, corporate website, etc. Themed around “The Artisanal Theory of Happiness”, NWDS’ FY2016 Annual Report comprehensively detailed the Company’s business progress and operations strategies in an easy-to-understand manner. It was honored with the Platinum Award in the “Retailing – Multi-line Retail” category and the Gold Award in the “Consumer Services – Other” category at the LACP 2016 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition. The Company’s FY2016 Sustainability Report, on the other hand, embraced the theme of “A Happiness-packed Gift Box to All” and was complemented with vivid infographics to stereoscopically convey the Company’s journey in sustainability. It received two Gold Awards in the “Retailing－Multi-line Retail” and “Consumer Services－Other” categories. Both reports also won the Bronze Award in “2016 Most Engaging Report Worldwide” and the Gold Award in “2016 Most Engaging Report in the Asia-Pacific Region”. They also ranked the 34th in the “Top 100 Reports Worldwide” and the 12th in the “Top 80 Reports in the Asia-Pacific Region” and are listed in the “Top 40 Chinese Reports of 2016”. The Vision Awards Annual Report Competition is organized by League of American Communications Professionals (“LACP”), an assessment firm in the U.S. It aims at evaluating and recognizing outstanding annual reports, and is one of the most authoritative annual report competitions around the world.

Ms. Violet Chan, Deputy General Manager of Corporate Communication and Investor Relations and Chairman of Sustainability Steering Committee of NWDS, said, “Facing the new constant in mainland consumer market, retailers have to undertake industrial upgrading and transformation to capitalize on the opportunities in the new wave of consumption upgrade in Mainland China. NWDS has been actively promoting an operations direction of “refocusing on the core of retailing” in recent years. We attentively listen to consumers’ needs and put forward a number of reform and innovation projects in our business operations. These approaches enable our business to grow and progress steadily. As our business develops, we also attach much importance to the effective communication with our stakeholders. The progress of the Company is shared with our stakeholders through our annual reports and sustainability reports. We are highly honored to be recognized as the ‘CAPITAL Outstanding Chinese Department Store Enterprise’, and at the same time, clinch multiple awards at the LACP 2016 Vision Awards. All these are testaments to the Company’s relentless efforts in driving business reform and innovation, as well as in enhancing corporate transparency. In the future, we will uphold our goal and strive to create a fine and exquisite shopping experience for our consumers, to fully communicate with our stakeholders in a timely manner, and to generate better returns for our shareholders.”

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