Nearly 1.1 million wealthy Chinese tourists visited America in 2011 to fill their suitcases with jewellery from Tiffany, bags from Burberry and a whole bunch of other brands that would cost thrice as much back home. more ›

Despite recently approving an app that's a roadmap to prostitution and being sued for copyright infringement, Apple has maintained that it's a classy company by winning a patent for a handsome new design for its Shanghai store. This towering glass cylinder centered in Shanghai's Hong Kong Plaza features an Apple logo that appears suspended in space within the structure, and a shallow moat which rings the complex. The design has drawn comparisons to glass cube of New York's Fifth Avenue Apple, store and we'd even say it seems like a more commercial version of I.M. Pei's glass pyramid at the Louvre Museum in Paris. more ›

Chinese nationals accounted for the largest share of luxury goods sales in overseas markets during the month of January, with total sales of approximately $7.2 billion USD recently. The amount sees the a nearly 30 percent increase from the same period last year, when Chinese on vacation spent $5.6 billion USD on luxury items. more ›

We told you earlier today how the iPhone 4S release was halted in Beijing after scalper scuffles. Now watch the store get pelted with eggs. Hilarious. Watch the report from Reuters after the jump... more ›

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Rejoice, the miracle of goods to fill and warm the insides of your secure and well-fortified homes is here! The 2nd Pyongyang Consumer Goods Exhibition took place in the North Korean capital's Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 back in July, and displayed the wonder of "light-industry goods", including "clothes and shoes of various kinds", "a variety of foodstuffs and household goods", and "Korean silk cloth known as good for people’s health". more ›

A report in the National Business Daily cites an insider "familiar with Gucci's operation mode"and claims the company repaired a bag that was returned by a customer and put it right back on the shelves. It's precisely the thing that 99% of businesses would do, of course, but hey, this is Gucci. more ›

If you still haven't secured yourself a costume for our party tomorrow night, check out our guide from years past. All that stuff is still relevant. But if you're looking for even MORE options, here are a few stores and websites we've stumbled upon more recently: more ›

Last Sunday night marked the return of the annual Vogue's Fashion's Night Out (摩登不夜城) in China - the after-sundown one-night-only event that highlights fashion and supports retail with special events. Invading Shanghai for the first time, FNO took over Huaihai Lu - stretching from Printemps-Shanghai to Shanghai Times Square. more ›

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The 2011 Rugby World Cup is here. Well, it's not here here, but for the whole duration, from Sep 9 to Oct 23, it will be screened live from Middle Earth New Zealand at plenty of places around Shanghai (some listed below, but see more here.) And great news for fashionistas this Saturday midnight - Vogue's Fashion Night Out is in Shanghai for the first time! And if you can bust a move, head on over to the Freshest Kids Dance Battle on Sunday. And if that's not enough, head over to our calendar for more! more ›

Looks like the subway mobile shopping space is really heating up. First we had the subway supermarket shopping app Yihaodian that seeks to replicate the success that Tesco had in South Korea. Now we have Ubox, a mobile app for iPhones, Android and Java-based phones, that allows you to pay for your vending machine purchases with your cell phone. more ›

Okay, while we don't particularly enjoy spending much time getting accosted with "bagswatch" offers and shoving ourselves through throngs of Chinese and foreign tourists, I wouldn't call Nanjing East Road the WORST tourist trap in the world. But that's exactly what CNNGo has labeled it - Number 4 to be exact. What is far more entertaining than the list itself, though, is the reaction from Huangpu district, whose feelings were clearly hurt. From Want China Times: more ›

Following a legal tussle over its name (we wonder with whom), three-year-old online supermarket SmartDirect has now been rebranded as FoodBox and it may be found at FoodBoxChina.com. more ›

Missing an industrial-size popcorn machine from your home kitchen? Here's where to get it (and just about everything food machine-related besides) - the Hotel Equipment Depot on Aomen Lu. This week, a search for fancy dinner plates took me to this four-story warehouse in Shanghai's Putuo District, where you can get anything from candy thermometers to a completely new wok stove. more ›

This just in! Ever since that mysterious Forever 21 sign was spotted over on Nanjing Dong Lu, we've been wondering just what exactly they've got in the works over by the Bund. Lo and behold, Nanjing East is planning something called a BIG BRAND SHAKE UP! Whereby they plan to make their strip equally as popular with the young and fashionable as their Nanjing West counterpart. Here's what you can look forward to: more ›

A new mobile shopping experience is coming to major cities around China with a subway network, and is currently being tested in Shanghai and Beijing. more ›

Via ChinaInternetWatch comes these two infographics. Shanghai is among the top 10 provinces/cities in China for online shopping. This first infographic shows the rankings of the top 10 provinces. No surprises there that Shanghai only managed to come in 10th with a smaller population than many of the larger provinces. Pity there isn't a per capita ranking.
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In 2008, Patti Waldmier of the Financial Times referred to a McKinsey survey that said, “Chinese consumers are becoming more price conscious, less brand-loyal and generally harder to please.” Oh, how times have changed. more ›

Burberry was one of the very first brands to embrace bloggers and the live streaming of fashion shows and they're proving their dedication to digital media once again. Here's their 3D video for the red carpet and fashion show at the Beijing Television Centre which streamed live just a few hours ago. The entire thing is a shot after shot of famous faces with many international celebrities and models and even a live performance by Keane. more ›

The Moleskine brand, famous for their beautiful Italian notebooks hardly needs an introduction. It was featured in a traveling art exhibition on the Bund not long ago, but if you're still drawing a blank, just know that it was supposedly the notebook of choice for Oscar Wilde, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Henri Matisse. Their products have been available through various resellers in Shanghai but the company has just launched their first freestanding store in the world and chosen Xintiandi Style mall for its location. Though not a large store, the kiosk has the widest range of Moleskine products found here. It has specially-formatted journals for every interest under the sun: travel, style, cat, dog, food, wellness, wine, film, baby, as well as the limited edition Snoopy and Le Petit Prince. It's worth checking out! more ›

The young Philadelphia native Huy presenting his fall/winter 2011 ready-to-wear at 800 Show last night. more ›

According to Global Times, the sale of small live-animal key chains is on the rise in China. Turtles and fish are being sealed up in airtight plastic containers and sold as trinkets to shoppers with growing popularity. Venders claim the water inside the pouch is nutrient-rich, and that the animals can live for a month or longer. Sadly, we've heard this total nonsense before. Back in 2008, Olympics paraphernalia hawkers delved into pocket-sized animal abuse as well. Worst of all, the practice remains completely legal in China. more ›

An epidemic of panic buying hit supermarkets and stores across China beginning yesterday as shoppers laid their hands on any salt they could find under the false assumption that the ubiquitous food seasoning offers protection against radiation exposure. more ›

Looking for something new to give your wife/girlfriend/mother tomorrow? Xinhua suggests this "gelivable" China-only Miu Miu purse. The 50 pieces of this bag edition is only available in Hangzhou's MixC Mall (which, if we may remind you, is only 38 minutes away.) It's a purse roughly about the size of an iPad and features a removable chain that can be worn as a necklace. And of course, it is appropriately red. Priced at 10,000 RMB. more ›

Now this changes everything. Taobao has just launched its own online supermarket at http://chaoshi.taobao.com/ . Currently on trial in Shanghai, the service is expected to go live in Beijing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the upcoming weeks. more ›

We all know Coldplay frontman Chris Martin loves him some Apple. Earlier this year he performed at an official Apple event. Hell, he and wife Gwyneth Paltrow even named their daughter after the computer brand.¹ But do you think Martin knows there is a pseudo Apple Store named Coldplay in Shanghai? more ›

If anyone was contemplating bulk buying rice or noodles, then get clearing out your cupboards! Sam’s Club (Wal-Mart’s membership only retail warehouse) is coming to Shanghai! Yay for 60 pack toilet rolls! more ›

If Zara, H&M and Uniqlo aren't enough to satiate your international shopping needs, then you'll be glad to hear that GAP's flagship store swung open its doors for all apparel crazy Shanghai-ers out there who want to sport a piece of Americana. more ›

The Dutch contingent's maiden show at this year's Shanghai Fashion Week on Sunday evening was by far the most outrageous yet (sending a model down the runway with a shirt pulled over his head - really?) Wigs, masks, elaborate headgear and wacky shoes by United Nude, the country that gave us famous fashion duo Viktor & Rolf pulled out all stops in showing Shanghai fashionistas what else they have to offer. more ›