Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    ALL seven Jusco stores in Shenzhen adopted the new name Aeon, the same as their operator, Friday. This is part of a re-branding campaign the Japanese retailer is conducting all over China.

    The re-branding exercise, which was completed in Japan in 2011 and in Malaysia last March, is part of Aeon group’s strategy to enhance its profile as a leading retailer, Komatsu Takasi, general manager of Aeon South China Co. Ltd., told a press conference Friday.

    “Our Jusco stores are now known as Aeon, which means ‘eternity’ in Latin,” he said.

    “Nevertheless, Aeon’s corporate value, mission and goals will remain unchanged to serve our customers better.”

    However, Takasi admitted that the re-branding triggered controversies even within the company, as Jusco has long become a recognized brand name in China since Aeon opened its first Chinese store in 1996.

    Shoppers in Japan and Malaysia questioned whether it was Aeon that acquired Jusco, which led to the re-branding. To avoid causing confusion to Chinese shoppers, the company will hold promotions and enhance publicity following the re-branding, Takasi said.

    Until March 10, Aeon stores will offer coupons to members as well as other discounts to all shoppers. The re-branding won’t affect shoppers’ membership, although new members will be given a membership card that looks different from the old one and bears the Aeon name on it.

    To press ahead its expansion in Guangdong, the Aeon group, the largest retailer in Asia by sales, plans to open a shopping mall in Guangzhou and several Daiso outlets in Shenzhen this year, according to Ye Qing, vice general manager of Aeon South China Co. Ltd. The company is still looking for a site on which to open a new shopping mall in Shenzhen, Ye said.

    Shenzhen boasts more than a dozen shopping malls now, but the shopping mall space per metropolitan consumer in Shenzhen is among the lowest in China and the city does not show any sign of oversupply during the next three years, Steven McCord, a research director of Jones Lang LaSalle, told the paper Friday.

    The Aeon group operates three shopping malls in China, as well as Aeon and other stores. The firm hopes to increase the number of shopping malls to 12 by the end of June 2015.