The Charlotte Ronson store at IFC's first floor. Photos: Mao Jiayu

The high-profile launch of Shanghai's first Apple outlet in Pudong New Area made newspaper headlines beyond the usual business stories. Hundreds of gadget fans were photographed queuing for up to 10 hours before the official opening, and the city's media kindly splashed said images across its front pages. And although it was a stunning, if predictable, marketing success for Apple, it was as much a publicity coup for the fledgling shopping mall in which Apple has chosen to site its 1,500-square-meter flagship China store. Not that the people behind the Shanghai IFC (International Finance Center) mall need any lessons in drumming up business. Owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties under the direction of the mega-wealthy Kwok family, the company's Hong Kong IFC shopping mall houses more than 200 leading luxury brands, an achievement the Shanghai version is rapidly emulating.

Name dropping

To date, more than 180 of the world's leading brands have signed up to rent premises in this six-story 110,000-square-meter mall, which occupies a prime piece of real estate at the heart of the Lujiazui financial district. More than 20 of these companies have designated their IFC outlet a "flagship" store. Already, the familiar logos of Cartier, Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Hermes, Tiffany and Bulgari can be spotted on the first floor alone. And of these international names, around 15 percent have chosen to make their China mainland debut in the IFC, among them Charlotte Ronson, Carat, Jean- Paul Havin and the restaurant chain Morton's of Chicago.

And for around 40 percent of the businesses, this will be their first Shanghai outlet. IFC leasing manager Feng Xiyuan said that since opening in September, this has already become the biggest shopping complex in Lujiazui, and already boasts more international brands than any similar mall. The company's confidence in the Shanghai economy is underscored by an 8 billion yuan total investment in the mall and two adjoining buildings, each containing a further 100,000-square-meter of office space.

"Around 40 percent of our total investment on the Chinese mainland is going into Shanghai," according to executive director of Sun Hung Kai Properties, Huang Zhirong. The company once again hired the American architect Cesar Pelli to design the Shanghai IFC, after winning industry plaudits for the Hong Kong mall.

Two further retail/office complexes planned by Sun Hung Kai for Shanghai, The Arch and the ICC (International Commerce Center) are also in the pipeline.