A total of 328 popular brands opened their first regional stores in Beijing's commercial districts in the first half of this year, according to the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau.

The officials said the "first store" economy, which means a global brand or a new trendy brand that enters a specific region or area by opening its first flagship store there, brought new shopping experiences and fostered new growth areas of consumer spending.

With its great potential for consumption and ability to facilitate the development of neighboring areas, Beijing is attracting an increasing number of "first stores" to settle in its high streets. Among them, five stores are the world's first flagships, two are "first stores" in the Asia Pacific region, four are Asia's first, in addition to 59 in the Chinese mainland, 91 in north China and 167 in Beijing.

Sanlitun and the CBD are the top two commercial districts in Beijing that attracted the most "first stores," with each home to 33 such stores. In 2019, 241 stores settled in Beijing's top 15 commercial districts, making up 73% of all such stores across the city. 

Among the 328 stores that first opened in Beijing, 195 and 90 stores are from the catering and retail industry respectively. Another 16 bars were opened in Beijing to further boost the emerging nighttime economy.

In addition, Beijing is also considering policies to facilitate the development of the "first store" economy, in a bid to optimize its business environment and upgrade consumption.

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