The Shanxi province will promote its brands through establishing exhibition centers in cities across China connected with a marketing network to make people more familiar with its better-known brands.
The first stop of Shanxi Brand China Tour began in Beijing this past June, then travelled to the following: Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region; Guangzhou, Guangdong province; Chengdu, Sichuan province; Shanghai; Nanchang, Jiangxi province; Chongqing; and Wuhan, Hubei province.
Especially popular were Shanxi's famous specialties, which did well in the north, and were quite successful in southern markets, according to Sun Yuejin, head of the provincial Commerce Dep't. In November, it opened its first exhibition center outside the province, in Beijing, after the brand promotion, and it was considered an important way to increase consumption over the long term and a good site for marketing Shanxi brands.
The center has such items as alcoholic drinks, mature vinegar, nuts, cereal grains, edible fungus, snacks, light textiles, and artworks on display, and it has sufficient product storage space to meet all needs.
The Commerce Dep't has plans to invite enterprises to set up an office in the center and expand marketing channels. Sun said they plan to have centers in the cities of Guangzhou and Shanghai, and the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou for a real Shanxi brand marketing network and have promotions in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, while exploring international markets.
The province's total retail sales amounted to 497 billion yuan in 2013, for a year-on-year increase of 13.6 percent.
Edited by Roger Bradshaw
