Shanghai is home to a new retail store dedicated to selling products certified as genuinely Australian made and grown.
The flagship ‘Oz-Town’ store was launched earlier this month during ‘Australia Week in China’ (AWIC) celebrations. The Shanghai outlet is part of a chain of Oz-Town stores set to be opened in conjunction with the Suning retail empire over the next 12 months.
The stores will sell a range of products, including fresh produce, certified to carry the Australian Made, Australian Grown kangaroo logo. Australian Made Campaign deputy chief executive, Ben Lazzaro, who participated in the opening of the store in Shanghai, said the logo was well-recognised and trusted in China.
“The Australian Made, Australian Grown logo has been helping shoppers in export markets like China identify genuine Aussie products and produce for three decades, so its pulling power is no surprise,” Lazzaro said.
“The launch of the ‘Oz-Town’ stores will offer new market opportunities for producers of genuine Aussie products and produce, while providing local consumers with a ‘one-stop-shop’ for authentic Australian goods.”
The new chain of retail outlets will be supported by a strong online presence through major Chinese e-commerce platforms Haitaocheng, JD, Papago, Suning and Tmall.
Lazzaro said while businesses selling certified products online were enjoying great success, there was also clear demand for a physical retail space where shoppers could inspect prospective purchases in person.
“Online sales of Australian products and produce in China are booming, but people still want to ‘try before they buy’,” Lazzaro explained.
