ANN/CHINA DAILY –  In a bid to establish a stronger presence in the United States (US), Shein, the global online marketplace for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle products, revealed a strategic partnership with Sparc Group, the operator of Forever 21.

The arrangement involves Shein acquiring around a third of Sparc’s holdings, while Sparc simultaneously secures a minority stake in Shein.

Sparc is a joint venture that includes Authentic Brands Group, a brand management company with a portfolio of well-known names like Forever 21, Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand and Nine West; and Simon Property Group, the biggest shopping mall owner in the US.

The partnership will enable Shein to build shops-within-shops in Forever 21’s retail locations across the US. Forever 21 is known for its trendy clothing favoured by young consumers.

Shein’s Executive Chairman Donald Tang said, “The powerful combination of Simon’s leadership in physical retail, Authentic’s brand development expertise, and Shein’s on-demand model will help us drive scalable growth and together make fashion more accessible to all.”

The deal also allows Forever 21 to sell products on Shein’s platforms, which have about 150 million registered users.

Chief Executive Officer of Sparc Group Marc Miller said the partnership reflects its shared vision of providing customers with unparalleled access to fashion at affordable prices, and enables the company to offer even more innovative and trendsetting products to fashion enthusiasts around the world.

Shein was founded in Guangzhou, Guangdong province and has become popular among US shoppers in recent years.

The company’s technology and China-based supply chain allow for hundreds of new styles to be manufactured and delivered in weeks, offering shoppers, especially teenagers, more tailor-made options.

Chief Researcher of E-commerce Li Mingtao at China International Electronic Commerce Centre, said the move would allow Shein to gain a better foothold in brick-and-mortar retailing overseas.

The company currently has limited-time pop-up shops in cities, including Dallas and Los Angeles, which have drawn eager customers and long lines.

“A core competitiveness of Shein on the global stage is its flexible industry chain. The company is flexible in producing a small batch of orders first, and can produce again frequently according to order amount,” he added.

Tony Leung’s new role in ‘Silent Friend’

ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Renowned Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai is poised to make his mark in yet another Western film following his successful Hollywood introduction in Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021). Hailing as one of Hong Kong’s premier talents, Leung notably portrayed Wenwu, the father of the titular character, in the Marvel superhero spectacle. His latest endeavour finds him in the line-up of Silent Friend, an upcoming project directed by Hungarian filmmaker Ildiko Enyedi.

American entertainment magazine, Variety, has revealed that Silent Friend, a creation of Enyedi, is receiving production support from the esteemed German banner Pandora Film. This collaboration is garnering attention for its fusion of Leung’s talent with Enyedi’s creative vision.

It is set in the botanical garden of Marburg, a medieval university town in Germany, and tells three stories connected to a tree over a period of more than 100 years.

Leung, 61, will play a renowned neuroscientist travelling from his home town of Hong Kong to the Marburg Faculty in the third segment of the film, according to Variety.

Enyedi, 67, said she wrote the role for Leung. “I was absolutely humbled that from the first read of the script, he became such a great partner in the thinking, not just about his role, but also about the whole project.”

Leung, who will be starring in upcoming Hong Kong action crime thriller The Goldfinger, said he has been an avid fan of Enyedi since watching all her works.

Silent Friend, which is now in pre-production, will begin filming in April 2024.

It is Enyedi’s follow-up to The Story Of My Wife (2021), which competed at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, and On Body And Soul (2017), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2017.

Leung is set to receive a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the upcoming Venice Film Festival.

He has starred in three movies that have won the Venice Golden Lion: A City Of Sadness (1989) by director Hou Hsiao-hsien, Cyclo (1995) by French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung, and Lust, Caution (2007) by director Lee Ang.

SEOUL (ANN/THE KOREA HERALD) – The Bank of Korea (BOK) announced on Friday that China’s decision to resume group tours to South Korea is projected to result in an influx of approximately 800,000 additional travellers.

This, in turn, is anticipated to contribute to a 0.06 per cent increase in Korea’s gross domestic product for the current year.

The revival of group tours is foreseen to play a crucial role in the recovery of Chinese tourist arrivals to Korea.

Notably, according to an economic outlook report released by the central bank of Korea, before the implementation of travel restrictions, approximately 40 per cent of all Chinese tourists visiting Korea were part of organised group tours.

On August 10, China’s tourism authorities decided to lift the ban on group tours to South Korea, ending a six-year hiatus caused by frayed relations following the deployment of a US defense system to Korean soil.

“Since the Chinese government announced the resumption of group tours, there have been positive signs. Major Chinese travel agencies have launched group tour programs and schedules for cruise ships to make port calls in Jeju Island, which have been fully booked until March next year,” the BOK said.

The BOK projected that some 2.2 million Chinese tourists will visit Korea between July and December this year. An additional 800,000 people were added to the estimate due to the resumption of group tours.

In the fourth quarter of this year, the number of Chinese tourists who visited Korea is expected to reach 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, marking a big jump from 46 per cent logged in July.

“The number of Chinese tourists will begin a full-fledged recovery during the National Day holiday, one of China’s three major holidays.” China’s National Day holiday falls between September 29 and October 6.

The additional 800,000 Chinese tourists are projected to contribute to the country’s GDP. Factoring in the projection, the BOK maintained its growth forecast for this year at 1.4 per cent on Thursday.

Given that the number of visitors to Singapore has been recovering faster than those recorded by Thailand, although the ban was lifted for both countries simultaneously, China’s outbound trips appear to have been made by upper-income classes, the report said.

“Looking at the recovery case of Singapore, which has a similar travel purpose, consumption infrastructure, and per capita expenditure to Korea, it seems that there is room for more high-income Chinese tourists to enter Korea,” it said.