Thailand durian at 14.9 yuan per jin, packaged tofu for 0.19 yuan a box, potatoes priced at 0.99 yuan per jin... On the morning of July 12th, the popular discount supermarket Xiaohongdao was bustling with customers in the Beidouxingcheng block of Tongguan District, Tongling City. From signing the agreement on June 2nd, to the debut of its first community store on June 26th, and the grand opening of its inaugural flagship store on July 12th, the entire process spanned just over a month. The speed of this rollout was even surprising to the company itself.
Since the first community store opened, daily foot traffic has remained around 10,000 people, and during the trial operation of the flagship store, average daily visits reached 20,000, said Wu Jiming, Vice Chairman of the Wanzhongdao Retail Group. They plan to establish a third store in Tongling within the month, with an ambition to open 15 to 20 stores in the coming years.
The rapid establishment of Xiaohongdao was facilitated by the highly efficient support from relevant departments. The commerce and market supervision authorities of Tongguan District, along with the local community, coordinated efforts, providing comprehensive 'nanny-style' service from business license processing to site preparation, ensuring the swift landing and expansion of this 'first store'.
By attracting high-quality brand first stores with excellent service, we help them reach into communities. This not only allows residents to purchase quality goods close to home but also revitalizes the commercial district, stated Liu Lili, Director of the Tongguan District Commerce Bureau.
If the opening of Xiaohongdao was a blitzkrieg, the arrival of Hema Fresh represents a major strategic move. In late April, the supermarket chain under Alibaba Group announced its entry into the Tongling Wanda Plaza. The news immediately captured citywide attention, generating significant buzz even before its opening.
Currently, interior construction for the first Hema Fresh store in Tongling is progressing rapidly, with an official opening scheduled to meet the public in approximately one month. Upon opening, it will provide over 300 job opportunities and is expected to increase the plaza's annual foot traffic by more than 5% and sales by over 10%, said Zhang Yuming, General Manager of Tongling Wanda Plaza Commercial Management Co., Ltd. It will not only attract local residents but also draw consumers and tourists from surrounding cities.
Leveraging the traffic generated by Hema Fresh, the mall is concurrently developing an indoor themed lifestyle block named 'Neighborhood IN Lane', introducing over 30 brands, more than 70% of which are opening their first stores in Tongling.
In Tongguan District, such success stories are becoming common. The Wanda Plaza, established in Tongling for nine years, has refined a strategy for 'first stores': first, attract people with inaugural outlets; second, retain them with quality; and finally, boost consumption through service. This approach has proven effective. The mall has already introduced over 80 first stores for Tongling, including Hema Fresh, Pang Ge Liang, and FILA. In 2025, it recorded nearly 13 million visits and annual sales of 750 million yuan.
The introduction of a first store can invigorate an entire commercial district. In recent years, Tongguan District has capitalized on its central urban area's core advantages in leading consumption. It has positioned the cultivation and expansion of the 'first store economy' as a crucial lever for activating new consumption supply, fostering new consumption scenarios, and aggregating new consumer traffic. By continuously improving services and the business environment to attract premium brands, the district not only delivers 'first' surprises to residents but also effectively energizes the city's commercial zones.
In 2025, more than 40 first stores, including Avatr, BAIC Arcfox, and JD Outlets, successively opened in Tongguan District. This year has seen the addition of new names like Xiaoxiang Supermarket and Xiaohongdao.
The first store economy is like a pebble dropped into a lake, creating ripples that spread outward, Liu Lili remarked. The district will continue to introduce brand first stores and flagship stores, giving established commercial areas a fresh look, meeting the public's diverse and high-quality consumption needs, and continually strengthening the core competitiveness of consumption in the main urban area.
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