Recently, the latest issue of “Drapers”, a fashion retail magazine in the UK, selected the country’s “Top 100 Influential People in Fashion Retail” in 2014. Chairman of Sanpower Group Yuan Yafei was first elected to the list, ranking No. 59. John King, CEO of House of Fraser, was also on the list. Founded in 1887, “Drapers” is a professional fashion retail magazine in the UK, now owned by the British media stalwart Emap Magazine Group.

2014 has seen Sanpower Group and its subsidiaries’ serial overseas M&As, including the purchasing of the UK’s most time-honoured department store House of Fraser (HOF). Nanjing Cenbest, an affiliate to Sanpower Group, intends to introduce HOF’s in-house brands and buyer’s mode, with a view of building the “Oriental HOF" in China. With the acquisition of HOF, Sanpower Group has tapped itself onto the UK market and accumulated a good business reputation thereafter. In terms of supply chain, many well-known international brands and manufacturers are seeking cooperation with Sanpower Group to enter China and expand their businesses.

In its comments on Chairman Yuan Yafei, “Drapers” briefed his entrepreneurial experience and personal honours, adding, “Yuan came to the fore upon completion of the acquisition of HOF. His control of the parent company of HOF’s parent company has secured him a place in TOP 100.”