The British Ambassador to China Dame Barbara Woodward visited House of Fraser and Hamleys Nanjing on May 17^th together with the British Consul-General in Shanghai Mr. John Edwards. The Chairman of Sanpower Group Mr. Yuan Yafei met with the delegation.

Ms. Ambassador highly recognized the genuine British style and shopping experience brought by House of Fraser and Hamleys since their opening in Nanjing last year. During the meeting, she said,

To be here in Nanjing is my second visit as ambassador, and since then of course, we’ve seen the opening of House of Fraser, which is an iconic British brand, and also with Hamleys next door, another iconic British brand. And I hope it will give people in Nanjing a fantastic experience of the strength of the British retail and consumer sector, the innovation , the design and the quality that people are able to access now that they have those things here in Nanjing. So I am delighted to be here and see for myself the very exciting developments that House of Fraser, Hamleys and Sanpower have brought to Nanjing. I hope that this mutually-benefiting cooperation between the Chinese and UK businesses will bring success to both our two countries.

Chairman Yuan expressed his warmest welcome for the second visit of the Ambassador to Sanpower. He said, after the introduction of the two time-honoured British brands into the Chinese market, Sanpower Group and its strategic partner have, on the one hand, fully exercised the advanced management concept of the two brands, while on the other hand, made proactive innovation based on the comprehensive understanding of the Chinese retail industry. We fully leveraged the Internet and other resources in providing customers with unique and valuable shopping experience.

Coming at the time when Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation just concluded, Ms. Ambassador said: as the west end of the Belt and Road route map, the UK has a lot to offer and great opportunity would be found for British business. The Belt and Road is a green path built on sustainable principles and mutual benefit. There are great opportunities for cooperation for both our two countries, also to the benefit of all the countries along the Belt and Road.

Yuan Yafei said: Being on the train of the Belt and Road while living in the Golden Era of Sino-UK relation, the friendship between Sanpower Group and the UK is getting deeper and deeper. Business companies should not only be satisfied with being a builder for economic and trade relations, but should also become the impeller for cultural exchange and friendly communications.