On April 23 2015, Yuan Yafei, the renowned entrepreneur and Chairman of the Sanpower Group from Nanjing, addressed an audience of international brands at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium where his charisma and charm garnered him rapturous applause from the attendees.

Held annually in London, the House of Fraser Business Partner Engagement Day is an important event in the UK's century-old department. With an audience made up of over 1,000 international brands, business partners, suppliers, and staff from across the country, Chairman Yuan Yafei ¬- the new owner of HOF - expressed not only his hopes for a deeper cooperation between HOF and its suppliers, but also spoke of HOF's new phase of Chinese expansion and their plans for rapid growth.

International Brands Making History

In the year following the Sanpower Group’s acquisition of HOF, the sales and profit of the iconic store reached record highs in 2014, achieving the largest increase in its 165-year history. With the UK's physical stores booming, the proportion of HOF's online sales also gradually rose to around 20%. Outside of the UK and Ireland, HOF has also opened physical stores in the Middle East with a location in Abu Dhabi, while its expansion into the Chinese market is well under way. This is a testament to the huge success achieved so far in this cross-border M&A deal.

The 165-year old HOF’s long-standing philosophy of "Customer First", not only embodies the essence and the spirit of retail, but has also become the cornerstone of HOF's long-enjoyed reputation within the UK department store industry; something which provides a strong base and driving force for its Chinese buyer Nanjing Cenbest to achieve continued industry innovation and transformation. Therefore, Chairman Yuan Yafei praised the success of the cross-border M&A in his speech saying, "the Sanpower Group has a wealth of knowledge and experience in China's retail industry, while HOF boasts profound historical heritage and rich experience in the UK's department store industry. The combination of the two is, therefore, bound to provide rare opportunities and platforms for our suppliers." Chairman Yuan told HOF and its suppliers that British premium products have a strong appeal to Chinese consumers, and that China will become the UK's largest online consumer goods market.

"I invite you all to join us on this brilliant Chinese journey"

Today, after 22 years' of development, the Sanpower Group has established itself as a conglomerate covering healthcare, finance and commercial retail, with retail outlets across more than 500 cities in China. The Group currently has over 85,000 employees, among which 20,000 are international. Chairman Yuan spoke honestly and seriously to the representatives of the international brands in attendance saying, "I'm here today to tell you what we're doing, what we plan to do and what we shall do together with you." and so he warmly invited them all to join him and HOF to enter the Chinese market together.

In an interview after the Conference, Chairman Yuan said it was totally unsurprising that HOF had seen a growth in both sales and profit after the acquisition, because both HOF and Nanjing Cenbest have strong foundations and extensive experience in retail industry. Such a "powerful combination" of companies will hopefully be able to maintain this tremendous momentum for development. Since the acquisition of HOF, the development of Nanjing Cenbest has also experienced a substantial increase in revenue and profit. In the years to come, Nanjing Cenbest will also introduce HOF's own house brands with a view to becoming a pioneer in the transformation of traditional retail. Chairman Yuan added confidently, "Follow the Chinese, and it will become a new normal to break records."

Toward the end of his speech, Chairman Yuan proclaimed enthusiastically, "I welcome you all to join us on this brilliant Chinese journey!" The suppliers present responded to this exceedingly tempting invitation with the most enthusiastic of applause.