Wang Xi, 32, a white-collar worker in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, often takes her 3-year-old daughter to a recreation park in a shopping mall at weekends. (Zhang Tao/For China Daily)
Online retailers enjoy success by operating offline family theme parks
Wang Xi, 32, a white-collar worker in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, often takes her 3-year-old daughter to a recreation park in a shopping mall at weekends. While there, her daughter can play games, draw pictures and attend classes.
The indoor amusement park named Mialand is operated by an e-commerce platform, mia.com, which is primarily engaged in selling maternity and baby products online. The company plans to open more than 30 Mialands－indoor theme parks for children aged from 0 to 12－in major cities across the country by the end of this year.
China's maternal and infant goods e-commerce platforms are investing heavily and speeding up their steps to expand offline channels, such as opening indoor theme parks for children or brick-and-mortar stores, to seek new business growth avenues and enhance their "stickiness" among consumers.
Founded in 2011, mia.com offers flash sales of discounted imported diapers and baby formula on its online platform. It established partnerships with Amcare Corp, a leading private women and children's hospital chain in China, in 2016, enabling mia.com to reach more parents and would-be parents.
The company launched its first offline children's park in Beijing in July, 2016. While children are playing and making friends, parents can buy these products directly at the store or place an order online. The park adopts two models: the direct-sale store and franchised outlet.
"The market for baby and mom products in China is breaking boundaries by means of 'New Retail' business model, which integrates online with offline shopping, and provides a refreshing shopping experience," said Liu Nan, founder and chief executive officer of mia.com.
