
When I told people about opening a business in Anting New Town, the most common remark I got was ‘Isn’t that place a ghost town’? Indeed before, it certainly was. I could imagine how hard it was
for any business to survive here. The town centre was quite often deserted and the streets had tumble weed rolling down them. You could of called out in the streets and hear yourself echo
back…
Times have changed however. Vanke (China’s largest property company) invested a large stake in the town (49% if I remember correctly) and there are buildings popping up left, right and centre. A
mall, Highrises and villas alike, their plan is to banish the tag ‘Ghost Town’ forever.
With the huge investment made by them (equating into the hundreds of millions yuan) it has encouraged individuals (like myself) and bigger well known franchises (such as Starbucks) to open up
shop. Vanke’s plan, through the various businesses opening up, such as Can Cubs, is to draw people from outside and possibly purchase from them one of their nice new shiny apartments (at a nice
price tag!). That’s where the real coin is made, a big booming business in China, and indeed anywhere for that matter.
Vanke's ambitions suit us quite nicely actually. They are making the effort to pull outsiders in to the town to buy their apartments, which should hopefully benefit the businesses operating here
by receiving their patronage. I have recently helped their sale’s office team actually. I held a ‘Discover Archery’ event outside of their sales office. Unfortunately for them, there wasn’t
really many people around, so I’m doubtful if they made a sale. But it shows that they are being pro-active in their approach.
Holding events is a good way at letting people know about Can Cubs. We are striving to be active members in the community. We hope that when people learn about us, they will become a Can Cubs
member, and indeed a friend! The verb ‘cultivate’ by it’s very nature takes time, and businesses do need time to grow especially if they are operating in a ‘Ghost Time’ (not)! So we’ll continue
taking one step at a time, making sure each step is carefully placed…
I recently watched this video and feel that it's fitting to share given the topic.
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