(Yicai Global) March 29 -- Bailian Group Fashion Center-Yanqingli Fashion Center officially opened yesterday in the first step for retail giant Shanghai Bailian Group Co. in building its creative fashion industry chain.

The Yanqingli project, which occupies in a prime location on the south bank of Suzhou Creek in downtown Shanghai's Huangpu district, was built in 1929 as a classical English-style warehouse. The area is under a historical protective order. Warehouses on the north bank opposite to Yanqingli whose walls sustained heavy damage from Japanese artillery and small-arms fire in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) have been preserved in that condition as a monument to the conflict.

A reconstruction project started last year on the structure, which had long lain idle, a Bailian insider told Yicai Global. The transformation seeks to build a creative fashion industry platform to boost its value. The renovation is also replete with symbolism as it also marks a major transformation and upgrading of the traditional retailer.

Bailian will use joint ventures and fund operations, and will create a designer work platform, then devise a future business model. It will ultimately connect Bailian's supply chain and back office to form a creative fashion industry chain, the source said.

"The official opening of the fashion center will help Bailian link the entire industry chain from brand, design, distribution to retail, to achieve differentiated competitive advantages and core capabilities," said Ye Yongming, Bailian Group's chairman.

"Bailian's idea comports with business logic and is also in step with the transformation and upgrading of new retail, though designer brand apparel is not yet mature in China, where it has low popularity and market acceptance, but high prices. To form a business model and large-scale platform is thus not easy," senior retail analyst Shen Jun told Yicai Global.