What's New

Introduction:

In early February 2026, Iceland, Europe's largest frozen food supermarket and a UK retail giant with annual sales of 40 billion RMB, officially signed a deal to settle in Shenglimen Square, Liangxi District, Wuxi. It will build China's first full-capability store—the Iceland British Shopping Park—which breaks the traditional supermarket concept and integrates diverse shopping scenarios.

01

Iceland, Sam's Club, ALDI, and Hema compete on the same stage.

Unlike traditional supermarkets with a single business format, the Iceland British Shopping Park will break industry boundaries by adopting a tri-core integrated model of "offline supply chain + online MCN live streaming + AI empowerment" to build an intelligent new-type supermarket ecosystem. This is also its core competitiveness that distinguishes it from Sam's Club and ALDI.

On the offline level, the project will deeply integrate Iceland's global frozen food supply chain and over 200 partner brands, covering multiple categories such as imported fresh food, frozen products, and specialty snacks. It will not only introduce specialty products from countries like Spain, Japan, and Italy, but also incorporate time-honored domestic brands such as China Quanjude Group and Donglaishun, as well as local time-honored brands from Wuxi. It will also collaboratively develop "regionally exclusive" products, achieving a dual-circulation layout of "buying globally and selling globally."

The online layout focuses on the currently popular instant retail and content e-commerce. On one hand, it will deploy frontline warehouse businesses to achieve instant delivery services such as "delivery within hours in Wuxi urban area" and "same-day delivery in Yangtze River Delta cities," catering to consumers' demand for convenience. On the other hand, it will create an exclusive MCN physical live streaming space to provide full-chain support for key opinion leaders and live streamers, upgrading the space from a "traffic portal" to an "industry hub." Through content marketing on platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu, it aims to improve conversion efficiency with a "product finds people" logic. The deep empowerment of AI technology enables multi-dimensional innovation in the project: leveraging multimodal large models to achieve AIGC content generation, VR/AR immersive experiences, seamless payment, and visual traceability of product origins. It even optimizes cold chain inventory and predicts hot product trends through algorithms, building a closed loop of "technology development—scenario validation—commercial transformation."

In terms of business planning, the Iceland British Shopping Park is positioned as a new landmark for the integration of culture, commerce, and tourism, a global food district, and the Chinese version of "Chester Gardens." It breaks the traditional perception that "supermarket equals shopping" and aims to create an innovative experience destination integrating food, art, culture, and fashion. The layout of the dining sector has become a major highlight. The project has a clear plan to simultaneously introduce more than five well-known dining brands, three of which will be their first stores in China, and the rest will be their first stores in Jiangsu Province. By leveraging the "first store" effect to attract customer traffic and synergizing with the retail sector, it enriches the consumer scenarios. According to a relevant official from Liangxi District, upon completion, the project is expected to attract over 1.8 million offline visits annually, driving an overall increase of more than 1 billion RMB in annual consumption in the Shenglimen commercial district, becoming a powerful engine to boost the commercial vitality of the northern section of Zhongshan Road.

Currently, the project has entered an intense preparation phase. The team is advancing various tasks such as spatial renovation, supply chain integration, and brand investment attraction. According to the plan, it will officially open in the third quarter of this year, bringing Wuxi consumers an immersive shopping experience of "Chinese technology + global cuisine" and providing the domestic retail industry with a new model for the integration of "culture, commerce, tourism, and digitalization."

02
Iceland: From the Success of its Asia-Pacific First Store to the Establishment of its First Store in East China

Iceland's decision to establish itself in Wuxi is not its first foray into the Chinese market. Its previously established Asia-Pacific first store, Iceland Lab in Beijing, has already validated the feasibility of the "Supply Chain + MCN + AI" integration model with impressive operational data, laying a solid foundation for the first store in East China. Behind this success lies its deep cooperation with its exclusive operator in Mainland China, BTG Smartcloud.

As an internet technology platform under the BTG Group, BTG Smartcloud possesses both traditional commercial resources and digital operation capabilities. It is precisely this partnership that has enabled the UK frozen food giant to smoothly enter the Chinese market and achieve model innovation. In April 2025, the Asia-Pacific first Iceland Lab store, a collaboration between the two parties, began trial operations in Mentougou District, Beijing. This 6,800-square-meter store is not a traditional supermarket but an integrated commercial complex encompassing retail, e-commerce, MCN, and catering services, dubbed the "Metaverse Live Streaming Retail Space."

Looking at the operational data, the performance of the Beijing Iceland Lab store can be described as "phenomenal." Within half a month of opening, its overall GMV reached 13 million RMB, with single-day sales peaking at 3-5 million RMB. Its monthly sales per square meter approached 10,000 RMB, dozens of times higher than traditional supermarkets and on par with international leading supermarket brands like Sam's Club and Costco. Online exposure exceeded 120 million views. During the May Day holiday, cumulative AI live streaming duration surpassed 5,000 hours, with an average of 300 live streams daily. User dwell time in live streams increased to 3 minutes, and sales for a single stream peaked at over 80,000 RMB, all significantly above industry averages. Furthermore, on its opening day, the store attracted nearly 10,000 visitors, with hot products like 9.9 RMB imported pizzas triggering buying frenzies, fully demonstrating the market appeal of the Iceland brand.

03
Wuxi, a Key City in East China: A Magnet for Foreign Retailers

Iceland's choice of Wuxi for its first store in East China is no accident but a comprehensive consideration of the city's business environment, consumption potential, and geographical advantages. In recent years, Wuxi has become a prime destination for foreign retail giants expanding in the Yangtze River Delta. Brands such as ALDI, Sam's Club, Hema, JD Mall, K11, and InCity have all increased their investments here, creating a highly competitive commercial landscape where multiple players vie for dominance. Behind this phenomenon lies Wuxi's irreplaceable core competitiveness.

First, Wuxi's consumption power and the trend of consumption upgrading provide vast market space for foreign retailers. In 2025, Wuxi's total retail sales of consumer goods reached a record high of 441.847 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 3.1%. In terms of consumer demographics, Wuxi's per capita GDP has consistently ranked among the highest in the country for years, with a high proportion of mid-to-high-end consumers. Local consumers show strong demand for high-quality, diverse, and personalized products. Iceland's imported frozen goods, first-store dining options, and digital experiences perfectly align with this consumption trend, enabling rapid market penetration.

Second, Wuxi's mature commercial layout and vibrant "first-store economy" provide fertile ground for foreign brands. As ALDI's first choice when expanding beyond Shanghai, Wuxi now hosts four ALDI stores and has established a regional office. Sam's Club is also expanding rapidly; Wuxi currently has one store, with another in Huishan District set to officially open in April this year, and a store in Jiangyin planned to open within the year. All adopt a "store + cloud warehouse" model, balancing offline experience with instant delivery to further optimize their presence.

Beyond the supermarket sector, the largest JD MALL in East China is undergoing renovation at the former Poly Plaza site, covering a total area of 36,000 square meters, with trial operations targeted for the end of 2026. Jiangsu's first K11 Select shopping art center, located in the Economic Development Zone, is expected to open in the second half of this year. Positioned as a "park-style complex" integrating art, humanity, and natural elements, it aims to create a differentiated consumption scenario. 

Conclusion

The establishment of the first East China store of Iceland, the UK retail giant with 40 billion RMB in annual sales, in Wuxi is not only another significant move by foreign retailers in the Chinese market but also strong evidence of Wuxi's rising commercial stature. From the model validation of its first store in Beijing to the upgraded layout of its full-capability store in Wuxi, Iceland's journey in China underscores the core logic of "digital transformation + local adaptation" for foreign retail. Wuxi's ability to become a preferred location for numerous international retail giants is inseparable from its robust consumption power, mature business ecosystem, superior geographical advantages, and open policy environment.