According to reporters: Zhang Wenyu, editors: He Juanjuan
A heavyweight player has joined the outlet track in Xi'an.
Recently, Shanshan Commercial Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as &#34;Shanshan Commercial&#34;) officially signed a contract with the Fengdong New City of Xixian New Area, planning to invest 2 billion yuan to build an outlet commercial complex with a total area of over 100,000 square meters. According to the plan, after the project is put into operation, it is expected to achieve an average annual turnover of 1 billion yuan and create approximately 2,000 jobs.
This will be the 9th large outlet in Xi'an. Prior to this, players such as Shazhi Chuan, Wangfujing, Jing'an Hui, Shouchuang, and Huasheng had already staked their claims, each occupying their own territory.
Even when measured on a national scale, a city gathering nine outlets is quite rare. The entry of Shanshan Group has become the latest footnote in this commercial covert battle.
The outlet market in Xi'an is becoming a &#34;battlefield&#34; that commercial giants cannot avoid.
<h2>2 Billion Investment in Xi'an</h2>
&#34;Outlet&#34; is the Chinese transliteration of the English word &#34;outlets,&#34; which refers to internationally renowned brand discount shopping centers. With the continuous expansion and optimization of the business model, today's outlets have evolved into ideal places for urban residents to enjoy a &#34;mini-vacation&#34; with discount retail as the main store, supplemented by open street areas, convenient parking, immersive experiences, and other elements.
The signed outlet commercial complex project is located in Fengdong New City, with a total investment of 2 billion yuan and a construction area of 100,000 square meters, which is considered a medium to large scale in the Xi'an outlet market.
The project plans to introduce more than 200 international first-tier brands and well-known domestic brands, along with immersive experiences, children's entertainment, and specialty dining, to create a high-quality &#34;Outlet + Shopping Park&#34; commercial complex nationwide. After opening, it is expected to achieve an average annual turnover of 1 billion yuan and create 2,000 jobs.
The operator behind the project is Shanshan Commercial.
Shanshan Commercial was established in 2016 and is currently wholly owned by Vipshop Group. In July 2019, Vipshop completed the acquisition of Shanshan Commercial for 2.9 billion yuan in cash. At that time, the equity structure of Shanshan Commercial was 72% held by Ningbo Xingtong Chuangfu Equity Investment Partnership and 28% held by Shanshan Group Co., Ltd., with the actual controlling party being Shanshan Holdings Co., Ltd.
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Before the acquisition, Shanshan Commercial was still in the second tier of domestic outlets, with only about 5 outlet plazas, mostly located in second-tier cities and below. After being incorporated under Vipshop, it quickly grew into an important support point in Vipshop's offline retail landscape.
By the end of 2025, Shanshan Commercial is expected to operate 23 outlet complexes nationwide, forming a leading camp in the domestic outlet field alongside Bailian and Shazhi Chuan.
Moreover, Shanshan Commercial's layout in the northwest market had already been initiated
Lanzhou Suning Outlets Plaza and Urumqi Suning Outlets Plaza opened in July and November 2020, respectively; Xining Suning Outlets Town landed in the Nanchuan Industrial Park in June of the same year. As of now, among the five provinces in Northwest China, only Shaanxi and Ningxia have not seen the Suning Outlets project.
The establishment in Fengdong New City not only precisely fills the gap in its national layout but also aligns with the inherent logic of chain commercial brands enhancing network density.
<h2>Behind the Gathering of Nine Outlets</h2>
With the signing of the Suning Outlets, Xi'an welcomes its ninth outlet.
According to incomplete statistics, there are currently 6 large outlets operating in Xi'an, with another 3 under construction or officially announced. Coupled with unique formats such as Jing'an Hui Lifestyle Outlets and JD Outlets, Xi'an's outlet matrix has already taken shape and is quite diverse.
From a national perspective, it is rare for a city to gather 9 outlets.
Specifically, since the first batch of outlet projects landed around 2015, it has been over ten years. The outlet format in Xi'an has undergone a complete cycle from non-existence to existence, and from existence to multiplicity. The fundamental reason for the rapid formation of a scaled layout with more and more projects landing is that Xi'an possesses the comprehensive competitiveness valued by commercial giants.
First is the population base. As the central city of Northwest China, Xi'an not only has a permanent population of 13 million but also radiates the entire Northwest market. In the consumer sector, Xi'an has always been a commercial highland in the five provinces of Northwest China, with the consumption power of surrounding areas continuously gathering towards the provincial capital.
In early 2026, Xi'an was selected as a &#34;Pilot City for New Consumption Formats, New Models, and New Scenarios&#34; and &#34;Pilot City for International Consumption Environment Construction,&#34; becoming the only city in Northwest China to receive both pilot designations, confirming Xi'an's status as a consumption hub at the national level.
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Not only is it an outlet, but Xi'an is also the preferred location for top commercial complexes.
With a total investment of 9 billion yuan, MixC, 10 billion yuan for Taikoo Li, and 4.3 billion yuan for Xi'an Hui Ju, along with the Seg Shopping Center and Xi'an SKP, which consistently rank among the top in national commercial performance, as well as the Xi'an duty-free shop that fills the gap in international consumption scenarios, they collectively build a strong and diverse consumer market in this city.
Secondly, there is a change in the transportation pattern. With the improvement of the high-speed rail network and the extension of urban rail transit, the &#34;suburbanization&#34; site selection logic of outlets highly aligns with Xi'an's urban expansion. Taking the Fengdong New City, where the Suning project is located, as an example, it is becoming an important node for Xi'an's westward urban expansion as the core area of the Xixian New District.
Finally, there is the support of cultural and tourism resources. Xi'an's attribute as a tourist city provides a natural flow of customers for outlets. The massive number of tourists brought by super IPs such as the Terracotta Army, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and the Tang Paradise gives Xi'an's outlets the opportunity to capture the spillover effect of tourism consumption
There is also an easily overlooked factor, which is the pressure of local commercial inventory. During the adjustment cycle of the residential market, the destocking of commercial real estate has become a challenge, and outlet malls, as a mature commercial format, have become an important option for revitalizing suburban commercial stock.
<h2>Second Half Ranking Competition</h2>
With 9 large commercial entities gathered, the outlet battle in Xi'an has just entered the second half.
From the current landscape, Xi'an Sandship Outlet is undoubtedly the number one player. In terms of scale, Xi'an Sandship is one of the largest outlets in Northwest China, with a total construction area of 141,300 square meters and a leasable area of 78,400 square meters.
According to its publicly disclosed recruitment prospectus, the sales figures for Xi'an Sandship from 2022 to 2024 are projected to be 1.512 billion yuan, 2.429 billion yuan, and 2.558 billion yuan, showing a steady growth momentum.
Wangfujing has laid out two outlets in Xi'an—Lintong Store and Xi'an Airport Store—relying on Wangfujing's brand appeal and supply chain advantages, firmly occupying the first tier. Shouchuang Outlet, Huasheng Outlet, and the Terracotta Warriors Lintong International Tourism Shopping Town each rely on their location or cultural tourism advantages to occupy niche markets.
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Among the projects under construction, Yuelan Jia Outlet is located next to Xi'an Railway Station, with a construction area of 58,000 square meters, planning to introduce international commercial operation experience from Singapore, and is scheduled to officially open by the end of 2026; the Terracotta Warriors Lintong International Tourism Shopping Town has been included in the list of key construction projects in Shaanxi Province for 2026.
The aforementioned projects exhibit distinct differentiation characteristics in their site selection: Sandship anchors in the eastern city of Chanba, Wangfujing rushes into the Lintong tourism belt, and Yuelan Jia is positioned at the railway station. Almost every direction has a representative project, which reflects the competitive judgment of each party regarding the future development direction of Xi'an city.
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The choice of Fengdong by Shanshan Commercial is also a signal worth noting.
Fengdong New City is the core area of the Xixian New District. With the successive opening of Metro Line 1, Line 5, and Line 16, the commuting time to the main urban area has been significantly reduced. At the same time, Fengdong is becoming a new gathering place for Xi'an's cultural tourism and sports resources—Xi'an Happy Valley, Shijingli, Kunming Pool, and Xi'an International Football Center can all form synergies with the outlet projects.
By positioning itself in Fengdong early, it aims to take the lead in accommodating the incremental customer base brought by the westward expansion of Xi'an city, while also linking with existing cultural tourism and sports projects in Fengdong.
However, the challenges are also evident. The current population density and consumption maturity in Fengdong still lag behind the already mature outlet sectors, which means that Shanshan Outlet will need to go through a period of cultivation
A city being able to accommodate 9 large outlet malls indicates that the consumer market is large enough and the demand is diverse enough, which also reflects the maturity of Xi'an's commercial landscape. For consumers, more choices mean better prices and services.
However, from another perspective, the competition in the outlet sector is intensifying. Nine projects are sharing the same pie, and the risk of homogeneous competition cannot be ignored. When the brand matrices of various companies become increasingly similar and the discount levels are hard to distinguish, the operational effectiveness may be compromised.
Shanshan's entry is more like a watershed in this competition.
Next, Xi'an's outlet market will transition from &#34;land grabbing&#34; to a &#34;refined cultivation&#34; stage. Those who can differentiate themselves in brand combinations, scene experiences, and membership operations will be the ones who truly survive.
Daily Economic News

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Xi'an welcomes its 9th large-scale outlet, invested by NBSS with 2 billion yuan for construction, covering an area of over 100,000 square meters. The project is expected to achieve an annual average revenue of 1 billion yuan and create approximately 2,000 job opportunities. NBSS will introduce 200 internationally and domestically renowned brands, creating a high-quality "outlet + shopping park" complex. This move marks intensified competition in the Xi'an outlet market, becoming a "battlefield" for commercial giants

9 Outlet, fierce battle in Xi'an