On Apr 12, Ashley Hangzhou store opens its door. It is the 5th Ashley store in China. The other 4 stores located in Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou and Ningbo. All the stores are within eastern China area, not far away from Ashley’s Kunshan factory.
Ashely also opens an online store at tmall.com, the leading online-shopping platform in China, but the delivery service only available in Shanghai and some cities of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
As one of the largest furniture suppliers and retailers, Ashley Furniture is no stranger to China; it began moving manufacturing here 20 years ago to save on labor costs. Only in the past three years has Ashley made a concerted effort to sell furniture in China and opened a flagship store in a busy commercial area of Shanghai in 2012.
For example, Ashley Suzhou store displays furniture made for compact Chinese apartments, including dining room tables measuring 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in length—as opposed to the standard length of 2 meters to 3 meters popular in the company’s U.S. stores. The Suzhou outlet also features glossy furniture sets marketed under the new label King’s Wear, a product line that is more luxurious and pricier than Ashley’s standard offerings. It is designed specifically for Chinese customers.