Bailian, Shanshan, and SKP enter the market, Xi'an's outlet sector is in a cutthroat second-half competition!
The outlet business is continuously heating up, and Xi'an has become the intersection point of the "battle of the gods", filled with the smell of gunpowder.
Scheduled for June 18th, the first batch of domestic commercial real - estate REITs were officially listed. The Cathay Haitong Shanchuan Commercial REIT is the product with the highest capital popularity: it is the only one with over 100 - fold subscriptions; it has the highest single - unit valuation, soaring from a book value of 900 million to a valuation of over 5 billion, with a value - added rate of 468%. The real - money votes in the market also confirm the position of Shanchuan as the "No. 1 outlet in the Northwest" from another perspective.
However, "challengers" continue to emerge. The 24th project of Shanshan Business signed an agreement in Fengdong New City, Xixian New Area, with a planned investment of 2 billion yuan, full of ambition. In the core area of the eastern part of the main city, 22 kilometers away from the Shanshan project, Bailian Outlet made its debut in the Northwest at Xingfu Forest Belt. In Lintong District, the far - eastern suburb of the city, the SKP Outlet project is adjacent to the Terracotta Army scenic area, guarding the axis of cultural and tourism development. In addition, Wangfujing Outlet, Capital Outlet and others are accelerating their evolution, attempting to stabilize their market share.
So far, there are 8 operating outlet projects and 4 planned projects in Xi'an, bringing together the top five domestic outlet operators in China, including Shanchuan, Shanshan, Capital, Bailian, and Wangfujing, as well as the high - energy cross - border luxury giant SKP. The "second - wave explosion" is in full swing.
This time node is not accidental.
On the one hand, domestic leading commercial groups have collectively entered a strategic breakthrough period and are in urgent need of exploring incremental markets. Compared with the saturated competition areas in East China, North China, and Central China, the supply of high - quality consumption in the Northwest is insufficient, and the outlet competition is in a blue ocean. The collective consensus is that by capturing Xi'an, one can "leverage" the entire Northwest. After all, "Xi'an is actually the capital of the five northwestern provinces."
On the other hand, the urban framework of Xi'an is continuously expanding, providing sufficient space for outlet site selection. In the past, commercial resources were highly concentrated in the main city, presenting a single - core pattern. With the evolution of the city towards a multi - center and cluster - style development, the population and potential in the peripheral emerging areas have risen rapidly, and there is an urgent need for high - quality commercial facilities to complete the supporting facilities. Outlets, which combine quality and high cost - performance, naturally become the optimal solution to fill the regional gap.
The "battle of the gods" is on the verge of breaking out, and a more fundamental question emerges: Who will define the next stage of Xi'an's outlet business?
Bailian Outlet project in Xi'an (Source: Project official)
01.
One Xi'an
More than 20 outlets in a "bloody battle"
As the hub of the five northwestern provinces, Xi'an has an attractive consumer radiation force and market space potential. In the past decade or so, the urban commercial sector has witnessed a concentrated explosion, giving birth to many well - known national benchmark projects and driving an investment boom in the outlet track.
Nearly 20 outlet projects have been competing here. Although the industry has not replicated the prosperous situation of shopping malls, it has completed an iteration in the competition: from the early disorderly melee to the establishment of a pattern, from the single - pole pattern dominated by Shanchuan to a multi - pole competition and cooperation.
2012 - 2016: The melee breaks out, and the bubble bursts
After 2012, the five new areas of Xixian, Chanba, Lintong, Huyi, and International Port Area were comprehensively developed and constructed, releasing a large amount of commercial land. Coinciding with the first round of the national outlet development boom, many real - estate enterprises used the outlet concept to acquire land at low prices and bundled residential development for arbitrage.
From 2012 to 2016, there were more than 10 projects in Xi'an and its surrounding areas claiming to build outlets. Projects such as Caotang Outlet Shopping Center, Baorong Outlet, Yue Mei International Outlet, Chanba Shanchuan Outlet, Wangfujing Airport Saite Outlet, Huasheng Outlet, and Lintong Xien Outlet were concentrated in signing agreements, acquiring land, and publicizing plans, and the track was extremely popular.
Under the hustle and bustle, most projects could not escape two fates. Either they stopped at the drawing - board stage due to reasons such as capital rupture, or they barely opened but struggled to survive afterwards. Lintong Xien Outlet could not continue its operation the year after its opening and was acquired by Wangfujing. Huasheng Outlet introduced the first Nike factory discount flagship store in the Northwest when it opened and gathered more than a dozen international luxury brands through the "Ouse Famous Brand Hall". However, it was trapped in difficulties such as insufficient passenger flow and a weak discount supply chain and failed to truly complete the "enlightenment" of Xi'an's outlet business.
"Making a grand entrance and ending in a mess" fully verifies that in the early days, outlets essentially used the single fulcrum of "discount" to leverage the entire business model. Once brand iteration stagnated and the sense of experience was lacking, and the urban development dividends were not timely converted into an increase in the surrounding customer base, this fulcrum would quickly break.
2016 - 2019: Order is established, and the pattern takes shape initially
After the bubble burst and the boom subsided, the development of Xi'an's outlet business entered a rational stage, and professional outlet operators began to lead the establishment of market order.
Wangfujing Outlet's "two stars in one city" respectively guard the far - northeastern and far - northwestern suburbs of Xi'an. In 2016, Wangfujing Group acquired Xien Hot Spring Outlet. After a major renovation, it opened as Wangfujing Saite Outlet · Lintong Store (later renamed Wangfujing Outlet · Lintong Town) on December 24th of the same year. One week later, Wangfujing Saite Outlet · Airport Store (later renamed Wangfujing Outlet · Xixian Town) opened, with international brands accounting for more than 65% of the more than 200 brands.
Shanchuan took root in Chanba with its "large and comprehensive" model, betting on the dividends of the city's northward expansion and refreshing the city's perception of outlet consumption. Three years after signing the agreement, in September 2017, Shanchuan (Xi'an) Outlet entered the market with a floor area of 141,300 square meters and nearly 600 brands, increasing the proportion of catering and experience formats to more than 35%. It was not only the largest outlet in Xi'an at that time but also the first project to upgrade the outlet from a "discount store" to a "family micro - vacation destination". Supporting facilities such as Yuanjiacun, UME Cinema, and children's theme parks turned "visiting the outlet" into a whole - day travel plan.
Capital Outlet filled the gap in high - end discount commercial facilities in the southern part of the city. In 2019, the 118,000 - square - meter Xi'an Capital Outlet, with its Tuscan - style open - air block, accurately covered the high - end family customer groups in High - tech Zone and Chang'an. By the end of the year, the number of outlets in Xi'an reached 6, ranking among the top in the vice - provincial cities across the country.
The four standard outlets have defined the spatial coordinates in the east, west, south, and north, fully verifying that only a stable brand supply and a professional operation system can be in sync with urban development and continuously accumulate passenger flow relying on regional dividends.
After 2020: In - depth adjustment and "second - wave explosion"
After 2020, the Xi'an outlet market entered an in - depth adjustment. Some early - planned projects disappeared completely, while projects such as Shanchuan, Wangfujing, and Capital continued to polish their brands and scenarios, attempting to stabilize their passenger flow base. In March 2022, Jing'an Hui Life Outlet opened, with the retail proportion only 37.82% and the experience formats accounting for more than 60% in total, marking the landing of the new species of "life outlet" in Xi'an.
After 2025, Xi'an's outlet business will witness a real "second - wave explosion". Gaoxin New World Life Outlet opened in the form of stock transformation; multiple projects of leading enterprises such as Terracotta Army Lintong International Tourism Shopping Town, Shanshan Outlet, Bailian Outlet, and Yuelanjia Outlet were successively announced.
As of June 2026, Xi'an has 8 operating outlet projects and 4 under - construction and planned outlet projects. There are also warehouse - style outlets such as JD Outlet and BIGOFFS to supplement the regional discount consumption demand, and the "City of Outlets" has changed from a concept to a reality.
02.
Suburban outlets and "life outlets"
Different business logics
After 13 years of ups and downs, the development of Xi'an's outlet business has gone from a bubble to rationality, and the players have changed from a single - dominant situation to a diversified competition. To share a piece of the Xi'an outlet market, the core proposition is not "homogeneous competition" but to make different business logics work under the same "outlet" signboard.
Suburban destination - type outlets: Turning to two - way penetration of near and far customer groups
In the early years, suburban outlets were largely supported by long - distance passenger flow across cities and regions. With the implementation of residential, transportation, and living facilities in the new areas, the permanent residents in the area have continued to increase. The old model of "only focusing on the radiation radius" has become ineffective, and suburban outlets need to simultaneously turn to two - way penetration of local permanent residents and long - distance cross - regional customers, completing the transformation from a "suburban destination" to a "suburban composite outlet".
Driven by the direction, different strategies are adopted.
■ Shanchuan: The asset management logic drives a new balance between retail and experience
According to Winshang Big Data, the proportion of customer groups within 5 - 8 kilometers of Shanchuan (Xi'an) Outlet is 13.35%, ranking first among the 8 projects; the proportion of customer groups more than 10 kilometers away is nearly 40%; the proportion of non - local customer groups is 30.94%, ranking first among the suburban - type outlets in Xi'an. The combination of these three sets of data points to a clear conclusion: Shanchuan is the only project in Xi'an that has both "proximal penetration" and "distal attraction".
What supports this radiation ability is the specific "balanced format strategy" under the "1 + N" model. Different from the traditional outlet where the retail format accounts for up to 85%, the retail format of the 141,300 - square - meter Shanchuan Outlet only accounts for 64%, and the total proportion of catering, children's parent - child, and cultural, sports, and entertainment formats exceeds 35%. The objective effect is that after customers arrive, there are enough rich scenarios to support their stay, and the time cost of a single trip is effectively offset, thereby increasing the revisit rate. For a long time, this model was an innovative and overwhelming strategy in Xi'an, which also laid its unshakable market position.
The brand replacement of the project in recent years shows that it is focusing on high - efficiency and high - cash - flow retail categories such as sports, trendy clothing, and children's clothing, continuously increasing the joint - venture income. The prospectus shows that the proportion of the project's joint - venture area increased from 53.66% at the end of 2023 to 62.96% at the end of 2025, and the proportion of joint - venture income increased from 69.98% to 73.51%, steadily improving the overall operation efficiency and profit level.
It can be seen that after Shanchuan (Xi'an) Outlet firmly established its position as the "No. 1 outlet in the Northwest" relying on "retail as the foundation and experience as the empowerment", it chose to expand its competitive advantage with the asset management logic: by continuously optimizing asset returns and strengthening cash - flow resilience, it supports the iteration of the entire chain of mall recruitment and operation in reverse.
■ Wangfujing Outlet: Two stars in one city, complementary positioning of cultural tourism and transportation hubs
Wangfujing Outlet · Lintong Town has an operating area of 36,000 square meters, and Xixian Town has an operating area of 65,000 square meters. Their sizes are much smaller than Shanchuan's 141,300 square meters and Capital's 118,000 square meters, belonging to small and medium - sized outlets. Therefore, Wangfujing's survival logic is not to compete in scale and the comprehensiveness of formats but to rely on the complementary positioning of the two projects to achieve a synergistic effect of 1 + 1 > 2.
In terms of location, Lintong Town is located in the Lintong Resort in the northeast, relying on the Terracotta Army to receive domestic and international cultural and tourism passenger flow; Xixian Town is located in the northwest airport area, covering the residents of Xianyang and the western suburbs as well as the transit passengers at the airport, with completely different traffic circles. In terms of formats, Lintong focuses on luxury and famous brands, suitable for short - time shopping by tourists; Xixian is equipped with cinemas, ice rinks, and parent - child formats, deeply cultivating the weekend leisure needs of local families.
Relying on the dual - differentiated model of "cultural tourism outlet + transportation hub family outlet", it avoids the direct competition of large comprehensive outlets, locks in its own customer groups respectively, and maintains its exclusive market share with synergistic advantages.
■ Capital Outlet: Turning from extreme retail to non - standard experience
Against the background of the accelerated layout of leading players in the industry and the increasingly fierce competition in the track, Capital needs to break through its "low - key" situation and create a regional benchmark. Xi'an Capital Outlet is one of them.
From the perspective of the customer group structure, the proportion of customer groups more than 10 kilometers away from Xi'an Capital Outlet is 65.29%, the only one among the eight projects to exceed 60%. Matching the customer base mainly composed of long - distance consumers, it pursues extreme retail efficiency, and the retail proportion is as high as 73.76%.