A red carpet reception, seafood buffet, and ceremonial bluefin tuna carve-up were the showpieces of a glitzy reception as Shenzhen Zhongyu Dazhou Investment Co., one of the city’s prominent seafood trading houses, opened a new consumer-facing trading hall earlier this week.
The Shekou Fishing Port Trading Hall features a gleaming new market with stalls and dining space, and will also serve as the home base of Shekou’s online store, both of which feature high-end seafood products imported from around the globe.
The products on offer at the new Shekou outlet, and available in its online store, suggest the firm is aiming for high margins, as it’s selling Cuban lobster at CNY 168 (USD 23.70, EUR 21.80) per tail, South Australian rock lobster at CNY 958 (USD 135, EUR 124) per piece, Mexican geoduck for CNY 378 (USD 53.40, EUR 49.10) apiece, and British brown crab for CNY 89 (USD 12.50, EUR 11.50) per piece.
At the event, company chairman Lu De Hou told guests Zhongyu aims to build sales of premium imported seafood products by combining its exhibition halls with online sales via its “Global Fishnet” platform. Lu said Zhongyu is betting that southern Chinese cities like Shenzhen remain the country’s strongest markets for premium product, and the market’s location in Shenzhen, near the border of Hong Kong and the gambling mecca of Macau, will guarantee a certain premium. But the company aims to open more outlets in “advanced” cities around China, according to Lu.
In addition to operating its own vessels, Shenzhen Zhongyu Dazhou has processing and sourcing operations. However, the company has not moved into fishing. Its headquarters is located at the Shekou fishing port, which has downsized its trawler fleet in recent years due to extended fishing bans in China.
"There are fewer resources in our seas now, we have to look further for quality seafood," Lu said.
The Shekou market has an opening in Shenzhen as the city’s Dong Men seafood market – formerly one of the country’s busiest seafood markets – was shut down earlier this year to make way for state-owned property developer China Resources Land, which will build a 1.5 million-square-meter development that will include mall, offices, and apartments.
In a sign that concern regarding the coronavirus may be receding in China, many of the guests at the event were not wearing masks. Lu, also not wearing a mask, said at the event that the global coronavirus pandemic has brought “challenges but also opportunities” for his company.
Photo courtesy of Asiastock/Shutterstock
