Goodman Group, the integrated property group which owns, develops and manages industrial space, is expanding into Tianjin with the signing of a build-to-suit facility at Wuqing for major online retailer, Moonbasa. The group has separately acquired a plot of land in the Tianjin Beichen district.
Goodman will develop two warehouses totaling 42,410 sqm for Moonbasa, which will be the online retailer’s first build-to-suit facility and its northern China headquarters.
Founded in 2006, Moonbasa is an online ladies fashion and accessory retailer based in China. It is owned by Mola Internet Technology Co., one of the biggest B2C e-commerce corporations in China.
Philip Pearce, managing director Greater China for Goodman, said: “Tianjin is a key area of focus for us because of its strategic location as the major port city and the gateway to the Bohai Bay region. Its efficient infrastructure is able to support a booming logistics industry, which has resulted in a well-established manufacturing base, robust domestic demand and trade activity from Beijing. This obviously generates significant demand for high-quality warehousing space, which Goodman can supply.”
Wei Pingbo, deputy general manager from Moonbasa added: “As a leading corporation in the e-tailing market in China, e-fulfilment is a very important part of our business. Like many of our peers, we face a number of challenges in finding high-quality, warehousing space, which makes it crucial for us to have a reliable partner like Goodman to provide the perfect solution that helps improve our operational efficiency, reduce cost and enhance our customer service.”
In a separate transaction, Goodman has secured 27 hectares of land in Beichen Tianjin. Situated in Landport Logistics Park, north east of Beichen District, the site is ideally located between Beijing and Tianjin.
Goodman plans to build eight single-storey warehouses in several phases on this land. The first phase of the development, comprising three warehouses with a combined 59,000 sqm of lettable space, is expected to commence in July 2012 and is scheduled for completion in May 2013.
Pearce said: “We see huge growth potential in this port city, and it is our strategy to build a significant presence here. Currently, we are in the final stages of acquiring several plots of land in Tianjin as the city will become a major investment focus for the group. Our footprint in China is expanding rapidly and we now have in excess of four million sqm of land available, including land secured and under negotiation. With over 400,000 sqm of developments in progress and a 600,000 sqm development target for the next 12 months, we have land in the key strategic locations and the customer demand to facilitate development of over one million sqm of space.”
