Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

A total of 1,159 international brands are now available at shopping malls and specialty stores along Huaihai Road, accounting for 63 percent of all the brands there,  up 18.2 percentage points from 2003.
The Economic and Trade Commission of Luwan District established a special database to offer twice-yearly brand surveys to managers of shopping malls and specialty stores on Huaihai Road free of charge, in a bid to help them restructure their brands.
Several years ago, up to 20 percent of brands along Huaihai Road over-lapped and, after the database was set up, the rate has dropped to 14.4 percent to date.
Sixteen shopping malls and 106 specialty stores are accelerating their brand updates, with the Parkson Department Store updating 20 percent of its brands every year.
The eastern section of Huaihai Road, comprising Shanghai Times Square, Shanghai Plaza, Xintiandi, Qiyetiandi and the Taiping Lake area, is expected to become the city's third cluster for luxury international brands, together with Nanjing Road West and the Bund area.