(4 November 2009 – Hong Kong) New World Department Store China Limited ("NWDS" or the "Company"; Hong Kong stock code: 825), one of the largest owners and operators of department stores in the PRC, is pleased to announce that the winners of the Northern Region Semi-Final of "The 1st NWDS Spokesperson" Contest were born. The champion, 1st runner-up and 2nd runner-up of the female group were Gao Ke from Beijing, Nie Qi Ru Hui from Beijing and Sun Wen Li from Lanzhou respectively; while for the male group, the champion was Gong Hao from Beijing, 1st runner-up was Lu Yuan Hao from Beijing and 2nd runner-up was Sun Di from Beijing. The 6 winners, together with the 6 representatives of Northeastern Region who had been elected previously, will participate in the nationwide final contest that will be held in May next year. 

Northern Region Semi-Final was held in Beijing New World Department Store for 2 consecutive days from 31 October to 1 November. Contestants marched in with cars in several groups along the red carpet, receiving cheers from supporters and embracing interviews from emcee. With the theme of "Prince Princess" in the classical folk stories, together with stylish contestants showed up on the exquisite castle-shaped stage, such an integration of classic and modernization echoed with the idea of the pioneering move of NWDS to abandon the old and initiate the new for launching the rebranding program in the industry. The first day of the semi-final was focus on evaluating contestants' talent performance, aiming to showcase their unique characteristics. Contestants, with personalized mix & match of clothings, performed their talents including energetic street dance, different types of racial dance, singing and calligraphy. This was an opportunity not only exhibiting their talents but also demonstrating their fashion sense for delivering the theme of "New Character" of the contest. "Individual Talent Award" was presented on the first day of the semi-final to the winner of male group, Shen Xue Song from Beijing and the winner of female group, Gao Ke from Beijing. On the second day of the contest, contestants were divided into 4 groups to act in creative dramas that were adapted from renowned folk stories. Contestants had to perform in an innovative way to testify their ability of stage performance and showcase their team cooperation to excel creative power. The creativeness in between was infinite, tying in with the innovative spirit of NWDS. In the last performance, contestants wore evening gowns or suits during the cat walk show with their perfect body figure and charisma exhibited, attracting the audience at the scene and pushing up the atmosphere of the contest. 

Panel of Judges of Northern Region Semi-Final included Mr Xu Su, Project Development Manager of Northern Region of NWDS; Mr Yao Qing Feng, Famous Personal Image Consultant; Mr Liu Fei, Famous Photographer; Ms Li Ye, Celebrated Model; Ms Li Ai, Renowned Model & Host and Mr Liang Yun Fei, Entertainment Business Professional. Ratings from panel of judges contributed 60% of the total marks of each contestant, while on-line polling of Sohu from the public during 10 October to 29 October accounted for 20%. In addition, customers' votes received in-store and the guests' votes received at the scene, including media, selected Platinum VIP members and strategic partners of NWDS, accounted for 20% in total. Overwhelming responses were received from the on-line and in-store polling with approximately 2 millions online-votes and 20,000 votes were collected respectively.                               

"The 1st NWDS Spokesperson" Contest will select 1 male and 1 female spokesperson who will be awarded 1-year spokesperson contract which worths a total of RMB 600,000 prize, entitling to participate the tailor-made spokesperson activities which include attending various club promotional activities organized by over 30 stores of NWDS, be the cover models of "Best of New World" magazine and embracing media interviews.

Schedule of Nationwide Contest

* Exact date will be announced later.
** Tentatively planned location

Mr Adrian Cheng, Executive Director of NWDS, the Chief of this rebranding programme as well as the third generation of the billionaire Dr Cheng Yu-Tung and the new generation of leader for the family business, said, 'Rebranding project kicked off in Northeastern Region where we received positive feedback and appreciations from customers towards the new image.            Northern Region as the next region to implement the rebranding project will succeed the desirable beginning from Northeastern Region to execute the revamping plan. Meanwhile, 6 representatives of Northern Region were elected and they were elites from over 4300 applicants. With the experience of being the customer service staff of NWDS during training period, contestants' understanding towards the Company has been enhanced, assisting them to deliver the new image of NWDS's "Enriching Lives Enhancing Character" to the public. The representative has his/her own unique characteristic and trendy style, implying customers in Northern Region are enthusiastic about trendy items and fond of pursuing high-quality living. All these are underlying conditions for the effective implementation of the project in Northern Region and lay a solid foundation for the accomplishment of the nationwide rebranding as well as leaping a big step towards building a new brand and retail roadmap.'

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