The year 2020 has not been easy for retailers as they deal with temporary business closures as well as declining customer traffic and sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet Uniqlo, a clothing brand under the Japan-based Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., opened 19 chain stores in China on a single day in mid-August, marking a further step into the Chinese market.

"We opened eight new stores in June and 19 in August. We're entering six new cities, including Zhejiang's Tongxiang and Jiangsu's Danyang, which signals our confidence in the Chinese market and Chinese economy despite COVID-19," said Jalin Wu, chief marketing officer of Uniqlo Greater China.

China is Uniqlo's biggest overseas market, and Uniqlo hopes to further explore the Chinese market by launching new apparel suitable for Chinese consumers, as well as exploring opportunities in more third-tier and lower-tier cities in China, she added.

As China's epidemic prevention and control measures enter a new stage, more foreign enterprises are getting back to business by setting up new stores, new factories and new R&D centers in the Yangtze River Delta, China's economic hub, saying "yes" to the country's improving business environment and economy.

Covering a 358,000-square km expanse, the Yangtze River Delta is one of the most populated and urbanized city clusters in China, contributing one-fourth of the country's gross domestic product.

Chinese authorities has called for efforts to promote trade and investment facilitation and strive to make the delta region an important bridge between the international and domestic markets.

NEW STORES, RECOVERING BUSINESSES

"COVID-19 has had an impact on the customer flow in retail stores, but with strict epidemic prevention and control measures, consumer confidence has gradually recovered, and customer flow has increased," Jalin Wu said.

Beginning in May, the sales of Uniqlo's retail stores in China have recovered to the level of the same period last year, and are expected to see year-on-year growth in July and August, she noted.

Since the epidemic outbreak, Uniqlo's official website, mobile app, Tmall flagship store, WeChat mini-program and physical stores have formed an innovative retail loop that enables customers to order online and get their purchases through door-to-door delivery or pickup at brick-and-mortar outlets.

The Japanese fashion retailer will attend the third China International Import Expo (CIIE), and Fast Retailing has reserved a 1,500-square-meter exhibition area.

Uniqlo was among several foreign enterprises to open new stores in China's Yangtze River Delta.

For French cosmetics giant L'Oreal, the economic recovery in China is a great boost to its global business as Europe is only gradually returning to normal after the huge blow from the coronavirus pandemic.

The company's YSL Beauty chose Shanghai as the location for its first perfume-themed store anywhere in the world, opening to the public in early June. The new store not only debuts limited edition perfumes, but also provides an immersive experience to consumers.

Fabrice Megarbane, CEO of L'Oreal China, voiced his confidence in the company's development in China, noting that the cosmetics market is quickly recovering.

Statistics from L'Oreal show that its sales on the Chinese mainland grew by 30 percent in the second quarter, recording a 17.5-percent growth in the first half of 2020.

Megarbane said the company's headquarters, research and innovation center in Shanghai, as well as its Suzhou plant, resumed operation on Feb. 10 with strict protective measures in place.

"It used to take hours to get to Suzhou from Shanghai, but now it's way under one hour," said Megarbane, adding that he is confident in the integration of the Yangtze River Delta, and the company benefits from such a strategy.