On July 27, Suzhou Industrial Park Commerce Association (SIPCA) was officially inaugurated at Xiandai Building along with the first council meeting.

Recent years see the rapid growth in commerce in SIP, with the emergence of a number of large-scale business carriers like Harmony Constellation, Xietang Old Street, Yi Oulai, iStation, Aeon Mall, and Shin Kong Place, etc. In 2014, SIP registered a total of 31.5 billion yuan retail sales of social consumer goods, with an annual growth of 13.4%, and in the first six months of 2015, the figure amounted to 16.98 billion yuan, with an increase of 10.5% over the corresponding period of last year and ranking foremost in the whole of Suzhou. With the pending opening of Eslite Bookstore and the landmark building of Suzhou Center, the commerce in SIP will be further upgraded.

There are about 40 founding members of SIPCA, covering the fields of shopping malls, department stores, wholesalers, chain supermarkets, and F&B. The presidency of the association was taken up by Lifestyle Plaza (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (Jiuguang Department Store).

The association leaders expressed that they would act as bridge linking up the government and enterprises in sharing and integrating resources to create a win-win situation and a highly efficient platform for information exchange and self-discipline. The association will also organize promotion activities to improve the service standard and speed up the growth of commerce in SIP.