Top multinationals pledge firm commitment to Shanghai

Leading multinationals regard Shanghai as a preferred location for supply chain, product innovation and latest retail experience.

Sherwin-Williams, a leading paint and coatings provider, said it is committed to staying close to local customers' demand and continues to offer high-quality solutions in line with China's emerging sectors such as new-energy vehicles.

The firm has been actively responding to various industry upgrade trends in China and has been helping to raise standards applicable to the paint and coatings industry.

Its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters was set up in Shanghai's downtown Jing'an District in 2019. It houses all of Sherwin-Williams' business units in Asia, including automotive, consumer, coil, general industrial, industrial wood, packaging, and protective & marine.

"With our Asia headquarters in Shanghai, we're in a better position to capture the latest industry trend and keep up with customers' changing needs, and currently our China business revenue has maintained a relatively steady growth rate," said Wu Zhonghua, managing director of Sherwin-Williams APAC region.

The company has been offering a portfolio of products and solutions designed to meet the varying needs of the construction, consumer, industrial, packaging and transportation sectors in China.

Wu said that its new offerings also fit well with China's industry upgrade and consumption demands such as new packaging materials for bottled drinks.

Sherwin-Williams' Odor Evaluation Center for Industrial Wood Coatings in China is the first of its kind for both the company and the industry, and it is helping improve the extrinsic attributes of coating products' eco-friendliness.

For Lego Group, Shanghai also means a landmark location to introduce not only retail stores, but also a new theme park as well as many more brand-relevant experiences.

A number of brand-building campaigns have been staged in Shanghai by the company, including the much-anticipated Legoland Shanghai Resort to be unveiled in early July.

The Legoland Shanghai Resort is the world's largest of its kind and covers 318,000 square meters in suburban Jinshan District.

Lego's "World Play Day" wonderland pop-up at Shanghai's West Bund, running through the end of July, is a landmark event of this year's Shanghai Summer campaign.

A 120-square-meter sandbox rebuilds Shanghai in miniature, featuring six iconic landmarks – the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center, Wukang Mansion, Waibaidu Bridge and China Art Museum, all rendered in Lego bricks.

The main hall hosts 20 life-sized Lego mini figures, each embodying a unique urban dreamer, led by an "Explorer" guide.

The Danish toymaker is eying a series of brand activities designed to engage a wide spectrum of consumers, from children to adult fans. It staged a first ever Formula One Fan Zone during the 2025 F1 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai earlier this year.

The company said it now has retail store presence in about 120 domestic cities with over 450 outlets, and it is committed to expanding its presence with a portfolio of products tailored for Chinese consumers. It will keep optimizing the retail network according to market response and consumers' demand for more immersive experience.