Farmer Bob opens flagship store in Shanghai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese fashion brand Farmer Bob unveiled its first flagship store in Shanghai, in its latest push to create a fashion landmark integrating product distribution, art exhibition and lifestyle.

The move is also part of the company's broader push to upgrade itself from an art toy brand to a fashion brand driven by its intellectual property value, so as to seek for new growth space.

Farmer Bob said the company's flagship store will provide consumers with a new trendy social interaction space and service experience. On top of its art toys, the store added more fashion products such as sports items, accessories, home furnishings and other categories.

The Chinese fashion toy market's size is expected to reach 47.8 billion yuan ($6.85 billion) in 2022, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The report said fashion toys have social interaction, collection, entertainment and other social attributes. They are becoming an important carrier of leisure and communication for the new generation of young people.

According to consultancy Frost & Sullivan, the total retail sales of China's fashion trend market is expected to reach 1.9 trillion yuan by 2025.