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Why Chinese Consumers are Leaving Multinational Brands on the Shelf

June 20, 2018 By Richard Whiddington

More domestic brands appearing on store shelves may indicate that the golden days for foreign brands are slipping away. “Made in China” was once considered a sign of cheapness and low-quality, but the belief now has changed. Chinese consumers now think that Chinese brands are equal to, or even exceed, foreign brands. As buyer confidence grows and domestic quality improves, what can multinational brands do to regain ascendancy?

Filed Under: All Articles, Chinese Economy, Globalization, Multinationals in China, Retail, Winning in China Tagged With: Branding, Multinational Company, Retail

Claudia Masüger on the Chinese Wine Market: Bring your Riesling to Hotpot 

January 23, 2018 By Liu Sha, Deng Yuanyuan

When talking about the Chinese wine market, most Westerners think of baijiu, a strong alcoholic beverage made from grain. But young Chinese have now developed their taste for various non-Chinese wines—red, white and sparkling—and wine can be found at parties, banquets and even dinners serving strongly-flavored Chinese foods, such as hotpot. Claudia Masüger, a businesswoman from Switzerland who has been importing wines to China for over a decade, says the Chinese are becoming more sophisticated in their taste for wine, caring not just for wines, but for pairing food with the right variety of wine. Furthermore, the market for western wine in China is even larger than imagined.

Filed Under: All Articles, China, Consumers, Conversations, Winning in China Tagged With: Alcohol, Chinese Wine Market, Retail, Wine

How MINISO Became a Mega-Success

May 31, 2017 By Tom Nunlist

While e-commerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba continue to rise, many physical-store retailers are dying off. MINISO is a rare exception, however. Founded in 2013 by Chinese entrepreneur Ye Guofu and Japanese designer Miyake Junya, MINISO has exploded into an emerging business empire with 1,800 stores in 40 countries, delivering an eclectic collection of affordable, curated goods, challenging the physical retail naysayers. What is the key to MINISO’s success? Through careful consideration of the customer and a unique aesthetic, it manages to do what online stores cannot: Deliver an experience.

Filed Under: All Articles, Best Practice, C-Suite Interview, China, Management, Retail Tagged With: E-Commerce in China, Miniso, Retail

China Retail, Retold

May 29, 2017 By Helen Roxburgh

At the enormous Pacific Department Store on Shanghai’s Huaihai Road, barriers block the street entrances and windows are shuttered. The store, which was one of the largest on one of the city’s busiest shopping streets for nearly two decades, closed in January. The shell of the store now sits incongruously opposite the K11 mall, which has been thriving ever since implementing a smart re-think of the shopping mall concept a couple of years ago. The lesson of the different fates of these two shopping centers is clear—adapt or die. Retail is not declining in China, it’s just changing.

Filed Under: All Articles, Consumers, Digital Economy, eCommerce, Know China, Mobile Commerce, O2O, Retail Tagged With: commercial real estate, Retail, Shopping

Will e-Commerce Replace Brick-and-Mortar Stores?

February 27, 2017 By Yuanyuan Deng

After incredible growth in recent years, e-commerce in China seems to be slowing down. One reason behind this is the high penetration rate. By 2016, 62% people in Tier 3 and 4 cities were shopping online, while the number in Tier 1 and 2 cities stood at 89%. On the other hand, consumers in China have also changed over time, now the middle class are shifting their money from cheap products to premium services and goods where experience and recognition ties take priority. So does it mean online retail will go gloomy and physical stores may return to the spotlight?

Filed Under: All Articles, Best Practice, China, Consumers, eCommerce, Know China, Retail Tagged With: O2O, Online retail, Retail

Uniqlo in China: New Threads

January 19, 2016 By Helen Roxburgh

Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo has quickly found huge popularity in China based on an ethos of high quality at affordable prices. It has been steadily building its presence in China over the last decade, and now has ambitious plans to accelerate its growth, most notably through a bold expansion in its number of shops. That might seem sensible given its growing popularity—revenue soared by 21% between August 2014 and 2015 across Uniqlo globally, largely driven by an increase in Greater China revenues of 46% and operating profit of 66%. But is it now at risk of over-reaching itself, particularly given the slowing Chinese economy?

Filed Under: All Articles, Branding, Consumers, Marketing Tagged With: Branding, Fashion, Retail, Uniqlo

Is Under Armour the Underdog in the Chinese Sportswear Market?

October 14, 2015 By Major Tian

An underdog in an industry dominated by giants, sportswear brand Under Armour recently pulled off a growth miracle by increasing its quarterly revenues more than 20% in 21 consecutive quarters. The 19-year-old Baltimore, MD-based company surpassed its German competitor Adidas last year in sales in the US, only trailing Nike in the world’s largest sportswear market. And now Under Armour trying to replicate its success in global markets, especially China. What does it have going for it in the world’s second-largest consumer market?

Filed Under: All Articles, Branding, Consumers, Marketing, Sports Tagged With: Adidas, Chinese Market, Nike, Retail, Slider, Under Armour

The Future of Retail in China is Both Online and Offline

August 21, 2015 By Xinlei Chen

Alibaba’s investment in Suning is a signal that companies in retail in China need a multichannel strategy: embracing both the online as well as offline worlds.

Filed Under: All Articles, Digital Economy, eCommerce, ExpertSpeak, Know China, Opinion, Retail Tagged With: Alibaba, Competition, E-Commerce in China, JD.com, Retail, Slider, Wal-Mart

Zeynep Ton: Pay Employees More, Get More

August 3, 2015 By Bennett Voyles

A Q&A with Zeynep Ton, author of The Good Jobs Strategy, on how four retailers make more money by paying above-average wages.

Filed Under: All Articles, Best Practice, Conversations, Employment, Management, Q&A Tagged With: Employment, Human Resources, Retail, Slider, Talent Management

Taobao and Tmall are Built as “Mono-Category Worlds”

July 21, 2015 By Li Hui

Miko Wormuth, CEO of TWICE Fashion Accessories, on what it takes to build a business from scratch in China and the challenges of operating on e-commerce platforms like Taobao and Tmall.

Filed Under: All Articles, Best Practice, Consumers, Conversations, Entrepreneurship, Know China, Retail, The Chinapreneurs Tagged With: Branding, Chinese Fashion Industry, eCommerce, Retail, Slider, Taobao, The Chinapreneurs, Tmall

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Information, analysis, and interviews about the Chinese economy and doing business in China, from the people who know it best. Presented by the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, China's leading business school.


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