China's pro-Consumer Political Future
Welcome to this week's skinny on China. And what a week it is. With the process to determine the leaders of the world's two largest economies both beginning this week, the outcomes could have a bearing on all of us. There's been no shortage of talk about China in the lead up on both sides of the Pacific. With 46% of Americans believing that China's growth will have a negative impact on the US economy, there was a lot of anti-China hot air to win cheap votes. Fortunately, there were also some intelligent articles written about how Americans can benefit from the rise of China, which I have little doubt both Obama and Mitt are well aware of. See our first link below.
The less glitzy change of leadership in China is something we've been watching with interest. All signs are pointing to policy in China continuing on it's path of reducing China's dependence on exports and investment and encouraging domestic consumption - great news for any business selling to Chinese consumers. Below are the usual news and views to help you take advantage of that. Happy reading.
Chinese Consumers
The Most Dangerous Thing About China: Americans' Attitudes: Some good sense on how Americans will benefit from the largest expansion of a consumer market in history, many whom will want US (and other foreign) brands.
Why Barbie Stumbled in China and How She Could Re-invent Herself: Was it because no Chinese girl could relate to the freakish 39"-18"-33" dimensions? Why Barbie flopped in China and lessons that apply to many businesses selling to Chinese consumers.
Fast Food Chinese Business Strategies Difficult: Some good examples of the challenges western brands entering China have had. “Good brands will succeed and weak brands will not succeed, Chinese consumers are bright and they’re picky”.
Early Foothold in China Pays Off: Procter & Gamble's success in China - 16% growth in the last fiscal year attributed to early investment, insight driven marketing and product innovation - fairly basic rules for marketing anywhere aren't they? Product innovations included skin whitening cream, green tea tooth paste (I've been fooled into buying that before) and increasing awareness of their detergent with first-time washing machine buyers by bundling a free pack.
China & India: Hey, Big Spenders!: More on the huge potential of the rising Asian giants. Particularly interesting was the 2011 BCG survey which showed that 39 per cent of those polled in China intended to spend more on quality, notably in electronics, clothes and home decoration. 70% of Chinese consumers cite brand as a reason for trading up, higher than any other market surveyed.
Advertising
Why Is Advertising Way Up in China With Consumer Spending Way Down?: Great analysis on why spending on advertising in China has grown at 14.5%, almost double the rate of GDP.
Retail
China Retailer CRE Adopts Rivals' Western Ways: Big Chinese retailers are learning from, and even outfoxing, their western megastore competitors in the China market.
Food & Beverage
The Battle for Breakfast: It appears to be proving harder to woo Chinese away from their rice porridge breakfast, than it is from their lunchtime noodles. Although Starbucks isn't sitting on their hands trying to convince Chinese consumers to buy their breakfast (they did it with coffee).
Growth in Organic Products in China as Consumers Adopt Multiple Self Protection Strategies: 80% of Urban Chinese claim organics are worth paying more for, and 56% say they've bought organics in the past year. I'm curious how organic are 'organics' are in China? Red tape on imports certainly isn't helping the offering, just compare HK to Shanghai.
Internet & Technology
Weibo User Demographics: Our infographic to give you a good understanding of just who's using one of China's most influential media channels.
Momotech Tells the Secret of Hooking up Strangers : Some of the philosophies and experience Momo used to get 10m Chinese users on it's smartphone social networking service.
Chinese Luxury Consumers yet to take to Online Shopping: If you're hoping to sell luxury goods to Chinese consumers online, you'll want to give tangible benefits strong enough to substitute the in-store luxury shopping experience.
Lenovo's Path to the Peak of PC Production and Sales: The Chinese brands are coming ... Lenovo takes top spot for PC sales globally.
Auto
Auto Manufacturing in China: The Chinese auto industry still shows huge potential given there is currently just one vehicle for every 17 people. Can China's 48 domestic auto brands up their game to gain more than the 30% share they currently have?
Weird & Wonderful
Exotic Animal Trade Thrives in China: Another favourite with Chinese consumers - weird exotic pets.
That's the skinny for the week!
If you've missed earlier news or need to learn more, there's a library of information about Chinese consumers in prior China Skinny Weeklys right here. You can have this delivered to your inbox each week by subscribing for email updates, or if social media is more your thing, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In or Google+, or subscribe to our RSS feed. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future articles, please let us know.
