The Weekly China Skinny 9.19.12
Anti-Japanese sentiment has been all over China this week. The 81st anniversary of Japan’s invasion into China, coupled with the poorly-timed Japanese Government purchase of the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, has seen tempers flare on the mainland. Street protests in more than 80 Chinese cities, burning Japanese flags and the odd trashed car has seen many Japanese companies halt business in China and kept expats barricading themselves indoors.
Nowhere has the anti-Japanese discussion been more prevalent than on Weibo. Bloggers are calling for all Chinese consumers to steer clear of Japanese products, with some even suggesting that if China stopped buying them, 50% of Japanese would lose their jobs. A gross exaggeration even with China accounting for 21% of Japan's trade, but a sign that Chinese are becoming increasingly aware of their importance in the world as consumers (sometimes over-inflated) and the influence they have through social media.
A few street demonstrations won’t do much to temper Chinese consumers' appetites, so rather than worry if your sushi's been poisoned, it's time to focus on how to get more Chinese to buy your wares. Happy reading...
Chinese Consumers
Chinese Marketers Give Tips On Expanding Beyond Big Cities: Tips from the marketers who have successfully expanded into China's less competitive 'smaller' cities.
Creative Challenge: A long, but well worth reading article about the advertising industry in China with some good stats.
Starbucks Delves Into Local Culture To Reach Chinese: Another case study on Starbucks success in China, showcasing localization of restaurants.
Nike: Leveraging Online Video To Attract Female Chinese Consumers: Case study how Nike has attracted Chinese women consumers contributing to revenue doubling in 2-years. Endorsements are probably out of most businesses' budgets, but some good lessons in there for using online video.
Web & eCommerce
8 Mistakes Too Many Businesses Make On Their Chinese Websites: Have a website in China? It's vital to get it right to win in China. Here's our view on what you need to be checking for and how to fix it.
China's Export Slump Drives Vendors Online: As Alibaba sales look to hit 1 Trillion RMB, things may get even bigger as export slump drives Chinese vendors online.
Food and Beverage
Going Hungry: A report on the impact China's slowing economy is having on restaurant owners.
Mobile Phones
Leveraging Mobile Apps To Connect To Chinese Consumers: How to use mobile applications to connect to Chinese consumers - some good examples and statistics in there, including the increasing relevance of Weibo.
Luxury Products
Chinese Make 25% Of The World's Luxury Buys: China's global share of the luxury market has increased 500% in 6 years to 25% of the world market. CNN's views on the market.
Chinese Consumers Tighten Grip On Luxury Market: More views on China's luxury market which is "not even close to being mature".
Toning Down The Bling Factor: Yep, further confirmation that bling's days in China may be numbered... I think I'll miss it.
That's the skinny for the week!
If you've missed earlier news or need to learn more, there's a trove 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.
