China Briefing News » Retail

China’s Provincial Retail Statistics for 2011

China Briefing — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:08:33 +0000

By Julia Gu Also included: Figures on Chinese tourists’ retail spending abroad Feb. 9 – According to preliminary data released from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, retail sales of consumer goods totaled RMB18.12 trillion (US$2.88 trillion) nationwide last year, up 17.1 percent year-on-year. While growth was 2.2 percentage points lower than the increase in 2010, China’s retail industry is expected to remain relatively strong in the near future amid declining export demand and a cooling real estate market – aided largely by the country’s expanding middle class population. Zhu Haibin, chief economist with JP Morgan in China, has projected that … Continue reading →

China’s Wine Market Shows Great Potential

China Briefing — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:47:26 +0000

By Vivian Ni Nov. 21 – The surging demand for wine in China has made the country one of the most important target markets for global wine producers, as regular Chinese consumers are now becoming more receptive to Western wine, and wealthy Chinese buyers are considering red wine as a new type of speculative investment to counter inflation. Promising wine consumption market While traditional wine consumption markets in the West are all declining amid the recent global economic woes, wine sales in China have been experiencing an impressive 15 percent annual increase over the past several years, according to estimates … Continue reading →

VAT General Taxpayer Status Important for FICEs

China Briefing — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:17:02 +0000

As regulations on representative offices tighten, the setting up of a FICE is becoming an increasingly popular choice for foreign investors who want to engage in import and export, as well as domestic distribution activities in China. It is critical for foreign investors to fully understand what they have to prepare in order to successfully register a FICE with the related Chinese authorities, it is also equally important for most of them to apply for the general tax (value-added tax or VAT) payer status after the completion of FICE registration so they can realize genuinely cost-effective operations. Continue reading →

FICE Franchising in China: A Flourishing Business Model

China Briefing — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 02:59:15 +0000

Among the permitted business activities a FICE can conduct is franchising. The nature and use of franchising - and the business circumstances that affect it - have changed dramatically over the past three decades. In 2011, with the Chinese economy booming, franchising offers a low cost rapid growth model that provides easy access to the expanding consumer market and second-tier cities. Further, franchising enables faster brand recognition, drawing in consumers that see large brand name chains as being more reliable. Continue reading →

New Issue of China Briefing: Trading and the Rise of FICE

China Briefing — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 08:21:20 +0000

A trend we’ve been seeing a lot of on the ground in China is the conversion of representative offices to foreign invested commercial enterprises. It is this trend that inspired this issue’s theme. In this issue, we evaluate the suitability of ROs, walk you through the details of FICE (including establishment procedures), discuss franchising in China for foreign companies, and put in a few words about what the Chinese consumer from a macroeconomic perspective. Continue reading →

Report: Online Supermarkets in Shanghai Popular Among Young, Affluent

China Briefing — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:01:48 +0000

Apr. 22 – Our good friends at the China-based market research and consulting firm DDMA released a new report yesterday illustrating the growing popularity of shopping for drinks, snacks, grocery, and personal care items via online supermarkets. The study finds that the emerging trend is particularly prevalent among younger white collar workers and affluent individuals. The study also evaluates the performance of the key online supermarkets in Shanghai, and identifies the key reasons consumers use online supermarkets, and the barriers to using them. “There are six major players in Shanghai: No. 1 Store, Taobao Supermarket, Lianhua OK Blemall, Auchan, Dahuozhan, … Continue reading →

Best Buy’s Withdrawal: American Morals Fail to Transcend Chinese Consumer Market

China Briefing — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 07:28:32 +0000

The famous United States-based consumer electronics retailer Best Buy announced on February 22, 2011 that it had decided to stop running its nine stores in China. The surprise announcement effectively signaled the end of Best Buy’s eight-year China story in which it spent three years preparing for its market entry and five years expanding itself to nine stores located in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Photo: IceNineJon/Flickr

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Does the ‘Taobao Effect’ Threaten Retailing in China?

China Briefing — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:08:22 +0000

Feb. 24 – Our good friends at DDMA, a Shanghai-based market research firm, have released a report revealing that what Chinese people and companies say about products online is the number one influence on one-third of all retail sales in Shanghai – worth a total value of US$34 billion. The influence of online information on consumer purchases, the impact of “The Taobao Effect” and the huge potential of online shopping in China are all analyzed – while a discrepancy in terms of actual advertising budgets spent on online media was detailed. With some 6 percent of advertising budgets being spent … Continue reading →

FIE Internet Sales Operations Now Need Only Provincial Approval

China Briefing — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:40:31 +0000

Sept. 10 – The Ministry of Commerce amended the administration of foreign-invested internet sales enterprises last month, moving the approval and administration of such operations from the central government to the provincial governments. Circular Shang Mo Zi [2010] No. 272, issued August 19, states that applications for establishment of foreign-invested enterprises specializing in internet sales need to be submitted to the competent provincial commerce departments for approval. They will then conduct strict examinations and approval will be awarded in accordance with the “Measures for the Administration on Foreign Investment in Commercial Fields” and other relevant laws and regulations. The circular … Continue reading →

Chris Devonshire-Ellis: In China, White Goods Become Red

Chris Devonshire-Ellis — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:12:10 +0000

Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis Jul. 30 – As the central government encourages a re-balancing of the economy towards more domestic consumption, companies are finding subtleties of selling in China that will shape the way forward for foreign manufacturers doing business here. Gone are the days when a manufacturer would only sell within a region, now the focus is on getting goods to China’s massive rural population; some 900 million people, or three fourths of the total consumer market. This means that long held wisdom in international and even China sales is being remodeled and, in some situations, rethought. Take Haier … Continue reading →