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Archive for the ‘China’ Category« Previous Entries Next Entries »Will China Pull A Rabbit Out Of Its Hat In 2011?Tuesday, February 1st, 2011  The Chinese Year of the Rabbit begins on February 3rd. So what will this year have in store for China? Much the same as 2010? Or will there be some surprises on the cards? Scott Kronick and Jamie Moeller of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide gave their views to AdAgeChina recently. Here are the top five issues that they expect will impact China and the way it does business this year: 1. Manage price inflation Inflation, currently at its highest level in two years, is a major economic concern and soaring food prices could lead to instability. China will wish to avoid this at all costs. The challenge lies in managing China’s ambitions on several fronts: achieve economic growth, create jobs, stimulate domestic consumption and assume greater international responsibilities, all while keeping inflation under control and maintaining stability. Many of these are incompatible with tightening measures. 2. Encourage domestic consumption Chinese people are estimated to save up to 50% of their income. As the country is projected to enter a new phase of development, the government is anxious to transform the current growth model, largely driven by exports and inventory investment, to one that is more sustainable. Spurring domestic consumption is the primary focus. The government has adopted measures to give subsidies and tax-breaks on numerous big-ticket items such as cars and appliances. However, online shopping could drive the next wave of China’s consumption growth. China has 450 million internet users and one-third already shop online regularly. Goldman Sachs predicts annual sales could grow 275% over the next five years to an estimated $300 billion in 2015. 3. Manage China’s labor force Once a workshop to the world, China is finding it increasingly difficult to manage its workers. They have become noticeably more demanding in recent years, as evidenced by the decision to raise the minimum wage in ten provinces by up to 20%. Meanwhile, as China pushes forward with its urbanization, the rural-to-urban flight will continue. In the next five years, China’s urban population will reach 700 million and, for the first time, surpass the number of rural residents. What’s more, the migrant workforce is expected to hit 350 million by 2050, larger than the entire U.S. population today. With such a vast migrant labor force, the government’s policies to manage this group will remain pertinent. 4. Reform education, environment and healthcare China’s recent education boom parallels its status as the world’s second-largest economy. Between 1999 and 2008, the annual enrollment of undergraduate students increased by more than 500%. Yet critics worry that the breakneck expansion of universities in China has negatively impacted the quality of education, made the job market artificially more competitive, and kept salaries stagnant. New and more stringent efficiency measures are anticipated to address environmental challenges. China is expected to introduce a carbon tax in the near future as an incentive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also, China is willing to share more responsibility globally. At the Cancun climate talks China offered to adopt a binding UN resolution on carbon emissions. These events all suggest that China is making steady progress in environmental reform. China’s rapidly aging population creates urgency around healthcare. In 2009, Beijing unveiled an aggressive healthcare reform plan as part of the stimulus package. The goal was to improve people’s lives, regulate the pharmaceutical industry, and spur domestic consumption. 5. Build brand China Developing China’s international reputation continues to be a key component of China’s greater integration into the international community. But the country sometimes seems to send mixed messages. In the Year of the Rabbit, we expect a resetting of expectations, and a renewed push for soft power in several arenas, engaging a larger host of business and government voices. Central government support will be both in front of and behind the scenes, sharing platforms, offering advice and backstopping the finances. Find out more about the opportunities China has to offer by visiting our – China website Marketing & Selling to Chinese BusinessesThursday, December 2nd, 2010 
China Business Review
This article can be found on the China Business Review website at the following link. Alternatively, the B2B International white paper Marketing and Selling to Chinese Businesses can be accessed by clicking here. Entering Chinese Business To Business MarketsMonday, November 29th, 2010  The opportunities presented by the Chinese market are becoming increasingly difficult for Western businesses to ignore. Despite the global economic crisis, China’s economy still managed to achieve a GDP growth rate of 8.3% in 2009, and some industries (such as the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors) continued to see double-digit growth throughout the economic downturn. With economic analysts predicting China to become the engine for global economic growth over the next decade, many Western enterprises are actively realigning their global strategies to give a greater precedence to China and other Asian markets. Within China, rapidly changing demographics, rising incomes, increased consumer spending and an increasingly open business environment have all helped to make the Chinese market increasingly attractive to Western businesses across a variety of industries. Similarly, declining sales in their home markets has forced many US and European companies to relocate China firmly to the centre of their long-term global growth strategies. Breaking into the China market successfully can seem like an almost impossible task to foreign companies with limited or no experience of doing business there. In the latest white paper for B2B International, Mark Hedley illustrates some of the fundamental considerations that any company must take when approaching the China market for the first time. Although these steps may lead to very different conclusions for different companies, they can help companies to properly determine an appropriate strategy for China. To read the full white paper click on the following link Entering Chinese Business-to-Business Markets: The Challenges & The Opportunities Anyone For A Bucksstar Coffee?Friday, November 12th, 2010
On his latest trip to China Mark Hedley discusses the impact of the brand names of the western world and how the growing market of copycat products is helping to reinforce these global brands. On one wet and rainy Sunday afternoon in Beijing last month, I decided to go and try to pick up a local Chinese gifts for friends and family back in Britain. Unfamiliar with the best shopping locations in the city, my hotel concierge recommended I take a stroll down to the pearl market, located just a few blocks away from my hotel. The market was overwhelming – a five storey building the size of a multi-storey car-park, packed full of small stalls selling all manner of traditional Chinese ornaments, memorabilia, clothing, jewellery and so on. This was the kind of place where you could buy everything from Chinese teacups, to aviator shades, knock-off golf clubs and a laser telescope. Anyone that has ever visited China will be familiar with the noisy and irritating cajoling from sales girls with a minimal grasp of English and pushy attitude. Feeling like I’d walked onto on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I hastily beat a retreat towards the exit, until I was stopped in my tracks by what seemed to be an I-pad (that most coveted of modern gadgets) being sold for a draw-dropping $150 (about 5 times cheaper than those in the UK). Fumbling for my wallet in hasty excitement, I suddenly noticed that I was not looking at a genuine bona-fide I-pad, but was actually something called an ‘A-Pad’…  What is an A-pad? Well, to briefly explain, over recent years, China remarkable economic expansion has led to the gradual opening up of the consumer economy to a whole host of global consumer brands, from Apple, and Microsoft, to designer brands like Burberry and Louis Vitton. This booming appetite for branded consumer goods has also been accompanied by the rise of ‘Shanzhai’ phenomenon. A fairly recent phenomenon, ‘Shanzhai’ can roughly be translated as ‘Mountain Stronghold’ or ‘Mountain Village’ refers to near copies of famous brands or products, but where the brand name or design has been slightly altered or modified slightly from the original brand. The easiest place to spot this Shanzhai phenomenon is in China’s countryside, where many of the products are produced and sold at prices far below the original brands. Originally shanzhai was mainly used to refer to the cheap mobile phones and digital devices produced in and around the manufacturing hub of Shenzhen. However, over time the concept has developed to refer to anything that imitates or spoofs a famous brand, and often contains more than a dash of rebellious humour. Some of the more amusing examples of include a southern fried chicken chain store named ‘KFG’, the ‘Buckstars’ coffee chain, and a search engine with a vaguely familiar web address: ‘Goojje.com’. There have been Shanzhai versions of Hollywood movies, Shanzhai celebrities and a Shanzhai version of the 2008 Beijing Olympic opening ceremony.  Although the Shanzhai phenomenon no doubt terrifies the vast majority of Western corporations keen to protect their intellectual property rights in China, if nothing else it does serve as an ironic reminder of the power of the brand to penetrate even the most remote and insulated of markets without any real marketing. In actual fact, rather than diluting the power of the brand, the Shanzhai versions actually serve to help to reinforce these global brands by duplicating and popularizing them with a large group of potential future consumers. Over the next few years we will see rising incomes in developing markets like China, with more and more people lifted into the middle classes, and this should result in a growing number of companies shifting from Shanzhai consumption towards mainstream consumer culture. Although part an ironic rebellion at the high cost of luxury brands to the majority of Chinese people, more importantly the shanzhai phenomenon expresses the deep aspiration for material wealth among the Chinese peasantry that will one day reap huge rewards for Western brands that can learn to position themselves correctly. New Appointments for B2B InternationalTuesday, August 31st, 2010  As B2B International expands its operations around the world, the most recent office opening earlier this year in Shanghai, Director of International Operations Matthew Harrison says: “we are delighted that we’re strengthening our North America and Asia-Pacific teams. As the number of clients grows, so too does the need for more experienced and talented researchers.” Guan Jingyuan joins as research executive in B2B International’s Beijing office. Jingyuan, a bi-lingual Chinese national, has previously worked for Shell in London, UK. A skilled qualitative researcher, she has undertaken research projects for several multinational clients across a number of different industry sectors. Her clients include the likes of Shell, Air Products, International Paint, HR Certification Institute, Etola and DSM, and she has experience researching the fine chemicals, education, agriculture and renewable energy markets. In the USA, Cristin Malone is appointed as a research analyst in the New York office. In her role, Cristin analyses both qualitative and quantitative data, designs questionnaires, moderates and manages online focus groups, and develops presentations for clients. An experienced market researcher, her previous work has included developing syndicated multicultural attitude and purchase behaviour reports, and conducting primary research for major cable, satellite, and Telco operators, TV networks, Internet companies, and technology developers. « Previous Entries Next Entries » |
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