Deep insight in consumer behaviour is what marketing should offer, writes branding guru Tom Doctoroff, author of What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism, and China’s Modern Consumer, on his LinkedIn page. Cluttering that insight with “exaggerated faith in algorithms, programmatic efficacy and hyper-personalization,” is not helpful he adds. And: “Insights are not observations.”Read More →

The decision by Best Buy to withdraw from the China market is not a real surprise, and illustrates that successful brands elsewhere cannot assume they can conquer the China market too, says Shanghai-based retail analyst Ben Cavender in the China Daily.Read More →

The German electronic retailer Media Markt announced now officially it will close its China stores in April, after a two year long expedition into the China market. Retail analyst Ben Cavender sums up for the China Daily what Media Markt did wrong.Read More →

The decision to close down German retailer Media Markt in China shows – yet again – a profound lack of understanding on how the market in China works, tells business analyst Ben Cavender in the China Daily.Read More →

Silicon Valley companies face fast rising costs when they make their products in China. Low-end production might move to other Asian countries, but for high-end products, companies should face the new China reality, says Shaun Rein, author of The End of Cheap China, in Mercury News.Read More →

While some brands like Nike and Intel make neat profits in China, the country has become a corporate graveyard for many other global brands. Why do global brands fail in China, wonders business analyst Shaun Rein in CNBC. They should focus on China.Read More →

American retailers have a hard time surviving outside their home turf, compared to European and Asian companies, retail analyst Paul French tells Reuters. Wal-Mart had to close stores and saw staff arrested because of price manipulation and mislabeling food products in their stores.Read More →

Top management of Wal-Mart in China is leaving ‘for personal reasons’, signalling all is not well at the major retailer. Shaun Rein explains in CNBC why the US firm loses market share in China and how it can rethink its strategy.Read More →

Tom Doctoroff by Fantake via Flickr Foreign brands in China have seen huge successes and massive failures. Tom Doctoroff gives in Gulf News his take on the difficulties of building a brand in this booming economy. Gulf News: After setbacks for brands such as Home Depot, Best Buy and Barbie,Read More →