China´s first tier cities seem to be getting out of breath, while second and third-tier cities blossom. Business analyst Shaun Rein has been predicting the shift already for a long time, he tells the South China Morning Post. The rising prosperity of lower-tier cities may boost tourism to cheaper destinations like the Philippines and Thailand, he adds.Read More →

Asahi is selling its minority stake in Tsingtao beer as the beer market in China is not giving it the gain it expected since it entered in 2009, says business analyst Shaun Rein to Bloomberg. “Tsingtao is in trouble,” said Rein. “It’s not premium enough, and it’s not cheap enough.”Read More →

Austerity marked the luxury goods industry, triggered off by the anti-corruption drive by president Xi Jinping. But the growth figures are back on track, says Rupert Hoogewerf, based on research by his Hurun China Rich report, released on Thursday, he tells the China Daily. Purchases are back on the 2013 level.Read More →

Chairman Jack Ma of Alibaba promised US president-elect Donald Trump a million US jobs, but what he might get, says retail analyst Ben Cavender at CNN, are very, very few real jobs. “I don’t see a lot of job creation happening.”Read More →

The decision to sell a controlling stake of McDonald´s to private investors in the Carlyle Group, Citic Capital and Citic Group triggered off mixed reactions among analysts. Retail analyst Ben Cavender says the new investors can help to refurbish and expand the chain. Peking University business professor Jeffrey Towson sees a different management style, that makes competitor KFC run for its money. But business analyst Shaun Rein sees to end to the inevitable decline of McDonald´s.Read More →

Internet giant Alibaba paid US$2.6 billion for the retailer Intimate group, another sign Alibaba wants to leverage its online presence to brick-and-mortar retail operations, says retail analyst Ben Cavender to Reuters. Earlier it bought also leading retailer Suning.Read More →

In line with expectations, McDonald´s has sold a controlling stake of its China and Hong Kong operation to private investors, after competitor Yum did the same last year. With the new financial resources, the China operation can improve fast, says Shanghai-based retail analyst Ben Cavender to Bloomberg.Read More →

One of the main reasons Chinese consumers buy themselves silly abroad – including Hong Kong – is the high difference in pricing of similar products in mainland China. Cosmetic giants Estee Lauder and AmorePacific have lower their prices up to 30 percent, as also the government is revamping its import fees. More will follow, tells retail analyst Ben Cavender to the South China Morning Post.Read More →

Fashion has been changing massively, as low-cost manufacturing moved from China to other countries, and the fashion brand focus on value, more than on cheap production, tells Shanghai-based retail expert Ben Cavender in Just-Style. And the transition process in fashion brands will continue to cause pain, as robots move in.Read More →

WeChat has been for long the golden grail for marketing to China´s consumers. But those days are over, says innovation expert William Bao Bean, director of the Shanghai-based ChinaAccelerator to TechNode. Marketing needs more platforms than WeChat, although the Tencent tool is still an important center piece.Read More →

When you deal with consumers in China, WeChat and its payment systems, cannot be ignored. Starbucks did so for years, and lost much business, says business analyst Shaun Rein to Bloomberg. The American company now joined WeChat, although concerns about data safety remain.Read More →