Online payments have gained market share in China very fast, but that market is dominated by domestic players like Tencent and Alibaba, while foreign ones like Apple are less than a ripple, says fintech expert Matthew Brennan at Pymnts.Read More →
Japan’s discount-furniture king, Akio Nitori, dubbed the country’s IKEA, now wants to export its success into the region’s largest market: China. Business analyst Shaun Rein doubts whether their Japan success can be copied into China, he tells Bloomberg.Read More →
China might have invented the paper money, it is most likely also the first one to go fully cashless, says retail analyst Ben Cavender to Motherboard. “People basically run their lives through smartphones in China.”Read More →
Superinvestor Warren Buffett made a surprise appearance on CoCa-Cola’s Cherry Coke’s can during their China launch. A good move, says business analyst Shaun Rein to AP. Business leaders like him are more popular than sport starts.Read More →
Pleasing the China consumer has always been a challenge, but – as Tsingtao and Wanda discovered – consumers have become harder to get. Retail expert Ben Cavender nevertheless sees a lot of room for growth, he tells Reuters.Read More →
Department stores in China are losing their shine, but convenience stores keep on doing well. Convenience stores offer consumers better what they need compared to department stores, says retail analyst Ben Cavender to the China Daily.Read More →
Alibaba teamed up with brick-and-mortar retailer Bailian, in the latest effort to combine the best of two worlds. But while the idea seems to make sense, the results up to now have been meager, tells retail analyst Ben Cavender to Reuters.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 →
Victoria Secret took on China online, but has now decided to open its first offline retail flagship store in Shanghai. They move very cautiously, says retail expert Ben Cavender in AdAge, and they have a fair chance of getting it right in one of the most difficult retail markets in the world.Read More →
Fashion retailer M&S got it all wrong in China as they focused on non-exciting customers, says retail analyst Paul French to Bloomberg. M&S decided to close down some of its China operation to cut their losses, after a very ambitious start in 2008 in Shanghai.Read More →
Interacting on social media is not enough for retailers to get customers. Last year the ChinaAccelerator supported Shopal, a digital tool helping retails to trace and follow customers beyond social media contacts. Managing director William Bao Bean of the ChinaAccelerator explains why Shopal works. A shift from brands to retailers.Read More →
Yum´s KFC has lost substantial turnover, as anti-US protest turn against the fast food chain caused by the tension in the South China Sea, says business analyst Shaun Rein to Reuters. The stores have become a lightning rod for nationalistic feelings and lost sometimes up to 25%Read More →