Image by Zingaro. I am a gipsy too. via Flickr The sudden closure of Mattel‘s Barbie store in Shanghai seems to have nobody apart from Mattel, says retail analyst Paul French in the LA Times, today. He is sceptical about the firm’s announcement they are merely changing plans. The closureRead More →

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr Foreign firms in China currently make fat margins, showing the strenght of the economy, Shaun Rein tells Bloomberg, despite high profile failures like Barbie, Home Depot and BestBuy. Inflation might still be a huge problem, but there is no bubble in the making, he argues.Read More →

Arthur Kroeber by Fantake via Flickr For years China has been talking about refocusing its economy on domestic consumption, tells Arthur Kroeber in the New York Times. Now, real change is happening, although we should not expect too much too fast. The New York Times: “For years and years they’veRead More →

Image by Fantake via Flickr Even though Chinese consumers are spending more on expensive products like Apple, they shunned the Best Buy stories, explains Shaun Rein in CNBC. The economy of scale did not pay off: According to our research, Best Buy in China was perceived as being too expensive,Read More →

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr Ahead of the opening of the annual meetings of the CPPCC and the National People’s Congress, Shaun Rein gives in CNBC an overview of the current challenges for the country. The mismatch on the labor market, caused by a failing education is key. OtherRead More →

Ministry of Defense, Taipei via Wikipedia Taiwan is still trying to assess the amount of damage caused by one of the largest espionage case, after the late-January arrest of General Lo Hsien-che, who ran the communications, electronics and information division of Army Command Headquarters, writes Wendell Minnick in Defense News. TheRead More →

Shaun Rein by Fantake via Flickr Home Depot and BestBuy were just two of the foreign companies in China that failed, while the consumer market is reaching record heights. Shaun Rein explains what they were missing in CNBC. First, they get China’s middle class wrong: For one, Western brands needRead More →

Annette Nijs Executive Director Global Initiative of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) Annette Nijs led earlier this week a signing ceremony for a partnership between her school and the Dutch multinational Philips, a partnership focusing on health care and innovation. From the CEIBS-website: Annette Nijs called the eventRead More →

Former flagship in Xujiahui, Shanghai The decision by US electronics retailer BestBuy to close its outlets in China hardly comes as a surprise, says retail analyst Paul French in USA-Today. “They were ahead of the consumer.” Unlike the warehouse style of top Chinese electronic chains Gome and Suning, where salesRead More →

Kaiser Kuo (left) by shelisrael1 via Flickr Our monthly listing of most-sought speakers has become a pretty stable one. In February we have one important newcomer, Helen Wang, who has been extremely active since her book The Chinese Dream: The Rise of the World’s Largest Middle Class and What ItRead More →

State-driven by Getty Images via @daylife Leading political economist Victor Shih reviews five books he recommends on China’s economy for The Browser. Number one is Huang Yasheng‘s Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: Entrepreneurship and the State. Victor Shih: The biggest misperception about China is that it’s a dynamic market economy –Read More →