China´s consumers have changed dramatically over the past decade, retail analyst Ben Cavender told a conference on fruit, for example only looking at first-tier cities is a wrong habit from the past, reports the Fruitnet. And the hypermarkets are dead.Read More →
Starbucks raised its prices, causing a stir among the many users of the popular coffee chain. They will whine a bit, but get over it very soon, says retail analyst Ben Cavender in the China Daily, and he does not expect a sustained backlash.Read More →
The e-commerce industry is still relatively young, and on the corporate battlefield to two, three big players, many smaller companies will succumb, predicts retail analyst Ben Cavender in the China Daily. What does it need for companies to survive in China?Read More →
China has slapped tax on cross-border e-commerce, a trade that went previously under the tax radar. Especially the smaller operations could be hurt, tells retail analyst Ben Cavender the China Daily, while the larger ones can avoid damage.Read More →
Procter&Gamble launched a global campaign for SK-II skincare also in China, inadvertently getting mixed up in the “left-over women” issue. Unmarried Chinese women in their late-twenties are under heavy pressure to find a husband. Retail analyst Ben Cavender explains the background at CNN Money.Read More →
Shanghai Disney has appointed three honory ambassadors for its park, actress Sun Li, pianist Lang Lang and former NBA basketball player Yao Ming better promote itself as a family-friendly attraction. A sign it does not only want to attract kids, but also adults, says business analyst Ben Cavender to the China Daily.Read More →
Today China celebrates the World Consumer Day with the traditional naming and shaming of companies who have – according to the TV program – let down their consumers. But the effect of the show, once compulsory for fearful foreign executives, is slowly beginning to lose its luster, says retail expert Ben Cavender to Bloomberg.Read More →
China´s GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2015 has been set at 6.8%, lowest since 2009, but very much in line with the expectations, says business analyst Ben Cavender in Money Control. For 2016 he expects the figure to hoover in the mid-6 percent.Read More →
Preparations for China´s New Years shopping spree has started, and Alibaba focuses on the previous under-served rural areas. But foreign firm have not reacted very enthusiastically on this move, says retail analyst Ben Cavender to Dow Jones, since it is a very long-term approach.Read More →
Tmall Global of Alibaba offers international sellers since 2014 a platform to sell their products directly to Chinese consumers, and offers advantages like lower import rates. But, warns retail analyst Ben Cavender in Fortune that does not mean selling in China has fundamentally become easy.Read More →
Going cheap is no longer the prevailing trend among China´s consumers, as especially the younger ones, who have traveled a lot, look for good quality, says retail analyst Ben Cavender in the International Business Times.Read More →
Alibaba, and its competitor JD.com made a record sales (or gross merchandise volume, GMV, as it is called) during Single´s Day. But retail specialist Ben Cavender also looks at the little print in the contract, and wonders in CNN Money if the record sales contribute to the profits.Read More →