Mattel has seen its earlier operations in China falter, but now closed a new deal with Alibaba to sell interactive learning toys on the fragmented Chinese toy market. For Mattel it is now do or die, says business analyst Shaun Rein to Reuters.Read More →

Fashion retailer Gap did not gain much traction in its first year in China, writes business analyst Shaun Rein in CNBC. To survive, it needs to adjust its brand image. China defines ‘middle class’ different from the US.Read More →

Image by Fantake via Flickr The March Newsletter of the China Speakers Bureau is now online, with the latest news about our speakers and an overview of the corporate failings in China over the past month, while their markets keep on growing. We look over Groupon, BestBuy, Mattel‘s Barby, HomeRead More →

Entrance Apple store Shanghai by randomwire via Flickr A visit to Apple’s store in Pudong, Shanghai leave no room for doubt: the company is doing very well. Shaun Rein analyzes in CNBC how the laggard from 2009 turned into a winner in 2011, where other retailers like BestBuy, Home DepotRead More →

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 →

Shaun Rein is the Managing Director of the China Market Research Group, the world’s leading strategic market intelligence firm focused on China. He is one of the world’s recognized thought leaders on strategy consulting in China. In 2012 he published the bestseller “The End of Cheap China.” He travels from Shanghai.Read More →

Paul French is former Chief China Market Strategist at Mintel. As a China specialist he has been quoted in a wide variety of publications including the Financial Times, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal Asia, the South China Morning Post and the LA Times. In 2012 he published the very popular book “Midnight in Peking.” The rights for a TV-show on the book have been sold He travels from Shanghai.Read More →