For the first time in a decade growth of luxury goods in China has stalled, as inflation is larger than the recorder growth, says China’s rich list founder Rupert Hoogewerf, and composer of the China Luxury Goods Price Index in the Shanghai Daily. Causes: the fight against corruption and the economic downturn.Read More →
China-bashing occurs in the odd years, notes China analyst Arthur Kroeber in ChinaFile, because in the even years – election years – US politicians have to focus on problems American really care about. This week, in 2013, the US Senate scrutinized the Smithfield-Shuanghui pork deal, one of the more sillier problems in US-China relations, writes Kroeber.Read More →
Foreign fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC are wildly popular in China, but domestic chains failed to have a similar success. Retail analyst Paul French explores in Foreign Policy why his favorite Real Kung Fu restaurant has only a few hundred outlets, while foreign competition has many thousands.Read More →
Australia has been dropping on the list of favorite destinations for Chinese tourists, reports the Brisbane Times. China Rich list composer Rupert Hoogewerf explains why other destinations like the France, Singapore, Italy, the UK, the US and Switzerland are today doing better.Read More →
The bird flu and food scandals did not help KFC to continue their success story in China, their largest market. But also in terms of their offerings KFC is losing grip on the market, tells business analyst Shaun Rein in Business Week.Read More →
Hong Kong retail is booming, as mainland shoppers in first-tier cities saw wages going up 12% in 2013, says business analyst Shaun Rein on CNBC. But consumer confidence is still weak, especially middle-class men who are fearing wage stagnation as investments drop.Read More →
US chocolate maker Hershey currently has two percent of the China market, and is small compared to bigger players like Mars and Nestle. Business analyst Shaun Rein explains at the Wall Street Journal the China premium chocolate market is growing 20% per year, but domestic competition is making life tough. But Hershey wants a market share of 27% by 2017.Read More →
Battling a slowdown in Apple’s China sales by doubling the number of outlets might just not be enough, tells retail analyst Shaun Rein in Bloomberg. Apple is facing “serious political headwinds”.Read More →
China’s millionaires have discovered luxury cars as a favorite hobby, and own on average three cars per family. Hurun Rich List founder Rupert Hoogewerf got the figures together in his latest Hurun Report, he tells AFP.Read More →
Apple got itself into trouble with the government last month, but a bigger fight is looming, says business analyst Ben Cavender in Quartz. First, the Chinese government has noted Apple iTunes does not comply with its censorship regime. And convincing Chinese consumers they have to pay for content might even be a larger barrier for business.Read More →
A domestic media campaign against the customer service of Apple has been followed by government investigations, by the SAIC, tells business analyst Ben Cavender IDG News. “A bit of sensationalism,” he says.Read More →
Thousands of dead pigs and ducks illustrated over the past weeks again China is having a huge food security problem. Lawyer Mark Schaub of the Chinese-Australian law firm King&Wood and Mallesons gives in China Law Insight an overview of how the country’s central government is trying to close the loopholes in the current messy approach of food security.Read More →