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News on Consumers & Retail in China

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Bikers fear fines

New scooter safety rules see helmet prices surge
May 29, 2020 (WiC 497)

Riding round the streets of Beijing, you could, until recently, see why the price of crash helmets was so low. The demand was not there: the vast majority of people on two-wheelers simply didn’t wear them. That all changed late last month ...

Korea’s Innisfree scales down China operation
May 22, 2020 (WiC 496)

Six years ago when eagle-eyed fans in China spotted that actress Jun Ji-hyun’s character in the popular Korean drama My Love Who Came From The Star was wearing a hot pink lipstick made by the Korean cosmetics brand IOPE, the item ...

A failed formula

China’s dairy industry hit by another scandal
May 22, 2020 (WiC 496)

In 2008, just ahead of the Beijing Olympics, news began to break of Chinese babies becoming sick because of adulterated milk formula. The infant formula made by Sanlu, then the top-selling milk powder brand, was revealed to be contaminated ...

New skin in the game

Coca-Cola launches beauty supplement beverage for Chinese market
May 15, 2020 (WiC 495)

Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola is on a mission to become a ‘total beverage company’. Cynics read that as a necessary push to reduce its reliance on its sugary bestsellers. But the journey continues: this week there was the announcement of ...

Prices too good to be true?

New e-commerce site launches with fanfare and criticism
May 8, 2020 (WiC 494)

In 2017 Alibaba’s Taobao was found to have at least 240,000 vendors that were selling fake goods. Its rival Pinduoduo was also forced to remove more than 10 million items from its site. More recently, a US consumer watchdog group estimated that ...

Plant-based meat on the rise in China as KFC and Starbucks rejig menus
May 8, 2020 (WiC 494)

KFC’s menus in China are an excellent indicator of some of the particular tastes of the moment. Examples include the offal that was being served as a late-night snack (see WiC462) or the crayfish taco, usually enjoyed with beer, that was a fan ...

Safety in numbers

Pinduoduo teams up with Gome to challenge Alibaba and other big rivals
May 1, 2020 (WiC 493)

Tag team wrestling doesn’t have many fans in China. But its principle of pairing up into stronger alliances is becoming more of a norm in the country’s cut-throat world of e-commerce. Last week another new coalition took shape between a five ...

An artificial gloss

Tech leaders release apps to trial cosmetics at home
May 1, 2020 (WiC 493)

The “lipstick index” was a term coined by former Estee Lauder chairman Leonard Lauder after the global recession in 2001. Lauder noticed that women were substituting costlier luxury items for more affordable indulgences like lipstick. Since ...

Hotpot chain Haidilao apologises for putting up prices post-pandemic
Apr 24, 2020 (WiC 492)

Haidilao, China’s largest hotpot chain, is best known for its focus on customer service (see WiC411). But since outlets reopened in March, it has dispensed with the free manicures and shoe shining services for queueing customers. In their place ...

Not enough dough

Troubled times for China’s first ‘listed’ bakery
Apr 24, 2020 (WiC 492)

“Making food requires conscience. We must pour our entire heart and soul into it because the food industry is very high-risk. It requires everyone in the sector to have a strong sense of social responsibility and the ability to navigate through ...

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