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News on Consumers & Retail in China

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Hanging out at Helen’s

China’s first listed pub chain is a mix of Starbucks and Haidilao
Sep 17, 2021 (WiC 556)

With relaxing jazz music in the background, comfy chairs and free WiFi, Starbucks has created what it calls the “third space”: that is, a place people can hang out outside of their home and work. In China, a popular beverage chain wants to ...

Bonkers over Birkins

Hermès takes flak over bag policy as Dolce & Gabbana forecasts comeback
Sep 10, 2021 (WiC 555)

French luxury group Hermès has long prided itself on its resistance to change: even as many other famed luxury brands have occasionally succumbed to the easy money of turning out logo-heavy, mass-produced items, the company insists that each of ...

Three men and a baby

SoftBank invests in PatPat, ‘the SheIn of kids clothing’
Sep 10, 2021 (WiC 555)

With Alibaba’s shares in a slump and ride-hailing app Didi losing half of its market value since its IPO, Japanese investment giant SoftBank is looking for ways to offset some of its China-linked losses. If its latest investment is anything to ...

Hotpot industry leader goes off the boil to investor dismay
Sep 3, 2021 (WiC 554)

China’s investors describe ‘bottom-fishing’ for stocks – i.e. buying at low valuations – as laodi. It’s a term inspired by the centuries-old hotpot culture, where diners dredge their soup for the best of what remains at the ...

Unilever under fire for selling ‘no-milk’ ice cream in China
Aug 20, 2021 (WiC 552)

There are relatively few products from European-based brands that reach Chinese consumers before making the same journey to shoppers in the US. Magnum bars, an ice cream bar wrapped in thick chocolate shells, were one of them. Brought to China in ...

Taking over Tokyo

Chinese firms dominate Olympic sponsorships
Jul 30, 2021 (WiC 551)

The Olympics makes much of its income from consumer brands that want to sponsor the world’s biggest sporting event. But with the Games in Tokyo already delayed a year and also very unpopular with local people worried about the spread of ...

Is this China’s most costly celebrity scandal ever?
Jul 23, 2021 (WiC 550)

As the saying goes, where there’s smoke there’s fire. So when allegations about sexual abuse were levelled at rapper-actor-model Kris Wu, he saw not only his stardom going up in flames but also his many lucrative endorsement deals with ...

Demographic dividend

E-commerce giant has invested in Gen Z ‘unicorn’ retailer KK Group
Jul 23, 2021 (WiC 550)

The idea that a generation shares certain characteristics, and therefore qualifies for a moniker, ought to be credited to two American novelists. One of them is Gertrude Stein, the modernist who coined the term the “Lost Generation” to refer ...

China’s largest hair transplant firm files for a Hong Kong IPO
Jul 9, 2021 (WiC 548)

For long periods of their history, the Chinese have preferred not to cut their hair. Han Chinese men bunched up their locks into a bun and wrapped it in linen. “Our body, skin and hair are all given by our parents. We dare not injure them. This ...

Comment with caution

Xiaomi wins lawsuit over hostile customer review
Jul 9, 2021 (WiC 548)

The customer is always right” is a longstanding motto said to have been popularised by Harry Gordon Selfridge, who founded the upscale department store on London’s Oxford Street over a century ago. Of course, the concept has plenty of ...

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