News on Consumers & Retail in China

Big shoes to fill
Ex-transport boss takes the helm at Moutai
Mar 27, 2020 (WiC 488)

What experience could be so irresistible that even the risk of catching the coronavirus pales into insignificance? In the UK it’s going to see the Stereophonics, it seems, after thousands of fans packed into an arena to watch the band on March ...

Home brew
As more people work from home, Nongfu launches new coffee brand
Mar 20, 2020 (WiC 487)

For years Starbucks has marketed itself as a ‘third place’ where people gather outside their homes or workplaces, contributing to a new sense of community (and paying for a latte or two at the same time, naturally). Over the last year or ...

That’s the spirit
Tsingtao jumps on the whisky bandwagon
Mar 13, 2020 (WiC 486)

At a time when every state in the US now boasts a distillery – including Hawaii – and countries like India and Australia are making their own whisky as well, it should come as no surprise that China wants its own whisky sector. In April ...

Grabbing a bite
Pepsi acquisition shows allure of China’s online snack retailers
Mar 5, 2020 (WiC 485)

Cinema operators have been some of the hardest hit businesses during the Covid-19 outbreak. Many have resorted to selling popcorn, soda and other treats online in a bid to recoup some of the losses from theatre closures and the delay of major ...

Coffee plunger
Local star Luckin sees stock fall a third in days
Feb 14, 2020 (WiC 482)

The best recipes for stock bubbles need a fanciful growth story. Take the South Sea Company in the eighteenth century, whose shares inflated over 10 times in a matter of months on hopes that it would bring back a vast hoard of gold and silver ...

Escape to the country
One of China’s most successful influencers is selling the rural dream
Jan 24, 2020 (WiC 480)

In one video, she hand-dyes a dress with fresh grape juice. In another, she spins yarn from wool from her own sheep and builds her own bed from freshly-cut bamboo. When it comes to food, she relies on natural ingredients from her backyard, ...

Distilling the truth
Investor favourite Kweichow Moutai experiences choppier times
Jan 17, 2020 (WiC 479)

Usually falling in late January or February, the Chinese Lunar New Year is the domestic movie industry’s most important period for box office earnings. But before the big screen bonanza gets going, China’s anti-corruption authorities usually ...

Playing chicken
Popeyes aims to catch up with KFC in China
Dec 6, 2019 (WiC 477)

American fried chicken chain Popeyes launched a new chicken sandwich in the summer that sold out within two weeks of its debut. A relaunch in early November again created long lines of customers – a man in Maryland was even stabbed after ...

From KOL to KOC
Bestselling cosmetics brand Perfect Diary takes a different approach
Nov 29, 2019 (WiC 476)

In China’s thousands of years of history, there have been hundreds of revolts and rebellions. An idiom to describe some of those sudden challenges to authority is yijuntuqi (异军突起, or emerging force). It originates from the Records ...

Reach for the stars
Streaming celebrities help Alibaba set another Singles’ Day record
Nov 15, 2019 (WiC 474)

China’s princess of live-streaming is called Viya. Real name Huang Wei, she goes into overdrive during the run-up to Singles’ Day. Starting her broadcasts in the early afternoon, she pitches her wares until well past midnight, selling ...

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