Par Jeremy Gordon

Starbucks semble être partout dans les grandes villes de la Chine (il a autour 200 branches) et les gens du pays et les expats de même peuvent être lecture trouvée, rencontrant et buvant la substance chaude chère. Le succès de Starbucks en Chine a été grêlé en tant qu'une victoire pour une marque étrangère du consommateur, et preuve que les consommateurs chinois urbains dépenseront l'argent pour le bons produit par service/expérience.

Tous jaillissent et bon, à moins qu'ils ne soient jamais celui simple pour celui long…

Après une histoire sur le blog de l'ancre Rui Chenggang de CCTV (décrit par Rebecca McKinnon à RConversation en tant qu'un « SA de la Chine de'. - journo-bloggers de liste »), le blogoshpere chinois récemment éclaté dans une attaque nationaliste sur le géant de café, dont la sortie dans la ville interdite convenablement appelée a été vue pour être une violation impardonnable sur le gazon culturel du sacrosanct de la Chine. Le gardien (h/t Danwei) rapporté cela :

« Selon des médias locaux, personnes d'un demi-million ont signé [Rui] la pétition en ligne et les douzaines de journaux ont porté des histoires en avant au sujet de la polémique. « Starbucks a été mis ici il y a six ans, mais arrière puis, nous n'avons pas eu des blogs. Cette campagne est preuve vivante de la puissance du Web », a dit Rui. « La ville interdite est un symbole de l'acquis culturel de la Chine. Starbucks dans un symbole de culture de la petite bourgeoisie dans l'ouest. Nous devons embrasser le monde, mais nous devons également préserver notre identité culturelle. Il y a une ligne fine entre la mondialisation et la contamination.  »…. M. Rui a dit… « mais svp n'interprète pas ceci comme acte du nationalisme. It is just about we Chinese people respecting ourselves. I actually like drinking Starbucks coffee. I am just against having one in the Forbidden City.”

Whether or not this is about cultural or economic nationalism (or just crass commercialism), it is a good example of consumer power turning nasty (see more here), and provides a reminder of the power of the online Chinese community, as well as the need for sensitivity in strategy, flexibility in operations, and speed in PR response.

But Starbucks is not alone in the Forbidden City, American Express is also there (and has been for years) as a relatively high profile sponsor of restoration. So far they have been OK, but the backlash may catch up with them as well.

“Foreign Devils” should set foot on cultural issues with care, but not all cultural exchange is seen in a negative light. Around 10 years ago I managed a project for a famous French luxury goods company that revolved around a major art installation in the front courtyard of the Forbidden City. It was an impressive show by a leading modern artist, and was seen by those local people I spoke to at the time as a reflection of China’s emergence into the international community. The best of China’s ancient culture mixed with the best of the modern Western art. It was a great success - but I don’t think it is something I would recommend repeating today!

Anyway, a consumer backlash is not the only thing the people at Starbucks have had to contend with recently. Last year they restructured their China operations to take back control from joint venture partners. This is part of a common trend among foreign companies who learnt the lessons of the market (at least some of them) while being helped along by established local players, but who now want (and are allowed to have) more control.
They have also had to face the common challenge of protecting their intellectual property rights - but did manage to win a case against a local competitor that was copying the company’s image and Chinese name, “Xinbake”.

Another big issue at the moment is employment (attraction, retention and unionization), and Starbucks are being proactive about this, in a move that may be expected to win praise from their 4,000 mainland Chinese staff. According to the FT they are introducing stock options:

“Share incentive plans are becoming more important to multinationals in China because of the intensifying battle to keep good staff. Rapid economic growth and heavy investment are allowing employees with strong credentials to change jobs regularly at ever-higher salaries, to the extent that the American Chamber of Commerce says staff retention is one of the biggest challenges facing US companies in China. Yet the market for people with the technical and language skills needed to prosper at a multinational is limited…”

“The Starbucks plan comes at a time when there is strong interest among Chinese companies in stock option plans. At the start of last year, the government gave preliminary approval to state-owned companies listed on the mainland to issue options to staff. Since then, more than 100 companies, including Baosteel, the country’s largest steel company, and white goods maker Haier have announced incentive plans, subject to final approval by the regulators”

The Starbucks experience shows what can be achieved by foreign brands in China, but in a wonderful Chinese-style contradiction, it also reminds us that foreign businesses are still guests in a complex, rapidly modernizing China that is staking out its place in the world. While the government continues to re-evaluate the role of foreign investment, the People are also updating their view of what may be seen as overly aggressive foreign brands.

Coffee anyone? I think I’ll stick with my (Chinese) tea.

Jeremy Gordon, China Business Services