In deze kwestie waag ik voorbij Europese grenzen aan China, een snelgroeiende markt. Maar de aanvang van verrichtingen in een nieuwe markt is niet gemakkelijk. Zult u uw eigen mensen naar de nieuwe plaats verplaatsen of zult u beginnen plaatselijk te huren? En als u plaatselijk huurt, hoe trekt u de beste kandidaten aan en wat verwachten deze nieuwe rekruten?

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Vlak vóór Chinees Nieuw Jaar, was ik in de verkoop ontmoeten die van Shanghai waar de eigenaar van een Europees bedrijf de projecties van de post-vakantieverkoop besprak. De bespreking was al „nieuw, innovatief, uit de doos“, maar de gang was allen over het doen van het zelfde oude slechts groter en/of goedkopere ding. Ik ben aan dit rodeo voordien geweest. Enkele dure nieuwe marketing initiatieven gezet in plaats 6 maanden geleden waren ongeveer waarheen ook en matrijs.

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As you might have noticed already, we have added some new options and chapters to our redesigned Web site. One of these is the Question and Answer chapter.

When you have a China-related question which you would like to be answered by the visitors of our Web site, simply send an email and we will post it. Or, the other way around, when you know the answer to…

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Many U.S. small businesses are missing the boat when it comes to China

By Geoff Light

In recent years, China’s strong middle class has attracted attention from businesses worldwide. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that there are 25 to 30 million middle-class households in China. BCG also notes that these households don’t seem to be losing momentum. Since 1999, middle-class households have accounted for a steady 36.6 percent of China’s wealth*. If American companies are poised to reach these consumers, both businesses and the U.S. economy will have a lot to gain.

Large, American corporations – such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks – paved the way for other U.S. companies to sell products in China. Most recently, high-end fashion retailers have set up shops in the country.  American Fashion Designer Marc Jacobs, for example, has almost the same amount of Marc by Marc Jacobs stores in China as he does in the United States.
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The idea of commissioning market research in China is daunting to most Western companies. It’s a country of over 1.3 billion people with 200 dialects and 57 ethnic groups. To compound the problem, China is not homogeneous. The larger cities contain educated, Internet-savvy people who earn incomes comparable to U.S. citizens. On the other end of the spectrum, there are people living in villages who survive on $400 a year. If you ask a survey question to both groups, you are likely to get vastly different answers.

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