China’s Street Vendors and Fashion Markets

Makeshift Markets in Beijing's CBD Despite many high-end retailers in China reporting a slower growth rate this year compared with 2011, there is still a clamor of brands wanting to get into China and open new stores in the hundreds of new malls opening across China. These malls are doing a great job of attracting the biggest international retailers and giving people the option of dressing head-to-toe in foreign brands. Meanwhile, many Chinese... Read More

Taobao – China’s all Dominating C2C E-Commerce Site

Taobao's Fashion Category Page   For young Chinese consumers it must be hard to imagine a life without Taobao – China’s biggest C2C e-commerce portal. Taobao completely changed the way Chinese shop and it has become so dominant that it now accounts for an estimated 80% of online transactions in China. Launched by Alibaba Group in 2003 to combat EBay’s entry into China, Taobao has come to define e-commerce in China. According to Alibaba,... Read More

China’s E-Commerce Emperor

The Alibaba Group's Portals Dominate E-Commerce in China Two weeks ago I wrote about the massive potential of e-commerce in China that Boston Consulting Group predicts will be worth more than 300 billion dollars by 2015. As numerous e-tailors fold under highly competitive market pressures and others battle it out with nasty price wars, through all of this, one company – The Alibaba Group has risen to become the undisputed leader of e-commerce... Read More

China’s Copycat Culture and Creativity

Counterfeit Luxury Brand Bags at Beijing's Silk Market While strolling around Taiyuan, an up-and-coming and coal-rich second-tier city, I was amused to find an entire street of identical looking sportswear stores. Each brands’ logo bore resemblance to Nike’s Swoosh, differentiated themselves by either being upside down, back to front or having an extra kink etc. sticking out. I never expected Taiyuan to have the fashion diversity or range... Read More