No Result
View All Result
SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLES
  • Login
Saturday, October 4, 2025
TheAdviserMagazine.com
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
No Result
View All Result
TheAdviserMagazine.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Market Research Markets

U.S., Europe brands take on the Chinese consumer

by TheAdviserMagazine
5 hours ago
in Markets
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
U.S., Europe brands take on the Chinese consumer
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LInkedIn


Pictured here is Louis Vuitton’s new cruise ship-shaped store in Shanghai, China, on June 28, 2025.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

BEIJING — China’s economic slowdown isn’t discouraging U.S. and European brands from revamping their strategies to reach Chinese shoppers.

Instead, the allure of the world’s second-largest consumer market is forcing companies to adapt in the face of growing competition from local brands.

In the case of Kraft Heinz, getting more people in China to buy ketchup this year also meant hiring a local agency to help create catchy campaigns — decorating subway station columns to mimic ketchup bottles and promoting the condiment as a fresh twist on a popular dish: stir-fried eggs and tomatoes.

It’s a hard market to tackle, even for Shanghai-based marketing firm Good Idea Growth Network (GGN). The agency has witnessed at least five different waves of consumer trends in its 14-year history, founder Stephy Liu, said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. “The gameplay keeps on changing.”

But GGN has succeeded even after rejecting an acquisition offer from British advertising giant WPP, Liu said, noting that about half of her clients are foreign brands.

While Kraft Heinz isn’t done with its China ketchup campaign yet, the company reported second-quarter net sales in emerging markets climbed by 4.2% from a year ago, helping offset declines in North America.

WPP explored a potential acquisition of GGN but did not end up going far in the process, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

Kraft Heinz did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Localized social media

From Starbucks’ struggles to Lululemon’s successes in China, it’s become clear that the right mix of localization is essential.

“Among international brands in China, the winners are often dedicating more than 40% of revenue to marketing, especially content and platform-first marketing, while also iterating products locally based on market data,” said Jacob Cooke, co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, which helps foreign brands sell in China.

This year, Cooke said that Under Armour has created products under 100 yuan ($14) in order to attract a mass of buyers online, while using livestreams with dedicated users to then build fitness communities and sell more premium products offline.

ByteDance-owned Douyin has become an e-commerce force in the last few years since celebrities and companies started using the app for livestreaming sales during the pandemic. And by the numbers, there’s little question that jumping into the Xiaohongshu and Douyin world is worthwhile for businesses.

Adapting to that new social commerce ecosystem has become the biggest challenge for brands in the last two years, GGN’s Liu said. “Foreign brands will think, ‘Isn’t this just TikTok?'”

She warned that success requires a complex strategy that can involve changing everything from how a team is structured to the kinds of products sold. But the payoff is significant.

“In half a year, it can help you sell more than you sold on [Alibaba‘s] Tmall in two years,” Liu said.

Data is power

In addition to social media, a critical factor in many companies’ strategies is access to hordes of data on what consumers in China are buying.

Chinese e-commerce platforms, including Alibaba’s Tmall, share far more data on what’s popular than Amazon.com does, WPIC’s Cooke said. In China, “people generally know what their competitors are selling and what they’re selling for.”

With that granular data, Chinese makeup brand Perfect Diary was able to succeed by identifying a market pain point and creating a lipstick targeted at that lower price segment, Cooke said. He noted that’s pressured foreign brands to create China-specific products as well, a big shift over the last five years.

E-commerce platforms in China also often show rough figures on how many orders were placed per product, while third-party companies such as Syntun offer significant amounts of product rankings and other online sales data for free.

Weekly analysis and insights from Asia’s largest economy in your inbox
Subscribe now

In the case of Apple‘s iPhone 17 launch on Sept. 19, it was Chinese e-commerce company JD.com that released sales data for mainland China. The electronics-focused platform announced that the first minute of iPhone 17 series preorders surpassed the first-day preorder volume of last year’s iPhone 16 series.

Apple’s story also underscores how it’s possible to reignite local interest despite losing market share to domestic competition. Some customers in Beijing told CNBC that they liked the iPhone’s new cosmic orange color, and that more locals intended to buy their first iPhone this year since they’d heard about new attractive features such as larger internal storage.

China’s factories were quick to jump on the trend, releasing iPhone cases with a similar orange hue even before the 17 model was out.

“Winning brands are those that have established local R&D centers and on-the-ground product teams,” said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of ChoZan, a China marketing consultancy. “This allows them to spot trends early, develop products tailored to local needs, and launch them in months, not years. This is a significant departure from the past, where global products were often simply rolled out in the Chinese market.”

Cultural connection

Even with the right data and social media platforms, cultural integration is becoming increasingly important, especially as Chinese brands find success in tapping the country’s own history of artisanal craftsmanship.

“Brands are moving beyond superficial nods to Chinese culture,” Dudarenok said. She pointed out that Loewe partnered with jade carving masters, while Burberry teamed up with bamboo-weaving artists.

And despite declining sales in China’s luxury market, LVMH this summer opened an eye-catching ship-shaped store in Shanghai — immediately generating much local buzz.

In contrast to LVMH’s luggage-shaped store in Manhattan, the Shanghai location taps into the Chinese city’s history as a port of entry for international travelers to Asia roughly a century ago.

The new store also captures the European brand’s roots in hand-crafted travel trunks — which contrasts with Chinese brands’ inability to offer the same emotional appeal, Joe Ngai, chairman of greater China at McKinsey, pointed out in a LinkedIn post.

“As Chinese customers grow in their confidence and desire for local elements,” he said, “creating more crossovers between West and East is one of the unique opportunities for multinationals in China.”

— CNBC’s Eunice Yoon contributed to this report.



Source link

Tags: BrandsChineseconsumerEuropeU.S
ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Bitcoin Capital Flow Must Enter The Network Before Global Dominance — Here’s What Will Happen

Next Post

US stocks: Dow, S&P 500 manage record closing highs; Nasdaq falls in volatile session

Related Posts

edit post
Now This Common Supplement May Slow Aging, Too

Now This Common Supplement May Slow Aging, Too

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 3, 2025
0

puhhha / Shutterstock.comResearchers have identified a common supplement that can slow aging. It may even be in your medicine cabinet...

edit post
Chicago Fed President Goolsbee ‘a little wary’ about cutting interest rates too quickly

Chicago Fed President Goolsbee ‘a little wary’ about cutting interest rates too quickly

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 3, 2025
0

Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said Friday he's leery of cutting interest rates too quickly as threats increase both...

edit post
Innovation pipeline, portfolio in focus ahead of Johnson & Johnson’s Q3 earnings

Innovation pipeline, portfolio in focus ahead of Johnson & Johnson’s Q3 earnings

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 3, 2025
0

For Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), 2025 has been a strong year, marked by an impressive financial performance that drove...

edit post
BRRRR for Beginners & The “Lazy” Method to Raise Rents (Rookie Reply)

BRRRR for Beginners & The “Lazy” Method to Raise Rents (Rookie Reply)

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 3, 2025
0

Ashley Kehr:Have you ever heard of the Burr strategy? It’s the real estate investing method that actually scales your portfolio...

edit post
Satoshi’s Secret Map – Banyan Hill Publishing

Satoshi’s Secret Map – Banyan Hill Publishing

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 3, 2025
0

On January 3, 2009, the global financial system was still reeling from the greatest collapse since the Great Depression. The...

edit post
The New (Better) House Hack: No Roommates, More Rent

The New (Better) House Hack: No Roommates, More Rent

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 3, 2025
0

House hacking is still the easiest way to start investing in real estate—and it’s getting even easier. You no longer...

Next Post
edit post
US stocks: Dow, S&P 500 manage record closing highs; Nasdaq falls in volatile session

US stocks: Dow, S&P 500 manage record closing highs; Nasdaq falls in volatile session

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
edit post
What Happens If a Spouse Dies Without a Will in North Carolina?

What Happens If a Spouse Dies Without a Will in North Carolina?

September 14, 2025
edit post
California May Reimplement Mask Mandates

California May Reimplement Mask Mandates

September 5, 2025
edit post
Does a Will Need to Be Notarized in North Carolina?

Does a Will Need to Be Notarized in North Carolina?

September 8, 2025
edit post
DACA recipients no longer eligible for Marketplace health insurance and subsidies

DACA recipients no longer eligible for Marketplace health insurance and subsidies

September 11, 2025
edit post
‘Quiet luxury’ is coming for the housing market, The Corcoran Group CEO says. It’s not just the Hamptons, Aspen, and Miami anymore

‘Quiet luxury’ is coming for the housing market, The Corcoran Group CEO says. It’s not just the Hamptons, Aspen, and Miami anymore

September 9, 2025
edit post
Tips to Apply for Mental Health SSDI Without Therapy

Tips to Apply for Mental Health SSDI Without Therapy

September 19, 2025
edit post
America’s landlords settle claim they used rent-setting algorithms to gouge consumers nationwide for 1 million

America’s landlords settle claim they used rent-setting algorithms to gouge consumers nationwide for $141 million

0
edit post
Why the Stakes are Higher for I 9 Form 2025 Audits

Why the Stakes are Higher for I 9 Form 2025 Audits

0
edit post
Stay the Course: Navigating Euro Inflation

Stay the Course: Navigating Euro Inflation

0
edit post
Cash App Review – A Versatile Mobile Payment & Banking Platform

Cash App Review – A Versatile Mobile Payment & Banking Platform

0
edit post
With its latest acqui-hire, OpenAI is doubling down on personalized consumer AI 

With its latest acqui-hire, OpenAI is doubling down on personalized consumer AI 

0
edit post
Why Accurate Surgical Procedure Data Is a Strategic Advantage Today?

Why Accurate Surgical Procedure Data Is a Strategic Advantage Today?

0
edit post
US stocks: Dow, S&P 500 manage record closing highs; Nasdaq falls in volatile session

US stocks: Dow, S&P 500 manage record closing highs; Nasdaq falls in volatile session

October 3, 2025
edit post
U.S., Europe brands take on the Chinese consumer

U.S., Europe brands take on the Chinese consumer

October 3, 2025
edit post
Bitcoin Capital Flow Must Enter The Network Before Global Dominance — Here’s What Will Happen

Bitcoin Capital Flow Must Enter The Network Before Global Dominance — Here’s What Will Happen

October 3, 2025
edit post
Trump orders Israel to stop bombing Gaza after Hamas partially accepts his peace plan

Trump orders Israel to stop bombing Gaza after Hamas partially accepts his peace plan

October 3, 2025
edit post
Whose Investment Are You?

Whose Investment Are You?

October 3, 2025
edit post
With its latest acqui-hire, OpenAI is doubling down on personalized consumer AI 

With its latest acqui-hire, OpenAI is doubling down on personalized consumer AI 

October 3, 2025
The Adviser Magazine

The first and only national digital and print magazine that connects individuals, families, and businesses to Fee-Only financial advisers, accountants, attorneys and college guidance counselors.

CATEGORIES

  • 401k Plans
  • Business
  • College
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Economy
  • Estate Plans
  • Financial Planning
  • Investing
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Legal
  • Market Analysis
  • Markets
  • Medicare
  • Money
  • Personal Finance
  • Social Security
  • Startups
  • Stock Market
  • Trading

LATEST UPDATES

  • US stocks: Dow, S&P 500 manage record closing highs; Nasdaq falls in volatile session
  • U.S., Europe brands take on the Chinese consumer
  • Bitcoin Capital Flow Must Enter The Network Before Global Dominance — Here’s What Will Happen
  • Our Great Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use, Legal Notices & Disclosures
  • Contact us
  • About Us

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.