Int'l firms eye opportunities in China's consumption market

TIANJIN -- From introducing imported products to China in the early years, adjusting the product formulation to meet Chinese consumers' needs, to the current export of goods made in Chinese factories, P&G's change has witnessed the development of China's consumption market.

The potential of China's consumption market has created unlimited opportunities for the enterprise, said Jasmine Xu, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of P&G Greater China, at a summit in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday.

The Haihe International Consumption Summit highlighted new opportunities for international consumption under the "dual circulation" development pattern, as China is building a new development paradigm where domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.

In July, the State Council approved Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing to take the lead in building international consumption center cities. The five cities recently unveiled a series of measures and will carry out specific projects to build themselves into international consumption center cities.

Ian McGarrigle, founder and chairman of the World Retail Congress, said via video, "I believe China will be able to leverage the fundamental role of domestic consumption in economic development and foster a more robust and domestic market to boost growth at home and create more room for global growth."

A population of over 1.4 billion, including a middle-income group of over 400 million people that keeps expanding, China offers a supersized market and will create more new opportunities for global consumption markets, said Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce, at the summit.

Currently, Chinese consumption market features high-quality, putting more emphasis on individuality and the shopping experience. The consumption upgrade trend is obvious.

"China is one of the largest and most sophisticated consumer markets in the world, and we are very committed to China and to Chinese consumers. We are investing to improve and expand our operations and we are investing in innovative new products and services. All with a view to meeting Chinese consumers' desire to have a better life," said David Taylor, chairman of the board, president and CEO of P&G.

Bestseller Fashion Group China, in the Chinese market for nearly 25 years, continues to seize more market opportunities. It has participated in the "Double 11" (Nov. 11, indicating Singles' Day) buying spree, and opened livestreaming workshops on popular Chinese video-sharing app Douyin to embrace China's livestreaming economy.

"We had 100 percent localization since 1998. We spent all the time in the Chinese consumption market to understand Chinese consumers. There have been so many opportunities in China all these years," said Dan Friis, co-founder of the Bestseller Fashion Group China.

Liu Hui, director of the JD Research Institute for Consumption and Industrial Development, said the number of international brands and products on JD.com has continued to grow in recent years. They research the clear needs of Chinese consumers, and even tailor products and services for them.

"It represents the promotion of China's consumption market in the world, and also shows the importance of Chinese market to these international brands," Liu said.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's retail sales of consumer goods totaled around 31.8 trillion yuan (about $4.98 trillion), up 16.4 percent year on year in the first three quarters of this year.

Wang Wei, director general and senior research fellow of Institute of Market Economy, Development Research Center of the State Council, said building Chinese cities to be international consumption centers is conducive to fostering new growth poles in promoting stable economic growth, and leading the new momentum of global consumption.

Wang also suggests it is necessary to accelerate the cultivation of a diversified and multi-level consumer industry system, combining digitalization, intelligence and experience-oriented development trend of the retail industry, to further innovate consumption patterns and product services.