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☆ McDonald's raises China bet, bucking Western firms' derisking trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A woman sits on a swing attached to a giant sign of McDonald's, outside its themed exhibition in Beijing, China December 4, 2023. One advantage for McDonald’s: its majority partner in the China business, CITIC, provides top-level political cover, said Jason Yu, greater China managing director of market research firm Kantar Worldpanel. McDonald's China, Carlyle Group and CITIC declined to comment. Other consumer-facing U.S. firms, including Starbucks (SBUX.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Coach owner Tapestry (TPR.N) and sportswear giant Nike (NKE.N), have remained similarly dedicated to the China market. Although the McDonald's China menu would be familiar to U.S. consumers, there are nods to local tastes, including taro pie, rather than apple.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, McDonald's, Jason Yu, Kantar, Yu, Carlyle, Wallace, Greg, Euromonitor, Ben Cavender, Casey, Kane Wu, Deborah Sophia, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Group, Carlyle Group, Starbucks, Apple, Nike, Research, Investment, China Market Research, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, U.S, Hong Kong, Macau, Yum China, Russia, Shanghai, Bengaluru

Data released on Thursday showing a drop in consumer prices to their lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the doubts in China's economic rebound after some months of indicators showing growth stabilising. China's big online shopping platforms did not release final sales figures for 2022, when analysts said COVID-19 restrictions inhibited spending and consumer confidence. Some indicators point to a slowdown in Singles Day sales. Data provider Syntun estimated e-commerce platforms sold 311 billion yuan of products from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3, a 7.1% decrease year-on-year. For Tan Jiapeng, a 35-year-old office worker in Beijing, his only Singles Day purchase so far has been a Descente winter jacket, an "essential purchase" for the winter.

Persons: Florence Lo, Jason Yu, Kantar, COVID, Bain, Jacob Cooke, Nomura, Tan Jiapeng, Tan, Casey Hall, Sophie Yu, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, HK, PDD Holdings, Company, Technologies, Thomson Locations: Rights BEIJING, China, Beijing

[1/3] The sign outside the Sam's Club is seen at its store in Shanghai, China July 12, 2023. The membership stores are also gaining ground amid a sales decline in China's hypermarket sector, which struggled with a shift towards online purchases during the pandemic. The club warehouse format "is the only bright spot," said Derek Deng, who leads Bain & Company's consumer products practice in greater China. "Sam's Club are doing well. But Sam's Club was ultimately confident it is currently miles ahead, one of the people said.

Persons: Aly, Liu Zheng, lockdowns, Derek Deng, Bain, Kantar Worldpanel, Judith McKenna, Bain's Deng, Christina Zhu, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh, Jamie Freed Organizations: Sam's, REUTERS, Sam's Club, Costco, Walmart, HK, Freshippo, Carrefour, Yonghui, Bain, Reuters Graphics, Reuters, Sun, Retail, M, Beijing Yaodi Agriculture, M Club, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, BEIJING, Beijing, U.S, United States, Carrefour China, Peking, Yangzhou, Lanzhou, Sam's

[1/5] People wait for bus near a billboard of JD.com advertisement for the "618" shopping festival, in Beijing, China June 12, 2023. Retail sales growth in May slowed from the previous month, missing forecasts. In 2022 China's online retail sales amounted to 13.8 trillion yuan ($1.93 trillion), according to Ministry of Commerce data. "Everyone's making excuses but at the end of the day, it's a super-soft retail market." Last year, JD.com posted 10% annual growth in total 618 sales, its slowest ever.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Josh Gardner, JD.com, Trudy Dai, Jason Yu, Kantar, Yu, Iris Zhang, Gardner, Data, Casey Hall, Sophie Yu, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, HK, of Commerce, Kungfu, Burberry, Apple, Alibaba, Jefferies, Citi, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, SHANGHAI, Tmall

☆ Chinese consumers wary of splurging after Beijing relaxes COVID strictures
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"On the other hand, we don't know who is safe, we don't know who has the coronavirus. "Moving from isolation facility quarantine to home quarantine will not increase retail sales significantly," said Iris Pang, chief economist for greater China at ING. A spa at a mall in downtown Beijing that resumed business on Friday said most staff had returned but customers were far fewer. Luca Solca, a luxury analyst with Bernstein, said the end of the curbs was good news for the luxury industry, heavily dependent on Chinese spending. "My base-case scenario is that the softening should prompt Chinese consumers to go back to enjoying life and spending money – benefiting, among others, top luxury brands," he said.

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