Nimble Chinese firms outgrow foreign rivals in world’s second largest consumer market for sixth straight year
Domestic companies’ speed in responding to rapidly evolving consumer tastes in China helps them to achieve growth of 7.7pc in 2017 versus a mere 0.4pc for overseas competitors
Chinese companies’ ability to rapidly respond to the fast-evolving consumer tastes has helped them to outgrow their rivals for a sixth year in a row in the world’s second largest consumer market, according to a study released on Wednesday.
Sales of local brands jumped 7.7 per cent in 2017 compared with 0.4 per cent for their overseas rivals, said a joint report by consultancy major Bain and market research company Kantar Worldpanel.
“There are multiple reasons for this, but a major one is speed and an agile operating model, which is so critical in this fast changing market,” said Bruno Lannes, partner at Bain’s Greater China consumer products practice.
Total sales of consumer goods grew by 4.3 per cent in 2017, up from 3.6 per cent in 2016, although no figure was provided.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, retail sales of consumer goods rose 10.2 per cent year on year to 36.63 trillion yuan (US$5.7 trillion) in 2017. Domestic consumption contributed 58.8 per cent to the economic growth in 2017, which has been billed by China’s leadership as the new growth engine.
