Ebusiness is a great opportunity for Industrial companies in China !
We knew China as the first country of Internet users worldwide. In 2014 she became the first market for online commerce , with a meteoric rise of 24% compared to 2013. Online shopping grew by 47%.
While the European market is the way to stabilization, Chinese e -commerce therefore continues to show spectacular growth rates . This vitality is expected to accelerate in the coming years , thanks to a powerful ecosystem and consumers ' digital oriented " . By 2015 , China will see an annual increase of 40 to 50 million Internet users and 30 to 40 million online shoppers according to the Boston Consulting. By 2020 , this market will reach 300 billion euros in China.
Retailers and brands , including Western , can find a major growth , provided you know how to adapt to the local context and the specific challenges of this market.
At local actors hand, many Western brands or retailers have already opened own online activities , whether (some examples) , L'Oréal , Lane Crawford, Uniqlo , Zara, Clarins , Cache Cache , Asos , Amazon ... other players prefer the way the association with local partners in the form of equity , like Walmart with Yihaodian in food , Neiman Marcus with Glamour Sales or BestBuy with FiveStar in electronic products . Whatever the mode used , one can speak of a wave for two years, and that should continue even accelerate this year , judging by some recently announced projects ( Gap, H & M. .. ) .
"SEO is very important, because it is linked to your visibility" explain Fil control , the textile spart part specialist
If significant positions have been taken by local and international players , the market is still open, in a context marked by a strong fragmentation. The top 20 distributors in fact represent 20% of market share in China (online and offline) , when this figure is at least twice in the West. An additional opportunity to position , especially as the attraction for Western brands is real and often pledge of confidence .
Performance of Internet on the Business
Performance required for omni Chinese trade infrastructure facilitates this development : whether logistics, now very powerful , sometimes even better than in the West ( in very large cities, same day delivery is becoming a standard , to the most remote cities , all major e-commerce players are investing heavily to develop logistics platforms ensuring delivery to height) , payment systems , hosting or customer support capabilities are good level , to manage traffic and volumes to be processed. Only constraint : strong localization , particularly in terms of accommodation , not subject to constraints of Great Chinese Firewall ( performance sites that are not hosted in China are significantly degraded ) .According to the 33th report on the development of the internet in China CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center) , e -commerce has great potential for businesses, especially industrial SMEs.
This potential is currently not sufficiently exploited, especially for companies B to B. The penetration of e -commerce vary across industries, the most active being the manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade.
Succeed in the Chinese market demand consistency and especially the meaning of adaptation. Market and finger habits are vastly different and need to be taken into account , otherwise miss its target . Some tips before embarking ... are :
- Ambitious : e- consumers are already there, and infrastructure performance .
- Humble : China is a digitally advanced countries. Know understand and integrate local characteristics to succeed.
- Agile uses quick change (channels , social networks) , requiring flexible and scalable platforms.
- Fast: market shares are not established and the prospects for strong growth.
- Demanding : quality of service expected by consumers is high ( delivery, client, content service).
- Local : local presence and a network of established partners in China are essential for success .
More information about ebusiness here
Dear all,
RépondreSupprimerThank you all so much for your words of encouragement and especially for taking the time to share your view on this subject.
To summarize what I read on your comments:
The main obstacules pointed:
-China's economy slowdown;
- Massive competition in all segments;
-Necessity of finding a good local business partner;
- Necessity of creating a good network of connections;
- Different language and culture.
It was also pointed that on the other hand a foreign start-up may have a good chance of succeding depending on a various number of factors such as product, management and business implementation.
It was also pointed that the soon to be created Free Trade Zone in Shanghai will put foreign companies on the same level of the local ones, which might be a major advantage.
I haven't stated my own business yet, all I have are projects and ideas. I have lived nearly 4 years altogether working in China and allways thought about starting a business,here i see difficulties paired with opportunities.