Dow Jones reports that certain shopping areas in Shanghai are beginning to resemble their US and European cousins, becoming dominated by supercenters that are appealing to consumers while threatening to put small retailers out of business.
Among the companies operating there: Germany’s Metro AG and Tengelmann, France’s Carrefour and Auchan, and even a local version, Macalline.
And Wal-Mart, which already has stores elsewhere in China, is coming to the region next year.
All of these companies want to expand their store fleets, looking to take advantage of China’s population density, economic growth, and relaxed restrictions on what foreign companies can do there. However, that’s exactly what concerns the country’s State Economic and Trade Commission, which has warned that “if the foreigners' share of the sector was overly big, it could create a negative effect to the economic development of our country,” according to Dow Jones.
Among the companies operating there: Germany’s Metro AG and Tengelmann, France’s Carrefour and Auchan, and even a local version, Macalline.
And Wal-Mart, which already has stores elsewhere in China, is coming to the region next year.
All of these companies want to expand their store fleets, looking to take advantage of China’s population density, economic growth, and relaxed restrictions on what foreign companies can do there. However, that’s exactly what concerns the country’s State Economic and Trade Commission, which has warned that “if the foreigners' share of the sector was overly big, it could create a negative effect to the economic development of our country,” according to Dow Jones.
- KC's View:
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It sounds to us that Chinese consumers aren’t as interested in ownership as they are in having access to expanded selections and strong values.
We suspect that the Chinese government can try to hold back the flood of new, foreign-owned retailers…but in the long run, the dam will break.
