In 2016, several foreign retailers closed operations in China, where the retail market is increasingly mature and competitive. What did not work? Between e-commerce business, building flagships or covering the country, which type of investments should be a priority for retailers?
As we rush into 2017, it’s hard to tell if China is still an emerging market or not. According to the research firm eMarketer, China is expected to become the world’s largest retail market by sales in 2016, ahead of the U.S.A. for the first time. This equates to US$4,890 billion in annual sales in China versus US$4,820 billion in the U.S.A.“In China, retail sales have outpaced the US$4,500 billion threshold and increased by 10.7% last year,” said Daniel Zhang, C.E.O. of Alibaba Group. The National Bureau of Statistics recorded an annual growth of 10.4% in retail sales during the period from January to November 2016.
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