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The Star
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Shopping gala boosts market vitality
Chinese consumers unleashed their massive purchasing power during the midyear "618" shopping carnival, a weekslong sales event that began in mid-May and reached a crescendo on Wednesday, June 18, which experts said is pivotal to bolstering the recovery of consumption and shoring up economic growth. They noted that the buying frenzy indicates the enormous vitality and potential of the country's consumer market, with household appliances and intelligent electronic products gaining popularity among Chinese shoppers amid the country's steps to boost consumption, including the expansion of the consumer goods trade-in program. To further stimulate people's purchasing appetites, they called for more measures to increase household incomes, distribute consumption coupons, and nurture diversified purchasing scenarios and new types of consumption. Data from e-commerce giant JD, which initiated the mid-year promotional campaign, showed that as of 11:59 pm on Wednesday, the number of users placing orders more than doubled year-on-year, while the total order volume from its online and offline retail and food delivery businesses exceeded 2.2 billion. The number of new electronic gadgets that saw their sales surpass 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) surged 200 percent year-on-year during the shopping extravaganza, which officially kicked off at 8 pm on May 30, JD said. The turnover of over 2,000 brands in the home appliances and home furnishing sector increased 100 percent from a year earlier. According to Tmall, Alibaba's business-to-customer platform, the sales of 453 brands exceeded 100 million yuan from 8 pm on May 16 to midnight on Wednesday, an increase of 24 percent compared with the same period last year. The transaction volume of Apple, Midea, Xiaomi, Huawei and Nike each reached more than 1 billion yuan during the promotional gala. In addition, outdoor sporting goods, beauty and skin care products, apparel and trendy toys witnessed robust growth on online marketplaces during the shopping extravaganza that now spans around one month. Noting that consumption has become the main driving force boosting China's economic growth, Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the online shopping bonanza has played a vital role in bolstering domestic demand, unleashing consumers' purchasing potential and shoring up the economy. Hong estimated that the country's consumer market is poised for steady growth this year, fueled by a series of pro-consumption policies, online shopping festivals and stable recovery of the macroeconomy despite external uncertainties. He called for more efforts to strengthen employment support, cultivate new types of consumption in the digital, green and intelligent fields, and improve the consumption environment, in order to boost people's ability and willingness to spend. In this year's Government Work Report, China listed vigorously boosting consumption and expanding domestic demand across the board as key priorities for 2025. Mo Daiqing, a senior analyst at the Internet Economy Institute, a domestic consultancy, said that e-commerce platforms have ramped up efforts to offer discounts and subsidies, increase support for small and medium-sized merchants, and simplify promotional methods to rev up sales. "The policy measures to expand the scope of the consumer goods trade-in program have not only stimulated consumers' desire to purchase, but also pushed up the sales of household appliances and electronic devices, and bolstered the popularisation of green and energy-saving products," Mo said. China's retail sales, a significant indicator of consumption strength, grew 6.4 percent year-on-year in May, marking the fastest growth since December 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Online sales remained a bright spot, expanding 8.5 percent year-on-year during the first five months. Jason Yu, general manager of CTR Market Research, said that Chinese consumers have become more value-conscious and prefer to purchase premium products with high cost-effectiveness, emphasising that retailers should step up investment in technological innovation and roll out new merchandise to attract more young shoppers. - China Daily/ANN
The Star
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Footwear giant Skechers laces up for growth in China
Skechers has opened nearly 3,500 points of sale across the Chinese mainland and developed online sales operations on multiple e-commerce platforms. — China Daily SHANGHAI: Riding on China's push to revive consumer spending and tap its vast domestic market, the US-based athleisure company Skechers plans to increase investments, fortify local supply chains, and double down on innovation to seize more market share in the country. China has placed strong emphasis on consumption as a key driver of economic growth. In the March Government Work Report, the country outlined a series of measures to boost domestic demand, positioning the expansion of consumption as one of its top policy priorities for the year. Willie Tan, chief executive officer of Skechers China, South Korea and South-East Asia, said these efforts aim to stimulate household spending, improve the consumption environment and unlock China's huge consumer market. 'The trade tensions between China and the United States have a profound impact on the global economic order,' said Tan. 'We firmly believe that the advantages of China-US cooperation significantly outweigh any disadvantages. 'In the wave of economic globalisation, the world has transformed into a closely connected global village,' he said, adding that China, as the world's second-largest economy, boasts a substantial consumer market and a comprehensive industrial ecosystem, providing significant impetus for the growth of multinational corporations. Skechers, which entered the domestic market in 2007, has opened nearly 3,500 points of sale across the Chinese mainland and developed online sales operations on multiple e-commerce platforms. Optimistic about the Chinese market, Skechers has invested over 60 million yuan in recent years to establish a product innovation centre for the Asia-Pacific region, as well as an imaging studio and livestreaming facility in Dongguan, Guangdong province, aiming to better meet the needs of local consumers. With a total investment exceeding three billion yuan, Skechers is building the second phase of its China logistics centre project in Taicang, Jiangsu province. — China Daily/ANN
The Star
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Corning poised to invest US$500mil to expand presence in China
Beijing: US-based materials science company Corning Inc plans to invest another US$500mil in China this year, reinforcing its long-standing commitment to what it calls its most important overseas market, despite ongoing geopolitical and economic headwinds. 'This year marks the milestone of Corning being in China for 45 years, so we are going to expand our capability and also upgrade our technology,' Lin Chunmei, vice-president of Corning Inc, said during a recent exclusive interview with China Daily. 'Our strategy is very simple – just keep investing in our leading technology capabilities in China.' Since entering the Chinese market in the 1980s, Corning has invested more than US$9bil in the country. Today, it operates 21 manufacturing plants, a research and development centre and three technology centres, employing nearly 6,000 people across the country. Despite headwinds such as weaker global demand and trade disputes, Lin, who is also president and general manager of Corning Greater China, said she expects the company to achieve steady growth in China this year, voicing strong confidence and optimism about China's long-term prospects. 'China is no longer a country of just cheap labour. It has very sophisticated talent and a complete infrastructure,' Lin said. 'I think China now has much more power and strength to go through challenges than before.' While acknowledging the short-term challenges posed by trade frictions between the United States and China, Lin argued that economic logic would ultimately prevail. 'This kind of trade war is a lose-lose. China will get hurt, but the others will hurt too,' she said. 'At the end of the day, business is business. We need to be rational to make the most logical decisions that benefit both. Eventually, I think that will be the solution.' This year, China is putting a priority on fostering new high-quality productive forces and boosting technological innovation in its economic agenda. According to the Government Work Report, China will strive to develop new productive forces in light of local conditions and accelerate the development of a modernised industrial system. This will require the fostering of emerging industries and industries of the future, such as bio-manufacturing, quantum technology and embodied artificial intelligence (AI). 'Developing new productive forces will be key to boosting China's long-term economic growth potential, with AI – in which the United States and China are seeking to gain a competitive edge – set for intensified development,' said Li Chao, chief economist at Zheshang Securities. 'Future industries could be a particular focus and we anticipate new industrial plans to outline their growth trajectories.' Now, Corning is capitalising on key trends, including China's AI boom, data centre expansion and environmental policy upgrades – areas where the company's speciality glass, ceramics and expertise in optical physics are in high demand. 'AI is very important to us because customers need better connection,' Lin said. 'It has enhanced our optical communications business globally – in the US and also in China. We are actually upgrading our fibre capabilities, making more premium fibre in China, and we also have a plan to increase our capability to support the demand for data centres.' The company is also targeting growth in China's auto sector, the world's largest in terms of both sales and manufacturing capability. Corning provides advanced glass and emission control products for the country's increasingly tech-forward and environmentally-conscious vehicles. 'China-made cars are very cool, not only their engines but also user-friendly designs. 'Our auto glass really makes it very user-friendly and visually appealing. That's an investment area we continue to expand in,' Lin said. 'To us, 'grow with China' is not a slogan – it's what we have seen in the past,' Lin said. 'The next China is still China. I believe in it. China still has a lot of strong momentum and strengths to keep growing.' — China Daily/ANN
Fashion Network
23-04-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Chinese e-commerce platforms to end refund-without-returns amid weak economy, sources say
Chinese authorities have asked e-commerce platform operators to stop insisting on merchants refunding customers without requiring the return of goods, to alleviate financial pressure on merchants, two people familiar with the matter said. The government met operators including PDD Holdings, opens new tab and concluded the practice must end by July, from which point only merchants will be able to initiate a refund, the people said, without specifying dates. The aim is to prevent merchants' situation becoming tenuous during times of economic slowdown, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the information is not public. PDD and peer declined to comment. Alibaba Group, opens new tab and the State Administration for Market Regulation did not respond to requests for comment. In July, hundreds of people gathered at an office of PDD platform Temu in southern China to protest against its refund policy. Authorities including the market regulator and commerce ministry subsequently ordered PDD to revise the policy. This year, government bodies including the market regulator and the National Development and Reform Commission have increased criticism of what they dub "involution-style" competition. In March, during the annual parliamentary session, the phrase "comprehensive rectification of 'involution-style' competition" was incorporated into the Government Work Report. The refund-without-returns policy was designed to benefit both buyers and sellers for some types of order. PDD began to expand the policy in 2021, prompting rivals to follow suit. Merchants of goods as varied as clothes and household appliances have reported the policy as detrimental to their bottom line as they risk losing both money and goods.
Fashion Network
23-04-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Chinese e-commerce platforms to end refund-without-returns amid weak economy, sources say
Chinese authorities have asked e-commerce platform operators to stop insisting on merchants refunding customers without requiring the return of goods, to alleviate financial pressure on merchants, two people familiar with the matter said. The government met operators including PDD Holdings, opens new tab and concluded the practice must end by July, from which point only merchants will be able to initiate a refund, the people said, without specifying dates. The aim is to prevent merchants' situation becoming tenuous during times of economic slowdown, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the information is not public. PDD and peer declined to comment. Alibaba Group, opens new tab and the State Administration for Market Regulation did not respond to requests for comment. In July, hundreds of people gathered at an office of PDD platform Temu in southern China to protest against its refund policy. Authorities including the market regulator and commerce ministry subsequently ordered PDD to revise the policy. This year, government bodies including the market regulator and the National Development and Reform Commission have increased criticism of what they dub "involution-style" competition. In March, during the annual parliamentary session, the phrase "comprehensive rectification of 'involution-style' competition" was incorporated into the Government Work Report. The refund-without-returns policy was designed to benefit both buyers and sellers for some types of order. PDD began to expand the policy in 2021, prompting rivals to follow suit. Merchants of goods as varied as clothes and household appliances have reported the policy as detrimental to their bottom line as they risk losing both money and goods.
