China Catalyst: Powering Global Growth by Reaching the Fastest Growing Consumer Market in the World

Preface

Reaching the Chinese consumer will be one of the defining economic and business challenges of this decade.

China's economy is in the middle of a robust transition to an economy that is rapidly becoming consumer led. This book will cover the steps companies are taking to supply the Chinese consumer and fuel their next phase of growth. Corporate leaders have realized that tapping the full growth opportunity in the Chinese market is now a competitive requirement.

Before the 2007 recession, growth in emerging markets was often viewed as an opportunity for additional leverage—something that was viewed as a “nice to have.” Not anymore. Now, with U.S. consumer spending levels expected to remain low and western Europe's economic austerity projected to last years, capturing growth in the Chinese market is more important than ever. Some estimates indicate that the Chinese consumer will contribute more than a quarter of global consumption within the next 15 years.

Despite this opportunity, many companies are not yet fully equipped with the knowledge and organization to reach the Chinese consumer. Just how do you reach 1 billion consumers, anyway? The answer to that question involves a reconfiguration of many companies' approaches to the market across the full spectrum of their operations. Companies will need to transition from a primarily export-driven supply chain to a supply chain that both promotes and serves domestic demand. They will need to change their historical focus from ...