China Opens Its Doors To the World's Retailers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Carrefour SA and the rest of the retail world now can open outlets anywhere in China, and they don't have to shop first for joint-venture partners.
These policy changes, which took effect Saturday and were announced at midyear as part of Beijing's World Trade Organization obligations, have big long-term implications for China's own retailers. The scrapping of restrictions limiting foreign retailers to joint ventures in a handful of cities and provincial capitals means that competition in the Chinese market is certain to intensify.
It is far from certain that global giants will focus soon on having wholly owned Chinese stores. But they will be moving to open stores in more places.
In second- and third-tier Chinese cities, "you either get in there before everyone else or you get pushed out," says Carrie Yu of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Beth Keck, director of international affairs for Wal-Mart of Bentonville, Ark., says the world's biggest retailer soon will take advantage of the chance to operate in all parts of China but will continue to work in joint ventures, which she notes offer the advantage of local knowledge. Wal-Mart will add 10 to 15 stores in China during 2005, Ms. Keck says, bringing its total to more than 50.
Carrefour, the foreign leader by sales in the Chinese market, has announced that it will open 15 stores in China in the coming months, which would give the French company more than 60 stores. Germany's Metro AG has said it intends to increase its Chinese store count by more than 50% to 33 by the end of next year.
Chinese companies such as Shanghai Bailian Group Co. and Beijing's Wumart Stores Inc. have been positioning themselves to deal with stepped-up competition. Shanghai Bailian last year merged some of China's biggest retailers of food, clothing and other goods in the largest collection of chain stores in the country -- although like many merged Chinese retailers, they have a long way to go before they act as a unified whole.
Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co., Bailian's biggest group member, says its diversity positions it better than foreign rivals. Lianhua operates hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores and is looking into establishing discount stores, says Hua Guoping, assistant to the company chairman.
The flurry of activity points up the promise of the retail sector in China, says Ms. Yu of PricewaterhouseCoopers. She believes that both Chinese retailers and their overseas rivals are going through a learning process as they tap the growing market.
"Chinese retailers are taking a crash course" in improving services, she says. "Foreign firms are learning about the Chinese culture and how they can best enter the market."
China's retail market is expected to hit $600 billion in sales this year and, with the nation's middle class expanding, continue to enjoy a growth rate above that of the nation's gross domestic product, analysts at J.P. Morgan Chase forecast. China's GDP growth is starting to ease but remains heady, clocking in at 9.1% last year.
Nor is foreign competition exclusively a threat; it is also a lever. Lianhua says it has benefited from working with foreign companies in joint ventures. After teaming up with Carrefour in 1995, Lianhua gained "sales and management experience," Mr. Hua says. In turn, he says, Lianhua helped Carrefour decipher the Chinese market, for example by weighing in on what items to stock in vegetable and fruit aisles.
Wumart Stores, a Beijing-based supermarket chain that ranks 12th among China's retailers, says its edge on foreign companies comes from acquiring or merging with Chinese state-owned enterprises. Foreign companies also are allowed to merge with state companies, but Wumart Finance Chief Edmund Mak says his company has the advantage of closer ties with the government to make the transitions smoother.
Mr. Mak says Wumart moves into often-struggling state companies and "retrains staff, improves management and takes over purchasing." In addition to helping Wumart increase its size, this strategy gives the company a chance to entrench itself in an area before foreign giants enter.
While the home-field advantage is considerable, some analysts say foreign retailers' deeper pockets and management expertise could prove decisive.
中国向外资全面放开零售市场
沃尔玛(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)、家乐福(Carrefour SA)以及全球零售业的其他公司现在可以在中国任何地方开店了，无需再向以前那样首先寻找合资伙伴。
上周六开始实施的这些政策调整今年年中就已宣布，是中国政府加入世界贸易组织(World Trade Organization, 简称WTO)的承诺之一，这将对中国本土零售业产生长远重大的影响。对外商零售企业的限制逐步废除，包括废除通过合资企业开店以及只能在少数城市和省会城市开店等限制，这些都安意味著中国零售市场的竞争注定会走向白热化。
跨国零售企业是否会很快成立自己全资拥有的中国店铺还尚属未知，不过它们肯定会扑向更多城市。
普华永道(PricewaterhouseCoopers)的余叶嘉莉(Carrie Yu)说，在中国的二线和三线城市，“如果不能率先抢入，就会被排斥在外”。
沃尔玛国际事务总监凯克(Beth Keck)表示，作为全球最大的零售商，沃尔玛将抓住中国放开零售业的机会很快开始在中国各地展开业务，但仍将采用合资方式，因为这样能够利用合资伙伴的本地市场经验。她说，沃尔玛预计2005年将在中国新开10-15家店铺，总数将超过50家。
中国市场零售额居首的外资零售商家乐福也已经宣布，将在未来几个月内在中国新开15家店铺，总数将超过60家。德国的麦德龙(Metro AG)也表示计划在明年年底前将中国境内的店铺数量增加到33家，增幅超过50%。
上海百联集团(Shanghai Bailian Group Co.)和北京的物美商业(Wumart Stores Inc.)等零售企业已经做好准备，迎接日益激烈的竞争。上海百联去年就合并了几家中国最大的食品和服装等连锁企业──当然，和许多中国合并企业一样，合并后的企业要做到步调一致还需要很长时间。
百联旗下规模最大的集团成员联华超市(Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co.)称，自己多样化经营的定位优于外资竞争对手。联华超市的董事长助理华国平表示，公司不但经营著大型综合超市、超级市场和便利店，目前还在计划开设折扣店。
普华永道的余叶嘉莉表示，零售行业热火朝天的局面表示中国的零售业前景一片光明。她相信，不论是国内企业还是外资企业，在日益发展壮大的中国零售市场面前都需要一个学习成长的过程。
她说，国内企业要下功夫改善服务，而外资企业要学习了解中国文化并掌握进入市场的最佳途径。
摩根大通(J.P. Morgan Chase)的分析师们认为，中国中产阶级的数量会日益扩大，增速继续超过国内生产总值(GDP)增速，预计到明年年末中国零售市场的规模将达到6,000亿美元。中国的GDP增幅已经开始放缓，但依然势头强劲，去年增速达到了9.1%。
外资企业的竞争也并非全都是威胁，它们也提供不少经验和借鉴。联华超市就表示，通过合资企业从外商合作伙伴那里受益良多。华国平说，从1995年与家乐福合资经营超市以来，联华超市获得了不少销售和管理经验。反过来，联华超市也帮助家乐福了解中国市场，比如说怎样权衡蔬菜和食品货架上的商品种类。
总部设在北京的物美商业是一家超市连锁企业，在中国零售企业中排名第十二位。公司表示，自己优于外商企业之处就在于并购国有零售企业方面。外资企业虽然也获准并购国有零售企业，但物美商业总会计师麦德昌(Edmund Mak)说，物美商业和政府的联系更为密切，并购交易会进行得更加顺畅。
他还说，物美商业打入经常面临困境的国有零售企业，“培训员工、提高管理水平、接管采购”。这项策略不仅能够扩大物美商业的规模，还在大型外资零售企业大举进入中国市场之前为自己构筑了一条防线。
不过，虽然国内企业的种种优势不容忽视，一些分析师还是认为外资零售企业的雄厚资金和高级管理水平是更有决定性的因素。
