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Development of the grocery retail market in China——A qualitative study of how foreign and domestic retailers seek to increase market share
The Authors
Martin Hingley, Department of Business Management and Marketing, Harper Adams University College, Newport, UK
Adam Lindgreen, Hull University Business School, Hull, UK
Lan Chen, Harper Adams University College, Newport, UK
Acknowledgements
The authors contributed equally.
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of the grocery retail market in China. International retailers have been in China for more than ten years, during which period a series of profound changes has occurred in the Chinese retail sector. International retailers introduced advanced retail techniques and managerial approaches; domestic retailers grew more sophisticated in their supply chain management. Foreign-based retailers in China can compete in hypermarket and supercentre formats because they offer higher-quality products and achieve larger economies of scale. Domestic retailers compete by operating smaller formats and maintaining good relationships with governments and local communities. However, formerly state-owned domestic retailers appear less competitive because they lack funds and adopt poor management styles. This study aims to make recommendations about future developments by domestic and foreign grocery retailers.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with four retailers: Wal-Mart, Bonjour, Wu-Mart, and Jingkelong.

Findings – The findings pertain to several different themes, including consumers, business relationships and distribution centres, product lines, store formats, quality systems, and competition.

Research limitations/implications – The study's findings are based only on four retailers.

Practical implications – The paper presents a series of recommendations for both foreign-based and domestic retailers.

Originality/value – This research is among the first to investigate operator attitudes toward competition in the grocery retail market in China.
Article Type:
Research paper
Keyword(s):
Food products; Retail marketing; China; Market share; International marketing.
Journal:
British Food Journal
Volume:
111
Number:
1
Year:
2009
pp:
44-55
Copyright ©
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN:
0007-070X
1. Introduction
The development of global retailing has prompted international retailers to seek to harness potential markets worldwide. According to Dawson et al. (2003), the internationalisation of retailing is particularly fast in Asia. China has become one of the most attractive markets in the world, with retail sales valued at more than US$628 billion and growth in excess of 9 per cent each year. During the past 20 years, China's retail sales have grown by nearly 15 per cent annually, making it the third largest market in the world ( BusinessWeek Online, 2005; IGD, 2005a; Retail Asia, 2006). For some, it marks the most exciting grocery market and largest emerging opportunity in the world (AT Kearney, 2005).
China recently set the goal of owning Fortune 500 retail firms before 2010 and achieving greater competitiveness in its state-owned retail sector ( Business-in-Asia, 2004). AC Nielson, the global leader in market research, in its 2004 survey of the Chinese retail market, re本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。