Best Buy in China
Remember folks, I’m a retail junkie at heart! I could never pass up a story like this.
Check out this fantastic CNNMoney.com article about Best Buy’s adventures in adapting to Chinese consumer culture. According to the article, Chinese consumers enjoy shopping for technology products in a somewhat chaotic, cluttered atmosphere. They are also described as being “extremely price conscious” and having “strong local preferences”.
This article left me with one interesting question: How does Best Buy (or rather their China-local “Five Star Appliance Company” brand) reconcile the inefficiencies of the Chinese “PC mall” model with a commitment to low prices? Doesn’t the westernized “curated” approach lead to lower prices? The article hints at special “concessions” to manufacturers that make the system feasible. Perhaps I’ll dig further into this in the future!
