国际零售商抢占中国市场

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Hit the stores in China and it often feels like Christmas shopping, every day, every night. One point three billion people live here, most can't afford to buy the latest luxury bag, gadget, or custom-made shirt. But many of them would like to.

Chinese consumers are more optimistic than many people in the rest of the world. And with the government here encouraging consumers to shop more, companies worldwide are trying to break in.

One company that understands the Chinese drive is US auto giant General Motors. The Chinese are expected to buy more than ten million vehicles this year, putting China on the path to become the world's biggest auto market.

“In China, we want the customers to walk in our showroom.”

GM marketer Joseph Liu says to navigate through China successfully, you need a local partner. GM works with Chinese car maker SAIC.

“We have a lot of local talent from the partner. So they know the market, and they help us on the distribution site. And they bring the government relationship which is extremely important in China.”

Liu says relationships or the age-old notion here of Guangxi take years to develop, so best for newcomers to base executives here.

“You have to stay here full time, Okay? You cannot visit here one week, and go home, and come here another week, particularly for the first few years to establish business in China. It's very highly-demand.”

China marketing expert Chris Reitermann says too many retailers get dazzled by the numbers.

“China is way too complex to just lay it down to one big number. You know, there’s many different segments, there's different regions, different ethnic groups, different cultures.”

He says because of the internet, the Chinese consumer is savvier than ever. So it's important to do your homework.

“The mistake that people often make is that they think if you incorporate Chinese culture, that means you have to, you know, put dragons and lions in your heads. And, but that's really not what it's about. I think it's sensitive, you have to be sensitive to understand what drives Chinese consumers.”

With so many companies, both foreign and local, looking to crack this market, Reitermann says competition is getting even more fierce. But no matter the product he says, it pays to make customers here feel like they've arrived.

“Chinese consumers experience a growth like we couldn’t even imagine. People want to get them, they want to get them very fast.”

And a lot of companies are lining up to lead the way.

Eunice Yoon, cnn, Shanghai.

Vocabulary:

1.       navigate through: to understand or deal with something complicated

2.       SAIC: Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group)上海汽车工业（集团）总公司