China Becomes Purchasing Center for Worldwide Retailers

Home>>Business

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, June 13, 2002

China Becomes Purchasing Center for Worldwide Retailers

Jean Voynet, Carrefour's regional director for global purchasing, compared the Chinese market to a piece of "fresh cheese" in an interview Wednesday. "We'll be the champions if we seize it," he said.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

For international retailers, China has become a "buyers' paradise" offering quality products at good prices.

Jean Voynet, Carrefour's regional director for global purchasing, compared the Chinese market to a piece of "fresh cheese" in an interview Wednesday. "We'll be the champions if we seize it," he said.

Voynet was here to attend a fair that highlights household goods and daily consumer commodities. The fair has attracted senior purchasing officers from nine other international chainstore retailing giants including Metro of Germany.

The France-based Carrefour Group is the number one retailer in Europe and second largest in the world, with more than 9,200 outlets in 31 countries. Its turnover hit 78 billion euros (72.5 billion U.S. dollars) last year.

Since 1995, Carrefour has opened 28 outlets in 16 Chinese cities and set up global purchasing centers in 11 cities includingBeijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Dalian, making China its largest purchasing base in Asia.

When Carrefour's purchasing base in Ningbo, a port city in eastChina's Zhejiang Province, was launched last weekend, Voynet revealed the group's plan to open more global purchasing centers in China's interior region.

Global purchasing is a cost-saving practice for many transnational retailers. According to a Carrefour report, 61 percent of the group's purchases in Asia came from China in 2001. Chinese products also accounted for 65 percent of all the Asian products in Metro's global purchasing network last year.

At the end of last year, the world's largest chain retailer Wal-Mart moved its global purchasing center to Shenzhen, a boomtown insouth China's Guangdong Province.

"Tariff removal following China's entry into the World Trade Organization has encouraged many transnational retailers to purchase in China," said an expert here.

They have flooded into the Yangtze River Delta -- a major manufacturing base backed largely by small and medium-sized businesses, who have clinched partnerships with many transnationalretailers in recent years.

"These enterprises respond rapidly to the market demand," said Voynet, "Their products -- of high quality but very low prices -- are needed in large quantities at the supermarkets and discount stores of the Carrefour Group."

Questions?Comments? Click here

China's Retail Sales Soar 8.2 Percent in April

Chinese Commodities Snapped Up by International Retailers

China's Annual Mineral Exports, Imports Tops US$100 Billion ( 3 Messages)

Taiwan Media Reveals US Submarine Sale to Taiwan ( 10 Messages)

Jiang Hopes US to Creat a "Good Climate" for Sino-US Relations ( 3 Messages)

Sino-Russian Ties Curb US Pressures: News Analysis ( 2 Messages)

China Likely to Launch the Lowest SAR in the World ( 8 Messages)