Don't overlook Chinese market
Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief -- Furniture Today, March 13, 2005
Back in 2003, I wrote a column suggesting that domestic furniture makers looking for the next hot market take a look at China.
My reasoning then, and today as well, centers on China's emerging middle class. Two years ago, China's middle class was a tidy group of some 400 million people. Needless to say, like everything else in that country, that number has grown since then.
Think about it: What could be better than a largely untapped market made up of economically stable consumers who have money, want to spend it and have a strong interest in U.S.-made products?
Even so, when that column appeared, I got a few e-mails from readers who believed that was a pie-in-the-sky premise. However, a recent report from Gallup seems to give credence to my theory.
According to the report, "China's apparent thirst for consumer goods continues to entice marketers in China and around the globe." The report goes on to note that the increased ownership of durable goods, from cell phones and computers to refrigerators and color TVs, has been "impressive."
What's more, the report says there's evidence that Chinese consumers "are gearing up to buy even more."
Worth noting is that some brands are skyrocketing in awareness in China, the result of effective advertising and marketing, while others are not. The global brands spending money to target Chinese consumers appear to be winning. For example, most consumers living in China's three largest cities are almost as familiar with Budweiser beer as they are with Tsingtao, the local brew.
We may be able to kill two birds with one stone in China: Discover a lucrative new market and develop strong brand awareness that we've struggled to enjoy in our own backyard.
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