Chinese Consumer Connection

Show 90 Graduate Student Research Proposal

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: MBA Thesis Research Proposal

Hosts: James Stanworth , Clyde Warden

Joana is an MBA student in Taiwan. She is following the normal path of Asian business students who must present a thesis in order to graduate. In Taiwan, this requirement, as in most graduate programs across Greater China, require a student to have an advisor and to present a plan and execute a research project. In this show, James and Clyde talk about some of the details of the business graduate program.

Show 88 Beijing Consumer Spaces

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: Beyond the Beijing Burbclaves

Hosts: James Stanworth , Clyde Warden

Clyde and James are in Beijing doing some consulting work. For this show, they get together and look at some contrasts between the gated communities of Beijing, out near the airport, and the very normal local spaces consumers live in.

Show 86 Transportation & Marketing in Singapore

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: Marketing Messages While Getting Around in Singapore

Hosts: James Stanworth , Clyde Warden

Getting around in Singapore is quite different from Taiwan, China, and even Hong Kong. The effort to create an efficient and organized system that is also foreigner friendly is evident. Not only is the public transportation system well integrated, the integrated marketing efforts fully take advantage of the system. In this episode, James and Clyde look at the different ways to get around and examine some examples of integrated marketing efforts.

Show 84 Shanghai Expo

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: A Huge Expo With Emphasis on Service

Hosts: James Stanworth , Clyde Warden

With the World Expo in Shanghai, China, Talk of Asian Marketing decided to pay a visit! We have been frequently visiting Shanghai, so no big surprises in the city. The scale of the Expo, though, was breath-taking. A mere nine months ago a multi-hectare space opened on the East of the city. Visits a few months later showed the rapid progress of each country's pavilion and the infrastructure of internal roads, fencing, restrooms etc. Advertising reached UK so people had heard of the event but it was really pushed in China where interest and involvment was high. Chinese investment in the whole event was massively clear and left an impression, as no doubt intended, of a China capable to host and excel in managing a world-class event.

Show 82 Love Motel--Is it Just for Sex?

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: Love Motel Market Segmentation

Hosts: James Stanworth, Clyde Warden

Clyde next to a Love Motel Bug

Motels often raise images from American movies. The big parking lot, may be a building of a couple levels, the basic bed in a seedy room with a bathroom . . . ice machine down the walkway with some shady character hanging about. They are a convenient and cheap place to bunk down on a trip. By comparison, motels in Taiwan look very different and serve a completely different purpose. The basic similarity exists--you drive in, often directly into the basement where your room is.

Fees are advertised as "rest" or night. How long exactly a rest is, varies, but the prices range from 20 to 50 USD, and a night for 150 to 400 USD.

Private space is not something easy to come by in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Even in China, where there is some space, the social space is always crowded. Finding a space that is really private, for a young couple, is nearly impossible. In the 1980s, MTVs popped up all over, where private rooms included TVs and customers rented music videos. This morphed into KTV, very common today, but distinct from love motels. Clyde and James take a look at this very interesting and exciting service format.

Show 80 Chinese Home Purchase

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: Buying Real Estate Chinese Style

Hosts: James Stanworth , Clyde Warden

Real estate speculation and bubbles are common from London to Tokyo, but in Greater China, home prices reach levels that make buyers' heads spin. During real estate bubbles, these prices go through the roof, but even during less speculative times, prices are many times higher than in the West, even though income levels are less than half. In this episode, Clyde and James tell about the shopping stage of buying a home. Using their own experience, they look at some of the underlying cultural reasons for these high prices and exactly what is involved in the buying decision.

Show 73 Tesco in Shanghai

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: Chinese Shoppers in Tesco

Hosts: James Stanworth , Clyde Warden

James and Clyde were out in Shanghai and debating where to go. Clyde said, "Hey, you know there is a Tesco around the corner from here. We should go take a look." James responded, "Ah, I'm getting tired of seeing TESCO. They all look the same. We've seen it all." Having seen a lot of Tesco and talked about it in Show 12, we were in for a big surprise. In this episode, James and Clyde go shopping at Tesco in Shanghai and report back their surprising findings.

Show 72 Walmart in Shanghai

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: You Are Not In Arkansas Anymore

Hosts: Jane Lu James Stanworth , Clyde Warden

Walmart has been aiming to join the big expansion of China retailing, not least because it already dominates the US retail scene, and there is very little growth left there. Walmart's big move over the last decade in the States has been the expansion into supermarkets ( see Show 71 ). That experience and channel development is perfect timing for the China effort, since it makes little sense for Chinese consumers in China to go to a Walmart for everyday low prices for drygoods when they can already get every day low prices outside everywhere--since it is all made in China. In this episode, Jane, James, and Clyde join forces to explore the Walmart experience in Shanghai. If you looked at the photos and video without knowing where they were shot, you would never bee able to guess it is in a Walmart!

Show 71 USA Retailing Compare & Contrast

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: USA Retail Scene Walmart

Hosts: Jane Lu , Clyde Warden

Guest: Anastasia Warden

Jane is just back from USA on a Fulbright scholarship at Kansas State University. Clyde spent a summer month in Texas. In this show, we compare notes on the retail scene in the USA, with a special emphasis on Walmart and some comparison with the Asian scene. Anastasia, who is living in Texas, joins us for some consumer perspective on Walmart.

Walmart Defines US Retailing

Show 70 UK Retailing Compare & Contrast

cwarden@cwarden.org (Chinese Consumer Connection) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Main Topic: UK Retailing at a Glance

Hosts: James Stanworth, Clyde Warden

Guest: Ryan Shu

After a recent trip to the UK, James and Clyde compare and contrast retailing with Greater China. Ryan Shu, an outstanding research student also visited Germany for a presentation, and then the UK along with James.