Market Information

 photo by: Joe, Beijing markets 2007

NZ$2.00 bottle of Chinese beer at a standard restaurant.
NZ$40.00 Pair of very high quality hand made leather shoes
NZ$0.40 Roses per piece, all colors available
NZ$1.20 Chicken burger at local McDonalds
NZ$2.00 BigMac hamburger
NZ$1.20 Door to door delivery, letter/package within Beijing
NZ$3.70 Cable-TV subscription, 50 channels for one month

We have been watching the FTA negotiations with China very closely. This article in today’s NZ Herald takes a closer look at how negotiations are progressing.

Source: NZ Herald. Chinese wall on free trade by Fran O’Sullivan

Here is a useful article from the guys at Idealog with information about brand protection in China

Idealog

New Zealand will build a 2,000-square-meter national pavilion, its biggest ever, for World Expo Shanghai 2010, New Zealand’s Economic Development Agency has announced. New Zealand is among the earliest countries to confirm its participation in the 2010 Expo. The agency said the country will spend an additional US$18 million in the following four years to boost trade development in China and elsewhere in Asia. Shanghai Expo is one of the important programs. The New Zealand government invested US$8.5 million in the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan, according to the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s Website. “But the conservative estimate of the value of the media coverage we achieved is probably double that figure,” according to Phillip Gibson, the country’s commissioner general at the Aichi Expo. The organizers of the Aichi Expo predicted 15 million visitors, but 22 million attended the event. The New Zealand Pavilion - one of the most popular - received more than four million visitors. The agency is also planning to establish a “Kiwi Concept Center” on either Nanjing Road or Huaihai Road to introduce food, drinks and other products.

via Shanghai Daily: Metro by Kelly Chen on 10/29/07

New Zealand is the largest import source for Dairy products into China according to a recent article in the New Zealand Herald. New Zealand provided half of total import value, nearly US$460 million ($692 million) in 2005.

China’s dairy market is estimated to be 25 million tonnes a year with demand for dairy products more than doubling in the past five years.

 Source: NZ Herald: China dairy market booming, New Zealand set to cash in

Marketing should be seen as all the functions needed to move goods from the producers to consumers to satisfy consumers’ wants and needs” (Kenneth D. Weiss). Therefore marketing is part of everything you do as a company, from communications (including emails) to your products to your advertising and promotions.  

All marketing approaches should generally aim to:

1. Provide satisfaction and value to existing customers
2. Provide the promise of value to potential customers  

For companies entering China you are promising future value to potential customers, you are marketing perception not products.  You are marketing an image of your company and what you can offer. 

What this means is, be careful to generate an image that goes well towards people accepting your company as the one with whom they want to do business.  

Here are our four tips for companies entering the market in China

• Make sure you have a strong well thought out value proposition - think about exactly what you we offering.
• Ask clients what you can do to help them achieve success. Find out exactly what they are looking for. 
• Have the best marketing collateral you can afford. First impression count. 
• Return phone calls and respond to emails within 24 hours.
• Build relationships. Make sure you meet all your customers face to face and build interpersonal relationship with the decision makers

In every aspect of your business you are directly or indirectly delivering your companies message. The image you create and the perception that people have of your company will ultimately determine your success or failure.

PERTRONIC Industries Ltd, a New Zealand fire-detection systems maker, opened its first China sales and support office yesterday in Shanghai.

More info:  http://www.pertronic.co.nz/                       http://www.pertronic.com.cn/

Nanjing “Rotorua Town” is a residential property development underway in Jiangning District of Nanjing, China.  The development offers unique opportunities for New Zealand to showcase products in a retail environment. NZ China Direct Ltd - who are the exclusive contracted supplier - is seeking to work with NZ exporters who are committed to developing a long-term mutually successful presence in the Nanjing “Rotorua Town” store in China.

Source: www.nzchinadirect.com

Ngai Tahu Holdings Group has benefited from an increases demand for crayfish in China.

Source: NZ HERALD, Big boost for Ngai Tahu

Saturday, 1 September 2007, 2:38 pm
Press Release: Matakana Winegrowers

Specialist NZ wine restaurant opens in China

New Zealand wines have found a stylish home in China, with the recent opening of the first restaurant and bar dedicated to showcasing premium New Zealand wines.

“Back Street 19 Matakana Estate” restaurant and bar in Guangzhou City is the result of a business relationship between Matakana Estate and Goldridge Estate Wines and a leading Chinese business magnate, Mr Yifei Li. Guangzhou City, 193 kilometres northwest of Hong Kong, is the third largest metropolitan area in China with a population of 8.5 million and is one of its leading commercial and manufacturing regions.

Located in the city’s most exclusive residential area of Ersha Island, the elegantly-designed Back Street 19 Matakana Estate restaurant and bar focuses on showcasing the Goldridge Estate and Matakana Estate ranges. The only other wines available are vintage French wines with a starting price of NZ$1,000. A specially built, thermostat-controlled cellar ensures that the wines are kept at their very best.

Matakana and Goldridge Estates Managing Director Peter Vegar says that Back Street 19 Matakana Estate has already become regarded as one of Guangzhou City’s most prestigious restaurants and bars.

“The city’s financial elite, like many other affluent Chinese, are rapidly developing a sophisticated appreciation of premium Western wines and cuisines,” he says.

Matakana Estate is a family-run boutique vineyard producing high quality wines with an elegant and complex style that reflect the natural characteristics of their grape varieties and terroirs. Sold primarily through high end restaurants and specialist wine sellers, the current Matakana Estate Wines range features Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough Pinot Noir, Matakana Pinot Gris, Matakana Chardonnay, Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet blend and Matakana Syrah. Matakana Estate Pinot Gris was recently listed as one of the top 250 wines of the year by leading UK wine writer Matthew Jukes.

Matakana’s sister company Goldridge Estate focuses on creating bold and vibrant wine styles for the retail and supermarket channels. The current Goldridge Estate range includes Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot and Syrah.

Mr Vegar says the Back Street 19 Matakana Estate venture is a classic example of the Chinese way of doing business known as guanxi (personal connections and relationships). Mr Vegar initially met Mr Li through a mutual friend and business acquaintance in New Zealand and the association was enhanced by Mr Li having fallen in love with New Zealand wine and food. “Mr Li has a special liking for Matakana Estate and Goldridge Estate wines,” says Mr Vegar.

After a number of meetings in which, according to guanxi, the two owners became better acquainted, the first export shipments of wine took place to Mr Li’s Guanghzou Huayi wine importing company in January. The subsequent opening of the restaurant, says Mr Vegar, reflects Mr Li’s considerable interest in art and culture.

“As the owner of one of the largest auction houses in China, art is a large segment of Mr Li’s business. He is keen to expand that part of his business and sees the restaurant and bar as a natural fit with it.”

Mr Vegar adds that the success of the Back Street 19 restaurant and bar venture is an encouraging reminder of how well guanxi works as the basis of doing business in China. Substantial resources have been committed to the venture, including a full-time sales force of six people in Guangzhou, and Mr Li plans to open similar sites in Shanghai and Beijing later this year.

“With the backing of such a substantial partner, the time is right for New Zealand wines in China,” Mr Vegar says.

www.matakanaestate.co.nz