You always come across GDP when dealing with market potential. But what about ‘retail synergy index’? We feel it is also very important to evaluate and focus on the retail penetration within cities. A city with only a high GDP level doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good market to enter.

The graph below illustrates how getchee’s retail synergy index adjusts the ranking of Chinese cities based on modern retail penetration. Cities such as Wuhan and Chengdu have modern retail synergies comparable to their GDP rankings, whereas cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou have retail synergies that don’t quite match their high GDP rankings.

Feel free to leave comments below. Thanks.

China’s big and it’s hard to know who likes what. However, one thing is certain. Research and data from getchee show that people in northern China seem more like sportswear people than those in the south. Based on the major cities in each of the five China regions, take a look at how many people each Nike, Adidas, Li Ning, and Anta store could pack in.

Discussion Questions
1. What will it take to boost sportswear brand penetration in southern China?

I never had a chance to try this awesome vegetable, Shansu, until I moved to Taiwan. I think I first tried this light and crispy vegetable at one of the many ‘quick stir-fry’ places here. Most dishes in these places go for about 100NTD (3USD) a piece. Shansu is generally slightly more expensive. It usually maxes out at 150NTD per order.

Browsing a Wellcome supermarket one day, I found a package of Shansu for about a third of the price. On another day, I found it at Jason’s for a little bit more than Wellcome. Recently, I’ve been shopping at wet markets and noticed Shansu is cheaper there than at supermarkets. Surprisingly, I also found it at Costco. It was a decent deal since it was cheaper than the supermarkets and wet markets but not quite as fresh.

Even though the price was right, I didn’t buy it owing to the lack of freshness and the bulk quantity was just too much for me. However, just standing there, I wanted to know how many people were buying that pack of Shansu and who these people were. Many Taiwanese restaurants owners have started shopping at Costco since the prices of things like cooking oil and cleaning products are attractive. But are any stir-fry restaurant owners buying Shansu from Costco now instead of straight from the farms or wet markets out of convenience? How far do these owners travel to get to Costco? How much impact has Costco had on wet markets, supermarkets, and the neighboring RT Mart hypermarket?

I had to stop myself. Not enough information and just too little time to be thinking about this kind of stuff on a Sunday night. I would need geocoded demographic data and wealth intensities, Costco’s point of sales data, and third party purchasing data to answer all those questions. Then again, if a Tostitos Asia brand manager also had all this information, he or she would know that I was going to Costco to buy tortilla chips instead of Shansu for my homemade salsa. Things would be much easier if the Wellcome by my house sold tortilla chips. Oh well.

Also interested in learning about restaurants and supermarkets in Shanghai or Chengde? Local demand for tortilla chips, salsa, and sweet potato? Let me know. Thanks. -Eddie

Here’s a picture I took at Costco in Taiwan. It was Saturday around 3pm. This is the most challenging time to go shopping at Costco. There are hundreds of people fighting for free samples.

When’s the best time to go? I’m not sure. There are just as many people or more during the weekdays. But what do these customers like other than free samples? What are they buying? Where else do they shop? We know.

We’d love to know what you think. Leave your comments below. Useful links to resources providing additional insight are especially appreciated. Thanks from Eddie at getchee. =)

GeoPro and getchee are combining forces to strengthen our offering in emerging markets. Our newly formed entity will combine GeoPro custom services with getchee’s data and software. As a more robust solutions provider, we’ll be able to better serve our banking, FMCG, and retailer clients’ data, software, and analytical needs.

3 Reasons for the Merge

1. Strengthen Market Competitiveness
+ provide a more robust set of business solutions
+ eliminate the dilemma of cannibalization
+ increase market share
+ sustain organization longevity

2. Expansion & Growth
+ build stronger financial opportunities
+ support organization stability

3. Efficiency & Innovation
+ foster creativity and share resources
+ promote transparent communication
+ encourage a more streamlined workflow and increase productivity
+ solve problems quicker

We firmly believe this merger will help the combined entity excel and grow with confidence. We will be able to better serve our clients by enabling their brand expansion and optimization in emerging economies.

The Brand & Name

We have decided to keep the getchee branding. Although we will no longer be using the GeoPro brand and name, services, history, and experience that GeoPro has offered over the past 10 years, we will be incorporated and unified under the getchee brand. A new getchee, with added custom services and analytics from GeoPro, has an excellent opportunity to become the leader for emerging market solutions in Asia.

Please take a moment to see some of the market leading solutions we now offer for regions in China, India, and Southeast Asia.