Chinese brands turning to global markets for growth have a major advantage over the first wave of Asian businesses that went global: a large ethnic Chinese diaspora. “The ethnic Chinese population overseas is so large in many markets that I think there’s a disproportionate opportunity for Chinese companies to target ethnic Chinese populations in other markets,” David Zehner, senior partner at Bain, told CNBC. Bain’s latest study, published Thursday, found that Chinese consumer businesses have yet to expand as quickly into overseas markets relative to their Japanese and South Korean counterparts. Pictured here in Nov. 2023 is a storefront for Chinese retailer Miniso in London. Peter Dazeley | Getty Images News | Getty Images
BEIJING — Chinese brands turning to global markets for growth have a major advantage over the first wave of Asian businesses that went global: a large ethnic Chinese diaspora.
That’s according to a study published Thursday by U.S. consulting firm Bain and Company. Their analysis looked mostly at data through the year 2023 for 150 Asia-Pacific headquartered consumer goods companies that are publicly traded.
“The ethnic Chinese population overseas is so large in many markets that I think there’s a disproportionate opportunity for Chinese companies to target ethnic Chinese populations in other markets,” David Zehner, senior partner at Bain, told CNBC.
Now with growth slowing domestically, Chinese companies are “seeing some of the success stories that have been possible, particularly in Japan and Korea, and they’re looking to emulate that success,” he said. Zehner noted many of the companies have started their global expansion by focusing on Asia before expanding to Europe and North America.
