McKinsey Asia Consumer and Retail Winning the Chinese Consumer: Opportunities for Japanese Companies McKinsey Asia Consumer and Retail September 2009 Winning the Chinese Consumer: Opportunities for Japanese Companies Jayson Chi Osamu Kaneda Gordon Orr Brian Salsberg Contact for distribution Evelyn Lu - Phone: +886 (2) 8758 6765, Email:
[email protected] 4 Contents 1. Introduction 6 2. Why China should be a top priority 10 3. How Japanese companies are faring in China 16 4. What it will take to win 22 Shiseido: Building a billion-dollar business in China 28 An interview with Kimberly-Clark’s Mei Tong 30 5. Appendix: Japan’s “China scorecard” 34 Packaged foods 36 Beer 37 Non-alcoholic beverages 38 Personal care 38 Skin care and cosmetics 39 Household care 39 White goods 40 Mobile handsets 40 Flat-panel TVs 41 Personal computers 41 Retail 42 Automotive 43 6 1. Introduction McKinsey Asia Consumer and Retail Winning the Chinese Consumer: Opportunities for Japanese Companies 7 Japan’s consumer-facing companies confront a growth challenge. Until recently, Learning how they have been able to sustain modest growth rates by selling their products primarily to Japanese consumers. But with Japan’s population simultaneously to appeal aging and shrinking—and with consumption falling as a consequence—Japanese to Chinese companies can no longer count on the home market to drive growth. Projections consumers show that China by 2010 will surpass Japan to become the world’s second-largest market in terms of GDP, and by 2014 in terms of consumer spending. is a strategic imperative– Even as Japan’s consumer market is contracting, Japanese companies must contend with more competition.