Shopping in China
To the editor:
Chinese cities are major shopping centers. Just walking down the street is like a stroll through a large shopping center.
What we would consider a closet the Chinese businessman considers retail space. Even here though, you will find the major retailers like Carrefour, Walmart, Metro, and B&H Clubs in major cities. Each of these present interesting blends of Western commercial concepts and Chinese retail practices. So it was with some trepidation that I took up the school’s offer to take the foreign teachers to the Walmart in my first weekend here in Guang Zhou.
Chinese department stores are much like their counterparts in the U.S. Lots of junk you need and even more junk you can do without. In short, they are fascinating and offer insights into the products that are gradually encouraging consumption in a land of savers.
In U.S. stores, shelf space is a commodity. Products of companies are charged a fee for the amount of shelf space they occupy. Product makers and store owners are constantly experimenting with the shelf space necessary to move product. As in so many situations, the Chinese store managers are copying what they see but not understanding the relationship between the number of objects and the amount of space they actually need, so at times as you walk down the aisle it can seem like there is no other product in existence. Imagine 50 feet of Tide clothes washing powder, six shelves high. That was the first sight that greeted me as I entered a Chinese grocery store. Turns out they were having a sale on the stuff and rather than risk losing customers they put all of their inventory on display.
All major stores offer one other perk that you rarely see in America: the store bus service. To get customers to the store, there exists a bus service. You will see these buses emblazoned with the store name and stopping at various points along a set route. When I lived in Shanghai, the store buses were usually on their last legs. Falling apart seats, saggy metal coverings, and driven by a person who does not know how to use a clutch. I rarely took those buses, preferring to pay for the ticket on one of the city buses.
Here in Guang Zhou the buses are very new and the drivers are well trained in how to deal with foreign visitors. The most important factor is that these are free and they get you into a shopping area.
The Walmart bus here in Guang Zhou arrives at the half hour. There is a two-hour break for lunch and supper in the schedule. But it is regular. The school is the final stop on before the return to the store. It is a relief not to have to figure out which city bus goes to the shopping center. The store bus goes directly to the store and you can plan your shopping trip around the regular schedule.
Unlike stores in the U.S., department and grocery centers are within even larger commercial centers. The Walmart here is part of a huge shopping center complete with an IMAX theatre and a variety of other shopping mall type stores. And also unlike stores in the U.S. which try to have only a street level presence, department stores can be located on any level of the shopping center. In the case of the Guang Zhou Walmart, it is located in the basement of a huge shopping mall. So when you arrive you take the escalator down to the basement level. Other competitors are located in the floors above. So if you are determined to shop, your senses are going to be overwhelmed.
More later, I am off for another adventure.
Orpheus Allison
Guang Zhou, China
orpheusallison@mac.com
