From Luckin Coffee to Mixue and Pop Mart: How Chinese Retail Giants Conquer Global Markets. My work covering Chinese retail often turns me into a customer! Witnessing firsthand the success of brands like these—their innovative strategies and captivating products—reveals how they're mastering global expansion. Discover how these consumer juggernauts are leveraging proven tactics to win over international markets and the brands leading the charge
My year-long obsession with Luckin Coffee and the surprising discovery that Mixue's soft serve surpasses McDonald's highlights the captivating rise of Chinese consumer brands. This unexpected addiction, alongside the global frenzy over Pop Mart's Labubu, reveals how Chinese companies masterfully conquer international markets
August's "out of stock" Pop Mart mini Labubu sparked widespread FOMO, mirroring the global success of Chinese brands. This experience, shared by hundreds of thousands, highlights how Chinese companies expertly build brands and conquer international markets, from Luckin Coffee to Mixue and Shein
From Labubu skeptic to believer: How Chinese companies conquered global markets. The rise of brands like Luckin Coffee, Mixue, and Shein reveals a masterful market conquest strategy. Learn how these Chinese consumer giants are dominating industries from F&B and fast fashion to retail, leveraging proven tactics for international success
Chinese consumer brands are conquering global markets, employing proven strategies to win over international customers. From Luckin Coffee's US expansion to Mixue's global domination and Shein's fast-fashion success, these companies are proving that they can not only manufacture products but also build powerful, globally recognized brands. This shift marks a significant evolution in the global retail landscape
China's consumer brands are conquering global markets. From Luckin Coffee's US expansion to Mixue's global dominance and Shein's fast-fashion empire, Chinese companies are no longer just "the factory of the world," as Daxue Consulting's Allison Malmsten notes. They're mastering branding and successfully selling both products *and* their brands internationally. This shift marks a significant evolution in global commerce
Chinese companies are no longer just exporting products; they're successfully building global brands. This shift, notes Daxue Consulting's Allison Malmsten, marks a key difference, allowing companies like Luckin Coffee, Mixue, and Shein to conquer international markets with their products and brand recognition. This strategic move is driving significant global growth across various sectors, from F&B and fashion to automobiles
Chinese companies are conquering global markets, dominating industries from food and beverage (F&B) and fast fashion to automobiles. From Luckin Coffee's US expansion to Mixue's global ice cream empire and Shein's fast-fashion dominance, Chinese brands are leveraging proven strategies for international success. Learn how these consumer juggernauts are changing the global landscape
Chinese companies are conquering Western markets, exporting their winning business strategies and captivating consumers globally. From Luckin Coffee's US expansion to Mixue's global bubble tea dominance and Shein's fast-fashion empire, learn how these Chinese consumer giants are achieving international success. Discover the playbook behind their remarkable growth and market penetration in the West
Chinese companies' marketing strategies: a masterclass in engagement. Unlike Western counterparts, they leverage dopamine-inducing tactics to create highly effective, attention-grabbing campaigns, driving impressive market penetration both domestically and internationally. This approach fuels the global success of brands like Luckin Coffee, Mixue, and Shein
Temu and Taobao's addictive e-commerce apps leverage busy interfaces and relentless pop-up ads to create a compelling shopping experience. This strategy, characterized by constant discounts and flashy promotions, encourages endless scrolling and ultimately, increased consumer spending
Daxue Consulting's Allison Malmsten highlights how Chinese companies, like Luckin Coffee and Mixue, achieve global success by prioritizing seamless, user-friendly platforms—a strategy mirroring that of Amazon and other international giants
Unlike Western e-commerce, Chinese platforms prioritize an engaging and entertaining shopping experience, a key factor in their global success
Chinese companies' addictive product strategies: Daxue Consulting's Allison Malmsten reveals how randomized rewards fuel the global success of brands like Luckin Coffee, Mixue, and Pop Mart. Learn how these companies master addictive product design to conquer international markets
The unpredictable reward system is the key to addictive consumer behavior, creating intense FOMO and driving market dominance. This explains the success of Chinese brands like Luckin Coffee, Mixue, and Pop Mart, who expertly leverage this tactic to conquer global markets
Jacob Cooke, the CEO of Beijing-based e-commerce consulting firm WPIC Marketing + Technologies, said Chinese brands don’t rely on repetitive promotions.
“Instead of simply cutting prices, they layer discounts with loyalty programs, livestream flash events, and gamified shopping experiences that feel interactive,” he said.
Cooke said global players who use traditional “static” discounting can’t match that level of engagement.
For instance, Austin Li, a Chinese influencer who is known as China’s “Lipstick King,” has amassed a following of 35 million on Dou Yin, the country’s version of TikTok.
He sells beauty products and skincare on the live streams, which are filled with colorful pop-ups, banners, and a rolling rundown of everything he’s hawking.
These brands churn out new products at a record pace.
Cooke said Shein and Temu test thousands of products, identify hits almost instantly, and “push them to the right consumers with pinpoint accuracy.”
At their fastest, Chinese beauty brands like Florasis and Flower Knows take just three months from conceptualization to launch to get a new product line out the door.
The same goes for automobiles. Xiaomi, which started as a phone manufacturer, announced in 2021 that it would invest $10 billion in a new electric vehicle unit in the next 10 years. By the end of 2023, it had already launched its first car.
Jeffrey Towson, the founder of US and China-based retail consultancy TechMoat Consulting, contrasted this with Apple’s “Project Titan,” its EV line, which was rumored to have started in 2015 but never came to fruition.
“I can’t think of many Silicon Valley companies that work at the speed of companies like Xiaomi,” Towson said.
Now, this high-frequency product model is proving successful in Western markets.
“Western consumers are responding to this formula because they want the same variety and instant gratification Chinese shoppers have enjoyed for years,” said Cooke. “The model is proving globally transferable.”
Some companies, like Pop Mart, have a different MO.
Pop Mart has about 570 brick-and-mortar outlets in 18 countries. It also has nearly 2,600 vending machines, which it calls “Roboshops,” and a sprawling network of stores on e-commerce platforms.
Pop Mart’s secret sauce is its blind boxes — packaging that hides the toy inside. Step into any Pop Mart store, and you’ll see customers shaking the boxes, hoping that will help them identify which item they’ll pull.
Towson from Techmoat Consulting said that, at best, blind boxes induce reward-seeking behavior. But at its worst, it’s gambling.
“When you open a blind box, there’s a moment of excitement. You think, ‘Which one did I get? Oh, I didn’t get the one I wanted. Let’s buy one more,'” Towson said.
“So you’ve got reward-type behavior, which increases anticipation and increases repeat buying,” he added.
It’s not just Pop Mart that’s betting big on this playbook. Temu and Taobao’s aggressive advertising and random promotions work on similar principles of hooking customers with dopamine spikes.
Malmsten said this tactic is working exceptionally well on Gen Z and younger customers, because dopamine production is highest in youth.
“You get addicted to whatever was relevant at that age. So for millennials, that was YouTube and Instagram, and for Gen Z, that’s all Chinese apps — TikTok, Shein, Temu,” she said. “They’re coming of age during a time when China’s soft power is at its all-time high.”
Chinese companies like Luckin Coffee, Shein, and Temu have snatched big slices of the consumer pie by being cheap.
Towson said Chinese companies operate on a 50% price, 80% quality system: Their price is half that of their competitors, but nearly matches their quality.
Malmsten said Chinese companies, unlike their Western counterparts, can expand fast because they are much more willing to focus on growth first and profit second.
For example, she said Luckin Coffee’s discounts were unsustainable, but “it works to get everyone to get their first coffee from Luckin and download the app.”
Despite being cheap, addictive, and fast, Chinese companies face unique challenges in the international market.
Regulatory hurdles are one such challenge, particularly with the Trump administration cracking down on the de minimis loophole, which allowed small parcels under $800 to enter the US tax-free.
“With Shein and Temu, the removal of de minimis in the US is potentially a big hamper on their ability to market in the country,” Malmsten said.
But Chinese companies that have expanded globally are forces to be reckoned with. Towson said they’re the strongest of the lot, after conquering domestic competition.
“Any company that’s going international has probably won at home already, which means they’re the toughest gladiator in the arena,” Towson said.
He added, “That means they’re the gladiator in the arena surrounded by 50 dead bodies.”
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