China Herald: The opportunities of "The End of Cheap China"

Shaun Rein

The changes described in business analyst Shaun Rein's bestseller "The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends that will Disrupt the World", offers not only challenges, but also opportunities, writes Seeking Alpha in a review of the book.

Seeking Alpha:

A great example is Apple. Its sales in China during the first three months of this year were triple what they were during the same period in 2011. Apple took in $12.4 billion in China in the first half of the current fiscal year, putting the company easily on course to eclipse the $13.3 billion in Chinese sales it accrued in the prior 12-month period.

To own an iPhone is a status symbol in China. Status value could account for iPhone popularity in China, despite starting prices of about $800 without service contract subsidies. Chinese shoppers may take consolation from the fact that Apple gadgets are made in China, where the company has made a number of efforts to improve working conditions.

China has an enormous number of people moving into the middle class, which is creating demand for goods. China has become the second-largest luxury market. There is tremendous opportunity for companies that understand China. U.S. companies such as Yum Brands (YUM), Apple, Starbucks (SBUX), and Procter & Gamble (PG) are the ones that have learned their lessons through trial and error.

More in Seeking Alpha. (Shaun Rein might not subscribe fully to the opinions of the review. See more on Shaun Rein's viewpoints in Apple and China's middle class on this website.)

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

More on Shaun Rein and his book "The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends that will Disrupt the World" at Storify.