Stephen Maher President of Mondelez China An Eye on the 3rd and 4th Tier Cities in China

There has been a unique “consumption mismatch” in Chinese cities – in the most prosperous cities most people are too busy to enjoy their life whilst in small cities/towns people are living like the “real” middle class because of low living costs. This explains why citizens from the 3rd and the 4th cities are gradually becoming the major consumers in China and what these groups of people rely on when it comes to consumption is E-commerce platforms.

According to Mckinsey iConsumer China 2016 survey on How Savvy, Social Shoppers Are Transforming E-commerce, the activeness of online shopping in low-tier cities is almost equivalent to that of the 1st and the 2nd tier cities. 2015 even witnessed the online sales of low-tier cities had reached the same amount of that in more developed areas. Nonetheless, some 160 million people in low-tier cities who use online services have yet to begin shopping online, which shows a great potential to be dug out within the online retail market. Luckily China is now embracing the age of consumption update and the internet has contributed as the only entry for people lived in low-tier cities to shop and to entertain. With the increasing buying power of these groups of people, various e-commerce platforms are speeding up to penetrate low-tier cities for reaching more consumers.

However for foreign F&B brands who have been focusing on the market in the 1st and 2nd tier cities, how to explore and seize these opportunities in the 3rd and 4th tier cities? And for China’s domestic F&B brands who have been good at “encircling the cities from the rural”, how to maintain their market share in low-tier cities? To find answers to these questions, we are very delighted to have Stephen Maher, President of Mondelez China joining FBIF2017 as a speaker who has more than 27 years of experience in FMCG industry including 18 years knowledge of working in China. He will talk about how to take advantage of China’s prosperous e-commerce network to reach and cultivate new consumers in low-tier cities. Let’s have an eye on the market in the 3rd and the 4th Tier Cities in China!