A new survey on the value of the global top brands revealed that Tencent Holdings Ltd has overtaken Facebook Inc in terms of brand value thanks to its rising revenue and 800 million active and loyal users. Other 11 Chinese brands are on the list together with Tencent. In comparison to the international companies the Chinese ones were found to be declining in terms of brand value. Chinese search engine Baidu is also on the list, although its brand value decreased 16 percent year-on-year. The ranking commissioned by WPP and conducted by Millward Brown Optimor has used the views of the potential and current buyers of a brand alongside financial data.

Source: iresearchchina.com

The growing presence of online e-commerce services, rising rental and labor cost have determined many traditional retailers to go underground to establish their presence as the Chinese-language Global Entrepreneur notices. More than 10% of the retailing sector’s market share in China is represented by retailers that chose to set up shops in underground shopping malls. Since the underground shopping malls have increasingly saturated first-tier cities, retailers are looking at the second-tiers cities. At the same time this can be a great opportunity for local urban planning initiatives and allow the efficient use of land.

Source: wantchinatimes.com

Chinese buyers that are accessing Amazon and eBay are spoiled with cheaper products by the two companies that are focusing on expanding their business in emerging markets. Amazon has launched “Amazon Global Selling” in nine emerging markets in part to draw Chinese sellers to the marketplace. On the other hand, after being overtaken by Taobao six years ago, e-Bay has transformed itself into the biggest B2C platform for cross-border trade in China. After e-Bay’s stock price soared 70% on year-on-year basis in 2012, Amazon also began using an e-Bay-like thirs party payment method to handle online transactions.

Source: wantchinatimes.com