外国品牌争夺二三线城市消费者

 　　Foreign brands are becoming cheaper in China as a result of their pursuit for consumers in lower-tier cities along with competition from the e-commerce market.

　　However some consumers still think their goods are more expensive than the same ones sold overseas even after the price reduction.

　　Meanwhile, others are still happy to see the price cut on high quality goods.

　　"For me, I think the quality is always high here, and with the price adjustment, it makes it more attractive to purchase more products."

　　Recently, popular Japanese lifestyle brand MUJI and Australia UGG have re-priced products on the Chinese mainland.

　　外国品牌争夺二三线城市消费者

　　This is the third adjustment that MUJI has made in the past year. It cuts some one hundred products by an average of some 20 percent.

　　Wang Ziheng, a student, visited the store to check out the cheaper items.

　　"I am a student, my budget is limited. So I am more interested in stationery¹ and food, but there don't seem to be many discounts on these."

　　In a written response, MUJI says that sales in stores went up by nearly 160 percent in the past two weeks, and that the purpose of price adjustments is to close price gaps among different countries.

　　Another lifestyle brand, UGG Australia, also made similar moves last month.

　　However, even after the price changes, products on the Chinese mainland are still some 30 percent to 40 percent higher than in other countries.

　　Ken² Chen, Managing Director of consulting firm L.E.K., says customs duties are one factor contributing to higher prices on the Chinese mainland.

　　"At least a few years ago when there was less information that signaled what the brand stands for, that price is a strong signal of product premiumness, of safety, of quality. Brands using agents, or even they do it on their own. The percentage (of consumers) might be small of high income earners, but the absolute numbers are just huge. So that they see a ready and able to buy consumer base for their higher-priced products, so why not go for the higher margin³?

　　He also said, as consumers become more sophisticated and exposed to additional product offers on the Internet, they will increasingly be on the lookout⁴ for more offers and value for money goods.

　　In addition, the market has recently become more competitive on the Chinese mainland.

　　Fast fashion brands such as ZARA and H&M have all brought their home furnishing lines to the market.

　　Ni Renxia, Marketing⁵ Manager of the China Retail⁶ Group, says with intensified⁷ competition, the brands have to lower prices to capture a broader market.

　　"The consumption market in first-tier cities has already been saturated⁸, with brands having enough influence. But for the second and third tier cities, such prices are probably a little bit too high. Lower prices may more conform to the purchasing power of these cities, where the markets are still driven by price. If the price is attractive and the quality is not poor, people would be more open to try other brands."

　　According to research by L.E.K. Consulting, despite the increasing use of e-commerce platforms in purchasing foreign brands, people in lower-tier cities visit and make purchases in physical stores more frequently than those in upper-tier cities.

　　Economist⁹ predicts that by 2020, 66 percent of China's mid-income consumers will come from medium-sized or small cities.

　　For CRI, I'm Min Rui.

1 stationery   

n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封

参考例句：

• She works in the stationery department of a big store.她在一家大商店的文具部工作。
• There was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.文具一多，心里自会觉得踏实。

2 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

7 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。