Participants rate China study tour with 9.5

(Click here for a Dutch version of this article)

In October, ChinaTalk’s sister organization delivered its first post-COVID study tour to China, in collaboration with Focusplaza. From October 21 to 28, we took a group of 13 retail experts to Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai.

Recurring comments during the feedback session at the end of the week were:

• China was not what I expected (in a positive way).
• In China, things are moving exceptionally fast, and we face many potential threats to our Western businesses (retail and wholesale) as the Chinese expand to consumers beyond their borders.
• More people, including government officials, should shed their ignorance, arrogance, and sense of superiority, be willing to learn more about and from China and participate in these kinds of tours.

Rating

After the tour, Focusplaza conducted a satisfaction survey among the participants. The most important findings can be found below.

The tour received an average of 9.5 out of 10 from respondents. Half of them gave a rating of 9 and half a rating of 10 (the latter is exceptionally rare among Dutch respondents).

When asked whether people would recommend the tour to others, the tour scored a 9.9 out of 10.

A few reactions:

• “Thank you again for the good care and the excellently organized trip.”
• “Excellently organized and guided, thank you!
• “I really thought it was a fantastic tour, it was very well put together, and I hope to be able to do something like this again one day!”
• “China was a country I had never been to. I enjoyed everything from start to finish. (..) With Ed’s knowledge, I really look at China differently now.”

Read the assessment of the various aspects of the tour below.

Masterclasses

During the tour, every day started with a masterclass by Ed Sander. The main themes were the rise of China, Chinese ecosystems, e-commerce, ‘new retail’, grocery delivery and ‘instant retail’, live commerce, consumer-to-manufacturer and the explosion of cross-border e-commerce from China.

We presented the participants with a number of statements. On a scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree), they gave the following average scores:

• “Very professional with a lot of data. Compliments to Ed on the broad knowledge he has about China and the broad retail branch. I especially found the last session on cross-border e-commerce very interesting and informative. Nice selection of topics and, together with location visits, a nice combination.”
• “The master classes were a nice warming-up for the afternoon program; they were fascinating and interesting.”
• “Very interesting. In particular, the digital and e-commerce developments and companies (Alibaba, Tencent, Pinduoduo, Temu, Shein), as well as the history and culture, put everything into perspective. In addition, the new way of digital selling: product seeks people/impulse purchases via e-commerce, gamification, seamless buying, cut out the middle man and the professionalism of this was impressive and sometimes frightening.”
• “I found the master classes very informative. The slides were clear, and Ed can tell you what keeps your attention. I think the first (The Rise of China) and the last (Cross-Border e-Commerce from China) are the most memorable. Because they appeal most to the imagination.”
• “Diversity in topics was great.”
• “I found the master classes very interesting. Lots of background information.”
• “For me, live streaming was a real eye-opener. All masterclasses were wonderful to listen to. What knowledge that man has!”

Site visits

In the afternoons, the group went out to visit various retail concepts.

• We visited various concepts of Alibaba’s Hema (Freshippo) supermarkets and competitor 7Fresh.
• We investigated the coffee war between Luckin, Starbucks and Cotti and got a tour of the beautiful Starbucks Roastery Reserve.
• We explored the so-called ‘sinking market’ of suburbs, rural areas and wet markets that few foreign visitors ever enter.
• We were warmly welcomed by a livestreaming tea farmer and were overwhelmed by the size of an MCN agency (multi-channel network) as two opposites on the scale of live commerce.
• And we saw several examples of how Western brands present themselves in China, which is sometimes substantially different from what they do in the West.

Responses to the question of what the highlights of the site visits were:

• “I found the visits to the live commerce very impressive (both the tea farmer and Joy Media) because I could not imagine much of this.”
• “They all made an impact in their own way.”
• “Most impressive: Freshippo (Hema), Hema Outlet, Joy Media, visit the countryside. The typically Chinese things.”
• “I found the Starbucks Roastery Reserve spectacular and the visit to the tea farmer very valuable because you see a different side of China.”
• “Wet Market Beijing (integration of food purchasing and preparation + online and offline integration). I enjoyed all experiences, including taking the metro.”
• “Most amazing: MCN (live commerce agency).”
• “All the excursions were great. But… the wet market. This was high on my personal list, and I was amazed at how neat, clean and efficient it looked. Live animals, no touch payment, there was not even a piece of paper on the floor.”
• “Starbucks, Hema Premier. Joy Media.”

Other aspects

During the tour we also gave the participants a healthy dose of culture.

• We got a taste of the local culture in 5 different cuisines, a tea ceremony, the park life of retired Chinese people and the beautiful Forbidden City.
• During the breathtaking West Lake show in Hangzhou, we saw what large numbers of Chinese are capable of.

Everyone indicated in the survey that they enjoyed the diversity of Chinese dishes and had no real desire for Western food during the trip.

• “Very varied, and fun to do shared dining.”
• “Tasty, fun because of the sharing, not scary at all, because you choose what you like.”
• “Was great!”
• “I loved it all. The Peking Duck was high on my list, and the restaurant did not disappoint. I had to get used to restaurants in a shopping mall, but that was also an experience. Food is important to me. I like to taste and try, and that was completely successful, and luckily, there was a spicy/non-spicy choice.”
• “I thought it was great, very tasty and varied.”

We asked participants to rate different aspects of the tour on a scale from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied). These are the results and average scores. Green colours indicate how many people were satisfied (light green) or very satisfied (dark green).

We also asked participants about their personal highlights:

• “I liked the West Lake show, Forbidden City and Karaoke the most among the cultural activities.”
• “They were all highlights, each in its own category.”
• “Ed’s lectures and knowledge, the combination of the afternoon visits with cultural outings such as the West Lake Hangzhou show and the group of interested participants.”
• “West Lake Show Hangzhou, Peking Duck, Starbucks.”
• “1) Experiencing life, travel and shopping in China 2) Sharing views from different perspectives (nice diverse group) 3) Back-up reading material for the application of theory in the Netherlands.”
• “Masterclasses by Ed. The fun group. Special experience.”
• “Peking duck, tea ceremony, Forbidden City.”

With an amazing group of people (some of whom showed an unexpected taste in music during the farewell karaoke), we had a fantastic time ourselves. It was more than worth the four long years we had to wait until we could do this again.

We are very proud of the score of 9.5, but we are always looking for possible improvements for the next tour. Based on the feedback from the participants, we will make further improvements to the tours in 2024.

And 2024?

We are currently working on a number of new tours for 2024. This includes:

• A similar tour as described above with free registration for an international group of 10-20 people. This can now be booked.
• A potential new retail tour for Focusplaza members in the fall.
• A tour in collaboration with Fred Sengers with the theme ‘China of the 21st century’.
• Various private tours for business clients.

Do you want to participate in one of these tours, or offer a private tour to your staff, customers or members? Please visit the ChinaTechTrip website or contact us.

Watch the video below for an impression of our tours.