A Research On Direct Investment Of Foreign Retail Enterprises In China

Commencing from the year of 1992, China's retailing industry began its progress of opening to the outside world. From then on, foreign retailers flooded into the Chinese market through various forms. On December 11 of 2001, retailing industry became one of the industries that China promised to open to the outside most thoroughly, resulting in the dramatic expansion of both foreign retail enterprises and their Chinese counterparts. On December 11 of 2004, the transition period of China's entry into the WTO was ended, meaning that the limitations imposed on foreign retailers in such aspects as coverage regions, equities and number of foreign retailers would be eliminated and the thorough opening-up of China's retailing market to the foreigners came into shape. The competition between foreign retailers and local retailers became much fiercer. This thesis analyses the competitive advantages possessed by the foreign retailers compared with local retail enterprises and conducts researches on the impact of the entry of foreign retailers on the organization and structure of China's retailing industry after briefing the overall situation of foreign retailers in China. This thesis also discusses the corresponding strategies that should be undertaken and adopted by Chinese retailers based on relevant analysis and research. The research of this thesis reveals that the expansion of foreign retailers in China's retailing market, especially in cities where the economy is relatively mature, via their competitive advantages in such aspects as scale, capital, technology, brand and conception, has turned out to be a dominant and irresistible trend that exerts great shocks on the domestic retailers. On the other hand, the entry of foreign retailers is conducive to the improvement and perfection of China's retailing industry. As long as the retailers of China adopt appropriate strategies, they might be able to compete with their foreign counterparts through the improvement of their own competitiveness. The welfare of China's retailing industry may also be promoted.