The 2024 China Great Consumer Annual Ceremony was successfully held

In recent years, with the continuous changes in the global economic environment and industrial structure, as well as the continuous improvement of China's consumption level and capacity, the large consumer industry, as one of the important pillar industries, continues to attract market attention. Despite facing challenges, with digitalization, intelligence, and capital support, China's large consumer industry is embracing more opportunities and undergoing an unprecedented transformation.

Data from the 'Statistical Bulletin on National Economic and Social Development in 2023' released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China show that the per capita consumption expenditure of residents nationwide in 2023 was 26,796 yuan, a real increase of 9% compared to the previous year. Consumption is gradually becoming the main driving force for economic development. How to create more and richer consumption scenarios to boost residents' confidence in consumption and promote consumption has become a hot topic at present.

In 2024, the Chinese economy will still possess both resilience and potential. Currently, the global economy and industrial structure are at a critical stage of deep adjustment, and the importance of consumption, as one of the core drivers and cornerstones of the Chinese economy, has risen to a new level.

Against this backdrop, a group of outstanding large consumer enterprises, investment institutions, and individuals have emerged in China, who also place significant expectations on the prospects for high-quality development in the consumer industry. To promote the development of the large consumer sector and boost public consumer confidence,PwC, Frost & Sullivan, together with the China Consumer Goods CXO Innovation Center and Forbes China, held the 2024 China Consumer Goods Annual Ceremony on March 8th, unveiling the "2024 Forbes China Consumer Goods Annual Selection" and "2024 Frost & Sullivan China Consumer Goods Annual Selection".The successful holding of this event is also inseparable from the tremendous support provided by the main sponsor, Guojiang Group Holdings, and the co-sponsor, Dripping Water Connect.

This grand event is held with"Build a global presence, sink into the market channels, and win the future."With the theme in mind, economists, decision-makers from investment institutions, industry experts, brand experts, and others attending the event discussed the innovative development, sustained growth, localized deep cultivation, and overseas expansion in the large consumer sector from multiple dimensions such as economy, capital, brand, and channels.It provides an in-depth analysis of the overall trends in global and Chinese consumer markets, endowing new impetus for exploring sustainable growth paths for Chinese consumption under the new pattern.

Prerequisites for China's consumption expansion and upgrading

After a decade of rapid growth, China's consumer goods industry has entered a new development pattern and faced new challenges.

Wu Xiaoqiu, Dean of the National Institute of Finance, Renmin University of ChinaIt is believed that 'with stable consumption, there is hope for China's economic growth. The prerequisite for consumption expansion and upgrading is to enhance consumer confidence and expectations, such as stabilizing employment and people's livelihoods, maintaining equal development of foreign investment, private capital, and state-owned assets.'

Wu Xiaoxiu saw that more and more young entrepreneurs in China are thinking about reform, pondering the direction for the future, such as changing the entire market structure by going global. He believes that this is the most critical factor for China's future filled with hope. He further stated, 'Of course, I am also certain that in the future, China will surely move forward along the current path of market economy, reforming itself to become internationalized, allowing everyone and every market entity to have more and more space.'

Wu Xiaoqiu, Dean of the National Institute of Finance at Renmin University of China

How can enterprises achieve brand "longevity and red prosperity"?

From consumption upgrading to a complex and diversified consumption structure, China's consumer market has entered the fast lane of model innovation.

Yan Gewen, Chief Strategy Officer of Forbes China Group, and Wang Jinchuan, Founder of the China's Leading Consumer CXO Innovation CenterIn their speeches, it was mentioned that today's consumption development trend has shifted from consumption upgrading in previous years to a complex and diverse consumption structure, with an increasingly prominent polarization trend. The mentality and habits of consumer groups are changing rapidly. In response to this,Neilson IQ's Chief Growth Officer for China, Zheng YeHe compares this to an era of 'meticulous' consumption. He believes that with the continuation of rational consumption concepts, consumers are showing a more complex and differentiated trend in their consumption strategies and behaviors. In the future, China's consumer goods market will continue to grow driven by diversified consumption demands.

Yan Gewen, Chief Strategy Officer of Forbes China Group, delivers a speech at the event

Li Xiaochun, Vice Chairman and President of the Board of Directors of Guojixiang Holding GroupThen, it analyzes the development process of the consumer market from another perspective, which is presented in a simple and profound manner. He believes that 'consumption is the starting point of all human desires, and the release of productive forces is the release of human desires; achieving this release through consumption in commerce is conducive to promoting globalization, urbanization, modernization, and democratization of consumption. In the future, a zero marginal cost society based on information interconnection, energy interconnection, intelligent manufacturing interconnection, and logistics interconnection will drive the reconstruction of productive and consumer forces into the 'zero cost era.' At the same time, the alienation of consumers' values will gradually weaken, reflected in consumers' 'real needs' gradually replacing the 'false aspirations' supported by vanity, curiosity, imitation, comparison, etc., with more emphasis on practicality and value.'

So, how can Chinese brands move from 'internet celebrity' to 'longevity in popularity'?

Lu Xiuqiong, Global Partner at Bain & CompanyShe shared a method for transcending cycles: the growth equation of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. She suggested that enterprises should return to their consumers' original intentions, anchor on their brand core, and build an capabilities system. While making bold moves, they should concentrate their efforts to expand the business, then enhance user purchasing demand through innovation, find a certain growth path, and quickly replicate to achieve scale.

Adhering to sustainable development and taking environmental protection, fashionability, and health as its own responsibility, OATLY, which entered China in 2018, has integrated 'green development' into its corporate DNA.Zhang Chun, President of OATLY Greater ChinaIt is stated that 'OATLY has established a green industrial chain from upstream cultivation, and through a green sustainable development ecosystem, it truly achieves friendliness to the Earth and human health, while also creating a win-win situation for both the enterprise and the brand, truly realizing the brand's 'long-term red prosperity'. At the event site, OATLY launched a family scenario of oat latte - 'OATLY 1 Square Meter Family Café', which reflects the company's focus on the catering and coffee channel in 2024, while also actively exploring high-quality oat milk experiences within family life scenarios.

From a capital perspective, cash flow is the lifeline of an enterprise.Zhang Gaobo, Founder and Executive President of Dripping Irrigation ConnectIt is believed that China's large consumer market is vast, and the capital gap at physical stores is equally significant. To achieve 'long-term prosperity,' stable cash flow is very important. Enabling different market participants such as intermediary agencies, brand owners, and investors to fully utilize their strengths and empower the micro-economy is also an important manifestation of promoting the development of China's consumer market.

How do enterprises build long-term trust and value?

In China's consumer market system, mastering channels is crucial. In recent years, the development of mobile internet has brought about tremendous changes in channels. From online to offline, from new retail to social e-commerce and community group buying, not only have a large number of emerging channel types emerged, but the logic of channel competition is also different from before. Faced with a complex and intricate channel environment, how should enterprises build long-term trust and value relationships with customers?

Roundtable Forum: 'How to Build Long-Term Trust and Value under China's Channel Transformation'

Chen Zhengguo, Chairman of LehleIt is indicated that as current consumption trends become more complex, market consumer concepts and habits are changing. Consumers currently pursue ultimate cost-effectiveness. As a snack industry enterprise, Lelue offers snack discounts through a high-quality + low-price model, establishing long-term trust relationships with consumers by offering cost-effectiveness beyond their expectations.

"Running a business is like being a person; you need to have warmth."Shang Xiping, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Wangfujing GroupIt indicates that over the past 70 years, Wangfujing has created its own proud corporate cultural value. Each generation has upheld the corporate humanistic value represented by Wangfujing's Zhang Binggui-style service, serving well in relation to the 'people' of employees, partners, and consumers. This has led to the creation of the company's continuous value, creativity, and development capabilities, which are represented by these three 'powers'.

"We believe in win-win cooperation. Although we are a foreign company, we have localized our products in terms of taste and innovation. As a global enterprise, we know where consumers are located and sincerely share consumer profiles with every channel partner. We make a large number of brand investments every year to ensure product sales in small stores."Zhu Yijing, Vice President of Marketing and Development, Yili (China)indicates.

How do enterprises grasp the changes and constants in management and operation?

Roundtable Forum: "Transcending the Current Cycle: The Changes and Constants in Business Management"

Against the backdrop of a 'dual circulation' market, the general environment is driving the consumer industry to 'go global, go deeper into markets, and sell more'. This is a new development trend.

Gao Hongqing, Founding Partner and CEO of Bailian ZhiGao CapitalIt is stated that 'going global' means exploring new markets overseas, 'digging deeper' refers to tapping into opportunities in niche markets, and 'selling out' means seizing mergers and acquisitions opportunities. At this year's National Two Sessions, 'new quality productivity' has received much attention. This refers to advanced productive forces that play a leading role in innovation, break away from traditional economic growth models and productive force development paths, possess characteristics of high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, and conform to the new development concept. Consumption plays a very important role in economic development. Consumption has been developing and evolving towards high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, and the results are evident.

"The deeper you sink, the better you live."Yang Mingchao, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Potluck FoodsIt is stated that over the past six years, through walking the streets, going to the countryside, and working in the fields, Kuaishou has been expanding its network across China by deploying stores, products, services, and application solutions in these areas, as well as embedding these efforts into its values.

Regarding "sold out",Gao Tan, President of Prologis Supply ChainIt is believed that going global is a luxury for most enterprises. 'Just like when overseas brands first entered China, facing the huge population and complex business culture, enterprises faced numerous challenges. Therefore, currently, companies that are going global with their brands often have significant domestic strength. It is recommended that small and medium-sized enterprises go global through China's e-commerce distribution channels.'

In a complex cycle, with the influx of technological power, how enterprises grasp the changes and constants in management and operations has become a core secret. "I believe what remains unchanged for an enterprise is 'responsibility.' The primary responsibility of an enterprise is to sustain healthy growth; what remains constant in meeting consumer needs is to grasp 'human nature,' while everything else is changing. The most important thing in dealing with change is that enterprises should establish 'systematic innovation capabilities' to cope with all changes."Li Jingjie, Chief Digital and Intelligent Officer of Mengniu Groupindicates.

5,Strategic Choices for Enterprises in Domestic Deepening and Overseas Expansion

Roundtable Forum: "Strategic Choices for Domestic Deepening and Overseas Expansion of Enterprises"

An era of significant divergence in the supply chain is upon us, and going global has become a time dividend for the development of Chinese enterprises.

As a model representative of Chinese electric vehicles going global, Yade has been continuously observing the diverse needs and travel habits of different regions and users, conducting targeted research and development, and exploring ways to develop locally overseas. Regarding corporate globalization,Luo Mingzeng, Vice President of Global Marketing at YadeaThree experiences are summarized: First, we must focus on brand going global rather than trade; second, we need to localize operations in key overseas markets; third, we must adhere to compliant operations and management.

What is the core competitiveness of Chinese cross-border e-commerce enterprises? In recent years, at different occasions and locations,Yang Jun, Vice President of Amazon China and Head of Amazon Global Business for Enterprise Shopping in Asia-PacificThis question is often asked. He said: 'The core strengths of Chinese cross-border e-commerce enterprises are agile manufacturing, research and development, and rapid marketing strategies. They quickly innovate products to meet the pain points and unmet needs of consumers in this market that have emerged but not yet been fully satisfied.'

As an expert in fiscal and tax policies,PwC Partner-in-Chief Peng ChaoIt is recommended that 'each country has a different financial system. Enterprises should gradually achieve financial unification, system integration, and system optimization, while also constantly paying attention to political issues and regulatory changes in each country; they must calculate clearly the fiscal and tax costs, capital return costs, etc., before making investments or mergers.'

2024 Forbes China's Annual Consumer Survey Awards Ceremony

Award Ceremony of "Newcomer in the Big Consumer Sector 2024"

Award Ceremony of "Top Influential Chain Brands in the 2024 Consumer Year"

Award Ceremony of "Retailers with Great Influence in the 2024 Consumer Year"

Award Ceremony of "Top Influential Products in the 2024 Consumer Year"

Award Ceremony for "Digital Service Provider of the Year in 2024"

Award Ceremony of "Top 2024 Consumer Value Brands"

Award Ceremony of "Investment Institutions for the 2024 Great Consumption Year"

These selected individuals not only represent the backbone of China's large consumer industry, but their innovative thinking and business development strategies that adapt to the trends of the times will also serve as a reference for other enterprises and leaders in this sector. Forbes China will continue to pay attention to the large consumer sector, hoping to see more and more outstanding enterprises and individuals contribute to the advancement of business in China and even the world with sharper market insight and greater innovative capabilities.

2024 Frost & Sullivan China Greater Consumer Annual Awards Ceremony

Award Ceremony of "Investment Institutions for the 2024 Great Consumption Year"

Award Ceremony of "Newcomer in the 2024 Big Consumer Year"

Award Ceremony of "2024 Influential Chain Brands in the Greater Consumer Segment"

The grand event of the '2024 Frost & Sullivan China Greater Consumer Annual Awards Ceremony' not only demonstrates the vibrant vitality of the consumer industry but also embodies the wisdom and strength of industry elites. The selection results of the four major lists are a comprehensive recognition of enterprises' innovation capabilities, brand influence, and market potential, as well as a profound insight into the development trends of the industry. Frost & Sullivan looks forward to more enterprises taking this opportunity to continue innovating, striving for excellence, and jointly writing a glorious chapter in the Chinese consumer market.