BUSS 4 RESEARCH THEME - CHINA

REWARDS OF OPERATING IN CHINA

• If apple were to produce in the USA what they produce in China it would cost them an extra $4.2billion.

• China retail market worth £140bn
• B&Q set up shop in 1999
• 54 stores (in china)
• Market leader in home improvements
• 2005, B&Q accuired 13 stores of OBI China for an undisclosed sum
• Last year sales reached £312.8m compared to £211m in 2005
• 2007 forecasting sales of £400m and profits of around £10m
• By 2010 B&Q plan to have over 100 stores
• When Chinese buy homes, they buy an empty shell and furnish them from scratch down to the plumbing
• They go to B&Q or Orient Home, a big rival in northern China for the funishings and the white goods.

• Growing middle class and wealth
• Operating profits of £1.24bn in China alone
• Gain is a 10.3% improvement on the previous year