Hao Xiaoxi Hao Xiaoxi
China's Domestic Consumer Market
A bullhorn wails from a market stall announcing a sale on plastic toys, "Hao xiaoxi, hao xiaoxi" ("Good news, good news"). The same cry can be heard in supermarkets and department stores and street markets, always followed by a list of the day's bargains. And, Beijing would have the world believe, China's growing domestic market is good news for the world. The country's reputation as the world's factory still rings true, but increasingly the consumer goods churned out by Shenzhen's factories remain in China. International retailers, such as Wal-Mart, Auchan, and Yum! Brands, Inc. (owners of Kentucky Fried Chicken and other fast food companies), have been expanding in China for decades. The country's enormous consumer class now draws the world's attention as a potential saviour from the current economic turmoil. Now Mercedes-Benz, Louis Vitton, UniQlo, and other international storefronts have become a fixture of China's growing urban centers.

Politicians in Beijing have been downplaying the severity of China's share of the global economic crisis. Outlooks remain optimistic and, thanks in part to half-trillion-dollar stimulus plans, the country's economic growth has not declined as rapidly as some had predicted. Through tax incentives, government-provided shopping vouchers, a lowering Consumer Price Index, and a nationwide "Buy China" movement, consumer spending in China has remained strong throughout recent months and is expected to grow in the near future. While many doubt that the country's domestic market will bring swift respite to the world's economies, evidence suggests it has done much to soften the blow to China's bottom line.
Mannequins display clothing for sale in a window display in the Bund area of Shanghai, China. A jewelry merchant passes out free bracelets and necklaces to a few lucky passers-by outside a supermarket in Nanjing, China. The merchant hoped the giveaway would act a promotion for his store. Shoppers exit a supermarket in Dong Tai, China. People walk through a wholesale market near the Fuzi Miao area of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. This market supplies consumer goods to smaller markets and shops in the rest of the city. Tourists and shoppers walk into the Nanjing East Road subway station in Shanghai, China. People look at the latest offerings of the revitalized MG car company in Nanjing, China. Originally a British company, MG Nanjing has taken over the brand and will market cars in China starting in 2007, with plans to move to the British market in later years. Shoppers look through a discount bin on a busy shopping day at the Trust-Mart supermarket in Nanjing, China. Workers wait for customers at a shoe mall in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Shoppers check out at a discount clothing section of a large department store in Nanjing, China. People look into a Mercedes-Benz car dealership in central Shanghai, China. Crowds walk past sellers at a fake designer goods market in central Shanghai, China. Shoppers ride an escalator from Wal-Mart in Wanda Plaza in the central Xinjeikou shopping district in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. A boy sleeps among packages of blue jeans in a wholesale market at Fuzi Miao in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. People eat breakfast in a small cafe in an old canal section of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China. A department store worker checks on gold statues for sale in the central Xinjeikou shopping district of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. People wait for buses in a shopping district in Tianjin, China. Lights illuminate a small neighborhood kiosk store in an apartment complex in Qingdao, Shandong, China. People walk down Nanjing East Road, a pedestrian walking area and one of the main shopping areas of Shanghai, China. Lingerie ads hang next to advertisements for children's clothing in central Shanghai, China. Tourists shop for souvenirs outside the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Shoppers wait outside of a market selling fake designer clothing in Shanghai, China. Handbags hang in a window display outside the new Louis Vitton store in the central Xinjeikou shopping district of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Mass market magazines, many Chinese versions of American and European lifestyle publications, hang on display at a street kiosk in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Discount clothing hangs in a partially-demolished storefront during a week long clothing sale in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. People wait in the checkout line at the RT Mart supermarket in Nanjing, China. People walk into the newly opened The Village luxury shopping mall in the Sanlitun district of Beijing, China. A family loads consumer goods onto a truck in Guilin, Guangxi Province, China. A cell phone sales clerk stands outside a shop to attract passers-by in the Bund area of Shanghai, China. A Coca-Cola soft drink advertisement covers a wall in an internet cafe in Haikou, Hainan, China. People walks past high-fashion stores and billboards at the Deji Plaza shopping mall in the central Xinjeikou shopping area of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Shoppers look at a stall in a street market in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China. Deliverymen sleep on their cargo bikes outside a fake designer clothing market in Shanghai, China. People shop for small electronics at a wholesale market in the Fuzi Miao area of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The market acts as a distributor of consumer goods to shops and smaller markets throughout the city. Subway crowds walk underneath a Tsingtao Beer billboard in the Shanghai Metro in Shanghai, China. A mannequin lays on the ground of a market stall after the close of a night market in Sanya, Hainan, China. A Trust-Mart supermarket employee rests on an escalator between floors of the supermarket in Nanjing, China.
Pictures available for license at Photoshelter
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photos by M. Scott Brauer
+86-13770324102
scott.brauer@gmail.com
http://www.mscottbrauer.com/
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