Microfinance in China’s countryside? It might just be on the horizon…
If Bangladesh can do it, so can we. That’s perhaps the sentiment running through the heads of the financial oversight commission in the Chinese government. They saw the Grameen Trust, a pioneering microfinance institution in Bangladesh making loans to poor farmers without collateral, win the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Grameen Bank branches are located in […]
On January 1, I do: New Year’s Day is popular for weddings in China
What do you think of when January 1 approaches? An evening of wild bacchanalia? The apple drop in Times Square? Resolutions? How about adding “weddings” to that? Because, if you’re Chinese, a wedding might just be the first thing on your new year to-do list. Why is January 1 such a hot time for weddings? […]
Christmas becomes the third biggest consumer spending holiday in China
Christmas may not be an indigenous holiday to China — but retailers had a VERY merry one this year. Merry enough to merit dubbing Christmas the third largest consumer shopping season in China. Here’s the story published in Sohu (partially translated by yours truly): Christmas Day is not an official holiday in China. Yet this […]
Get out the Ginseng and Maotai: giving gifts during Chinese New Year
Ginseng. Vitamin supplements. Top-shelf liquor. Fancy snack foods. These might be a few of the things gracing my shopping list as gifts for Chinese New Year. Ginseng a gift? You bet. Ginseng, one of many treasured remedies in Chinese medicine, is a welcome gift for more senior folks. As are any number of nutritional and […]
Will you be my “zui aide” sweetheart…on Christmas: why Christmas is a romantic holiday in China and what it means for marketing and communications
Love is in the air…the lighted streets are decked with couples unabashedly linking arms and eyes…ah, romance… [Insert sound of record scratching] Wait a minute! Aren’t we getting ahead of our holidays here? Valentine’s Day isn’t for another two months. Au contrair, zui aide. This isn’t Valentine’s Day I’m talking about…it’s Christmas…in China. Here’s what […]
Interview with Chip Coakley, chairman and CEO of PGL Global: the challenges involved with marketing in China and doing business in China
Jocelyn: Good morning, this is the Wu Way Update for December the first, and we’re having a conversation with Chip Coakley, who is the chairman and CEO of PGL Global, which is a firm that helps mid-size companies with their outsourcing as well as offshoring. And we’re talking this morning about the challenges involved with […]
Why Avon sells whitening cleansers in China: culture matters
You’ll find live frogs and turtles at Wal-Mart. “refreshing tea” toothpaste from Crest, and a whole line of whitening products from Avon…in China. Frogs and turtles may not be on your menu; heck, tea might not be the first thing that comes to mind as “refreshing”. But it’s another story for the Chinese — and […]
Like brother, like coworker: why you should encourage the hiring of friends and relatives in China
Here in my home country the US, nepotism is unanimously scorned upon. A workplace romance has almost as much notoreity among coworkers — if not more — than the local celeb gossip. Employers caught hiring their relatives risk expulsion from their jobs — or worse. Instead, we bow to the American ideal of workers garnering […]