KFC and McDonald's in Yueyang, Hunan

I'll continue on the theme of bird meat from the previous post, but this time in a way that involves no photos of blood or birds soon to meet their end.

At an intersection in a central shopping district in Yueyang, Hunan province there is a KFC and a McDonald's right across the street from each other. On Thursday evening when I looked inside this is what I saw at KFC:

KFC

And this is what I saw in McDonald's:

McDonald's

In short, many more people were lined up at the KFC. One could now think, "Maybe McDonald's is more efficient serving customers so the lines are shorter." Well, even in other parts of the restaurants it was clear there were far more people at the KFC. While this is just one night in one city, it represents KFC's very successful presence in China.

As noted earlier this year by William Mellor in an article on Bloomberg about KFC in China:

In its home market, the U.S., KFC is struggling, an also- ran to McDonald’s Corp., the world’s biggest restaurant company, and feuding with some of its own franchisees over how to halt declining profits.

In China, KFC has achieved such dominance over McDonald’s and local rivals that Colonel Harland Sanders’s image is a far more common sight in many Chinese cities than that of Mao. That accomplishment is striking in a country where foreign companies often stumbled and ran into roadblocks in the past.

The article argues that part of KFC's success is due to how it localized some of its offerings. This point helps provide a sense of just how much of an effort has been made:

While fast-food restaurants in the West often host kids’ birthday parties, KFCs in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang autonomous region that’s home to the Muslim Uyghur people, advertise parties for the families of boys who have just undergone the religious ritual of circumcision.

While I don't think there were any circumcision parties at the KFC in Yueyang (which is far away from Xinjiang) while I was there, the menu was the typical China-localized version I've seen in many other regions of China (read the article for more on the localizations made by KFC or see KFC's products on their Chinese website here). Ironically, one of the chicken sandwiches offered by KFC in China, and not in the US, is the "New Orleans Roasted Burger". I'm not sure what it has to do with New Orleans, but I like it and apparently so do many Chinese.

There's more I could say on the issues KFC raises regarding localization but I'll save that for another day. For now, I'll just be content that I think I've wrapped up the bird meat theme for now.

Dairy Queen and the Goji Berry in China

Previously, I commented on Dairy Queen localizing it's menu in Kunming, Yunnan with some options including mango (see here).  I also included this photo:

DQ menu with mango smoothie/slushy options

However, recently in Chengdu, Sichuan I saw a DQ with a slightly different menu:

DQ menu with goji berry smoothie/slushy options

I had never tried a goji berry, also know as wolfberry, drink and hadn't seen it in the Kunming DQ stores so I tried the goji berry crushed ice drink.  The sacrifices I make for research...

DQ goji berry "slushy"

As you may note, the color of the drink is a bit different from that shown on the sign.  In fact, it almost looked mango-colored.  However, the taste was definitely not mango-ish.  It was, dare I say, wolfberry-ish.  I think.

I can't say whether the goji berry being featured instead of mango is indicative of a general shift in menu options in DQ across China, a new potential option being tested in a specific market, an attempt to localize the DQ menu to specific regions of China, or something else.

I'll keep an eye out on DQ's elsewhere to see if any patterns become apparent (I may limit my sampling of DQ products, though).  If any readers are aware of other differences in DQ's in other regions of China I'd be curious to hear about it.

UPDATE:  After some more "research" I've discovered that the goji berry option definitely isn't only limited to Chengdu.  Also, at least in other locations now featuring goji berry, the mango option remains, just no longer featured.

Mobile Phones in China: More on Variety

In a recent post, I discussed the great variety of mobile phones available in China and shared some examples from stores in Zhaotong, Yunnan (see here).  A reader, Jendy, had this to say about the post:

"I wrote a paper on the cellular industry in China during my MBA program, after having spent 2 weeks in there with my class. I remember a factory owner saying that the Chinese see cell phones as a status symbol, much like cars or houses in other countries. He said that some of his factory workers would prioritize having the best and most technological cell phone over new clothes, eating a good dinner, etc."

I made some related points when I discussed the role of fashion and image in people's choice of mobile phones in an earlier post "Mobile Phones in China: Local Rates, Fashion, and Fakes":

"Many are willing to spend a large proportion of their income to purchase a mobile phone, sometimes saving up at least several months of their full salary, out of concerns related to fashion and image. For many people in China, their mobile phone will be the most expensive and openly visible item that can be with them many places they go -- like a car for many people in the US. While hanging a mobile phone around ones neck isn't as common in China as it used to be, there remain many opportunities for it to be visible."

Fashion, image, and status can be very intertwined.  For now, I'll avoid getting into a deep discussion on these issues, but suffice it to say they all can play a role in many mobile phone purchases in China.

Jendy continued with a claim connecting the role of a mobile phone as a status symbol and the diversity of mobile phones in China:

"So, it's not really surprising that there is more variety in China when there is a large population of people who prioritize cell phones over many other things."

Jendy also provided some anecdotal evidence for the impact Chinese brand mobile phones are already having globally:

"On a side note, I have friends in Chile who order Chinese phones over the web because there is so much more variety and phones with more features than you can't find here (dual sim phones for example)."

As Jendy's example shows, by developing localized designs for Chinese consumers Chinese mobile phone manufacturers are also likely creating devices that meet needs in other markets.  There are reports that exports of Chinese brand mobile phones are rapidly growing (I'm still looking for a source I feel OK about linking to, though).  It will be fascinating to see how the industry develops.

To further highlight the variety of mobile phones available from China I'll share some photos from a store you may have heard of in Zigong, a city in Sichuan province that is a six hour bus ride from Zhaotong.  In a previous post about Mother's Day in Zigong I shared some photos of a fashion show at Mall-mart and commented that the store was similar to Walmart in many ways.  I later discovered that Zigong's first actual Walmart had opened only a few months prior to my visit.

Zigong's first Walmart

As typical for Walmarts in China, it had an electronics section including mobile phones.  Like the department store in Zhaotong it had a wide array of Chinese brand phones in addition to more globally familiar brands such as Nokia.  However, many of the Chinese brands were different from those I had seen in the Zhaotong store.  Here are some photos of the selection available at Walmart (thanks to the Walmart staff for permission):

Quejaz mobile phones

Hedy and Gionee mobile phones

"Great" mobile phones

Lenovo mobile phone with transparent screen.

Nokia mobile phones 

Konka and Dim mobile phones

Dim and Opsson mobile phones

There were other brands as well.  The Walmart in Zigong and the stores in Zhaotong are of course just a handful of stores, but they are representative in many ways and provide a hint of the diversity of mobile phones available in China.

More on mobile phones in China later.

Car Bombs and No-Smoking Ashtrays

James Fallows recently shared two photos of signs in Beijing and asked his readers to guess their meanings (see here for post).

Here is the first sign:

And here is the second sign:

The first sign confused me at first, but when I thought "China" the meaning was immediately obvious to me: "no firecrackers".  In China, I've seen firecrackers lit just about anywhere, including on sidewalks as people are walking by.  I've also seen signs forbidding them in a variety of places such as subway stations.

In a later post James Fallows shared some other responses from his readers to the "no firecrackers" sign.  Here are just a few:

• "No Fishboning Permitted!!!"
• "Don't pull the martial arts weapons off the pine trees"
• The sign must mean: "Don't step on the fishbones lying on the ground, because it will make a funny noise."
• My guess - "cutting down trees and/or removing tree branches is prohibited."
• Beware of falling Douglas fir twigs?

For a fuller list of interesting guesses by Fallows' readers see the post here.

The second sign, which James Fallows initially labeled "no car bombers", left me more baffled.  In his post, Fallows shared some of my thoughts including that it was "no loudspeaker announcements from cars", "no sirens", or "no giant sponge monsters on top of car".  As the last guess may indicate, none of my answers had left me convinced I had really figured it out.

Later, Fallows added the following two contributions from readers on the meaning of the sign:

• My wife (from China) says the second one means "no transporting loads on top of cars."  (btw, she knew no firecrackers instantly).
• [Reader who once lived in China] As for the second sign, I have seen it many times before and never figured it out. But the firecracker sign gave me an idea: could it mean "no setting off fireworks on top of your car?" I have seen people in a Chinese wedding motorcade dropping fireworks onto the road, so perhaps in the past they affixed them to the roof of the car.

The first explanation seems questionable to me because I am unclear why this rule would be applied to such a specific area.  I also am not sold on the second explanation.  I've seen some pretty raucous wedding motorcades but have never seen anyone lighting firecrackers on their car roof (yet).

If Greece has anything to say about the sign they may actually support something similar to Fallows' original suggestion.  For example this sign in Greece:

according to Wickipedia means "No vehicles carrying explosive or flammable goods".  All I can say is I guess Greece doesn't have a giant sponge monster problem.

I was now curious to hear from some more people in China.  Not having time to do a rigorous experiment in Beijing, I informally showed the Beijing "no car bombers" sign to a waitress and waiter at a cafe (where I am writing this piece) in Chengdu, Sichuan province.  Here's a summary of their responses (they both easily recognized the first sign as "no fireworks"):

Waitress (who had last year passed her driving test):

• She was clueless at first.  She said she had never seen a sign like that in any of her preparation for the Chinese driving test.
• She first suggested it might be about not carrying fireworks.
• She then wondered if it was about not making noise.
• Her final answer was that it was a warning not to stop because something could fall from above.

Waiter:

• He too had never seen such a sign.
• His first guess was that it was about objects falling from above.  He stuck to that.

I shared the suggestion that it was "no transporting loads on top of cars."  Neither thought that was a possibility.

So, with the little evidence available to me it doesn't appear the sign has a consistent interpretation, even to Chinese.  However, maybe it's a Beijing thing.  With any luck, Fallows will later share more (which looks like will happen soon).

The signs brought to mind another moment when I had been confused by a symbol in China.  This is what I saw in a supposedly no-smoking hotel room in Dunhua, Jilin (for some earlier posted photos of scenes in Jilin see here):

While the symbol seemed readily clear to me, "no smoking", its placement on an ashtray seemed to be rather contradictory.  I wondered if there was an explanation other than someone having a strong sense of humor.

Numerous times in China I've seen evidence that would suggest the ashtray may be a response to hotel guests' behavior.  No-smoking rules are not regularly enforced in many parts of China.  It's not uncommon to find people smoking in designated non-smoking areas, whether it is a hotel room, elevator, stairwell, etc.  I've also seen the effects of people smoking in a no-smoking hotel room -- for example, glasses intended for drinking filled with cigarette butts.

The ashtray may be a pragmatic design in that it both informs people (where else is a smoker more likely to notice a non-smoking symbol?) and it reduces the chances of other undesired consequences if people ignore its message.

Also, in many cities in China no-smoking rooms are only available in more upscale hotels.  It is possible this hotel merely wanted to "act" upscale but had no real concern about guests smoking.

When I showed the ashtray photo to the same Chinese waitress she said it meant "You shouldn't smoke because it's bad for your health, but here's an ashtray in case you still want to".  Her interpretation would be consistent with the idea that the "do not" slash is more of a suggestion than a rule.  Maybe fitting since in China there are many "rules" which are in fact rather flexible.  Another waitress believed the symbol meant "no smoking" but was confused about the purpose of the object.  Her only guess was that it was a pencil holder.  When I suggested the possibility it was an ashtray she dismissed the idea as ridiculous since the no-smoking symbol was obvious.

So, like the car-bombing sign, the true intentions behind the no-smoking ashtray (or whatever you want to think it is) remains unclear.

I share the above because it highlights the challenges in creating symbols that convey a clear and consistent meaning without using any words AND the challenges in fully interpreting symbols in other cultures where you may not be aware of key contextual information.

This is an issue I've faced in my work when evaluating/creating icons for software, online services, etc.  Even a button for a seemingly simple function can provide a difficult challenge.  What at first may seem to be an obvious solution could be found to be ineffective after observing how numerous potential users interpret it.  It can take several cycles of design and testing to find the best symbol.

Furthermore, you may need to either localize symbols for particular groups of people or find a symbol that is interpreted consistently regardless of culture (which can be challenging depending on the cultures involved).   Even if a symbol is understood, it may still need to be localized to feel more "home-like".

And possibly, like the "no fireworks" sign, sometimes it might not be a problem if a symbol is only understood by some people.  The people who don't understand the symbol may not be the people you're trying to reach.  The "no fireworks" sign may be clear enough to fireworks-loving Chinese.  The fact that non-fireworks wielding foreigners don't understand it is not critical (assuming they don't cause a fish bone incident due to a misinterpretation).

So, next time you see a symbol being used you can ponder the challenges in finding the "right" symbol and whether the way you see it is the same as people from other cultures.

Finally, the waiter and waitress I questioned about the Beijing sign didn't feel satisfied with their answers.  They very much wanted me to tell them the answer and I had to say I was unsure myself.  When I explained that I thought the confusion was possibly indicative of poor design or that the meanings of some symbols need to be taught to be understood the waitress responded, "Well, this is the government making mistakes.  Don't blame the people."

I definitely won't.

Mobile Phones in China: A Variety of Options

[Note:  Originally posted on May 12, 2011.  I have reposted because the original piece was removed by Blogger in response to an incident around May 13, 2011 and has since not reappeared.  Thanks again to readers who wrote in to say that a saved copy of the post could be retrieved from some RSS readers.]

A previous post covered the topics of local rates, fashion, and fakes for mobile phones in China. Like before, what I'll share in this post is intended to be a high level overview, this time about the variety of mobile phones available in China.

In the "tier 1" cities such as Shanghai many stores selling mobile phones, especially in downtown areas, will have a selection that includes most of the major globally dominant brands. However, in many other cities the typical selection of mobile phones noticeably changes. While Western brands may still be available, there will often be a larger number of Chinese brands.

To provide a small taste of the options in a non-major Chinese city, I'll share some photos (all taken with permission) from two different stores in Zhaotong, Yunnan -- as regular readers of this blog will likely know by now a city in a very rural area of Southwest China.

Here are just some of the phones being sold in one of Zhaotong's larger department stores:

And here is a small part of the selection in one of the many small mobile phone stores one can find in Zhaotong:

Some assorted points:

• While there are some foreign brands sold in the department store such as Nokia and LG, there are a significant number of Chinese brands, including BBK, Gionee, Jugate, K-Touch, Oppo, Sunup, and more.
• Some phones in both stores show obvious attempts to be visually appealing for Chinese tastes.
• The Sunop phones with an apple on them arguably may be a trademark issue, but the overall design is not just simply copying Apple .
• In the smaller store, trademark issues are more apparent -- especially in the names of phones such as Anycoll (Anycall, a Samsung brand sold in China), Nckla (Nokia), iPheon (iPhone), Mctcrcla (Motorola), and Cppc (Oppo, a Chinese brand). As you can see, this issue is not just limited to foreign brands.

There is much more one could comment on regarding the above photos. And these are just showing a sampling of the phones in two stores out of many in Zhaotong, yet alone in China. However, they're representative enough to make a key point: there is a great variety of mobile phones available in China. There are two reasons why this point is critical to understanding the mobile phone market in China that particularly interest me.

      1) Many consumers have a very wide range of mobiles phones to choose from.

This raises a host of fascinating issues to explore. For example, what impact, if any, does the greater variety have on how people choose their mobile phone in comparison to places with less variety?

      2) It indicates there is a lot of "experimentation" occurring in China.

It's easy to criticize the mobile phone industry in China for the immense about of amount copying that occurs. It's definitely an issue but don't be fooled. There is also a significant amount of design that could be considered creative or innovative. Some of the resulting products may prove to be significantly successful or provide inspiration for better designs -- not only for the Chinese market but others as well.

I'll explore the issues of creativity and innovation in China more in later posts. I don't think they're as clear cut as some portray them to be. For now I'll just close with a claim that may come as a surprise to those who are not very familiar with China: The diversity of mobile phones available in stores in "communist" China is greater, not less, than what can be found in the US.

I'd be very interested to hear you think about that.

[UPDATE:  Follow-up post with a reader's comments and more examples of mobile phones in China here:  Mobile Phones in China: More on Variety]

Update on Starbucks in Yunnan

A quick update to my earlier post on the first Starbucks to open in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China is in order.

Today was the grand opening and I stopped by for a look:

As you can see the place was packed and there was a line extending out the door.  Later in the day all was the same.

I received some questions from people curious about cost.  For today's exchange rate some sample prices in US Dollars:

• Tall Brewed Coffee:  $2.31
• Venti Brewed Coffee:  $4.15
• Tall Mocha Frappuccino:  $4.61
• Tall Green Tea Latte:  $4.61

Prices such as these for drinks are relatively quite high for China, and especially Kunming.  For example, milk tea can be easily found for about $1.25 at other trendy tea and dessert stores nearby -- even that is a relatively high price for Kunming.

The fact that Starbucks is so busy with such high prices is a particularly good sign for them and says much about the customers' desires to purchase Starbucks' products.

Finally, I saw yet another sign of how Starbucks has localized for the Chinese market, or I should say "signs":

Signs in Kunming Starbucks' bathroom

Throwing bathroom tissue into a wastebasket can be common in parts of China where the pipes/sewage system isn't able to cope with it.  The second sign is likely due to squat toilets being very common in the region.  I assume some people may attempt to use seat toilets as squat toilets.

I suppose Starbucks has had some experience regarding these issues (and tissues) in the past.

Starbucks in China: Now in Yunnan

Starbucks rapid growth is hard not to notice in some of the more metropolitan cities in China.  In cities such as Shanghai it is not difficult in some places to find several Starbucks within a 10 minute walk of each other, if not closer.  However, Starbucks has recently begun to focus much of its growth into many cities that are unfamiliar to most people outside of China.

For example, in Kunming in the new shopping complex at the bottom of these buildings:

Is what on Thursday will be the first Starbucks to open in Yunnan, a province in Southwest China:

They will also be opening two other stores in Kunming during the following month, including one at this location only a few minutes walk away:

(extra bonus: take a look at the family of three all on one motor scooter, not a very uncommon sight in China)

Opening stores in Yunnan isn't significant only because of it being far from China's more developed eastern coast, but also because Starbucks late last year announced it would set up a coffee bean farm and processing facilities in Yunnan - significant for a province that doesn't receive the level of investment from foreign companies seen in many other provinces.

Although the first store wasn't yet open, staff were outside serving free samples of a caramel latte drink -- what for many was their first taste of Starbucks:

I was invited inside to take look around the store while they were putting on the finishing touches and starting to clean up:

While much of the style is Western, there are certainly some local touches to highlight Starbucks' special association with Yunnan:

Although the drink menu has many similarities with those found in the US, there are some differences.  For example, similar to Dairy Queen localizing its Chinese menu with mango drinks, Starbucks also has a mango drink not typically found in US stores: the Mango Passion Fruit Frappucino.  I was told that Yunnan grown coffee would not be on the drink menu, but come September customers would be able to buy Starbucks Yunnan coffee beans in packages.

Starbucks was still looking for new employees in Kunming, including these two who were applying when I stopped by:

However, Starbucks wasn't taking any risks and had brought in several experienced employees from its other stores in China, as far away as Xian and Beijing, to help for a month or two, including these two Coffee Masters:

Starbucks' employees are expect to maintain a quality and style of service similar to Starbucks' stores in the US.  While rapidly changing, service "attitudes" in much of China are different from the US so some hands on training by experienced staff is particularly important.

Based on my experience today, it seems like Starbucks has brought in a very friendly and open group to help kickoff their new store, especially my "guide" for my brief tour who used the familiar English name "Mickey":

Finally, it appears that Starbucks isn't similar to Dairy Queen only in its decision to add mango drinks to the menu, but it also faces competition similar to that faced by Dairy Queen from Mango Queen and DU.  In another part of Kunming is:

Teabucks Tea Store

Yes, Teabucks.

Welcome to Kunming, Starbucks.

[UPDATE: See details about the grand opening of this Starbucks here]

Prague Cafe, Kunming: The Drink of Choice

In yesterday's post about how "humility" and "disgrace" play an important role in China I mentioned one of the many places in China that felt far away from issues of censorship, detainment or any of the other negatives of China -- the Prague Cafe in Kunming, Yunnan:

Outside of the Prague Cafe in Kunming

However, while in many ways the cafe is a sign of progress for China there was one clear indication that progress takes time -- at least in the eyes of those of us with particular tastes in beer (see here).  Despite offering a couple of different options for Czech beer, the beer of choice by the Chinese customers there was this:

Dali Beer

The customers at the Prague Cafe were drinking a local brew -- Dali Beer.  I've had it before, in Dali in fact, and it's a mid-range quality Chinese beer (however, like for many things in China the boundaries can be fuzzy).  This may be another example of localized tastes.  More likely, though, it was related to another important issue - cost.  Many of the customers were college students and the Czech beer was significantly more expensive.

At least the customers have the choice to someday discover a wonderful Czech beer.  If they're really lucky, they'll even get to try some Czech inspired bia hoi in Vietnam some day and learn the ins and outs of how not to be tricked when trying to find some.

Copying & Localization: Dairy Queen, Mango Queen, and TCBY

Previously, I shared that not only was Dairy Queen facing an ice cream competitor with the curiously similar name DU, but also facing potential competition from Mango Queen.

Now I'll share that Dairy Queen may have decided that Mango Queen and/or others like it were on to something.  Inside a Dairy Queen in Kunming, Yunnan I saw this sign:

As seen in the center, Dairy Queen now offers two different mango drinks/smoothies.  Given typical tastes for desserts in China, this seems like a reasonable localized offering.  Dairy Queen might not have any competition from Mango Queen in Kunming but mango drinks & desserts are popular at many places.

But even if Dairy Queen corners the mango drink/smoothie market in Kunming, they may still have to worry about some other competition down the street:

Yes, it's TCBY.  I've spotted them in other cities in China as well, however they appear to be fewer in number than Dairy Queen.  In the area seen above I saw at least 4-5 Dairy Queens and 2 TCBY's within a 20 minute walking distance.  Even with that density, I saw one Dairy Queen with a line of customers stretching outside.

As evidenced by the milk tea at TCBY, a popular drink in China, it is clear they've adjusted their menu as well.  All of this goes to show how many American food & beverage companies are localizing their menus in China -- an important thing since Chinese tastes and expectations are different from American's.  I am happy to say, though, that while tastes may differ there is clear evidence that many Chinese share a preference with American's for a key item -- Oreo Blizzards remain a staple in Chinese DQ's.

The various "shared ideas" of Dairy Queen, Mango Queen, TCBY and other dessert places also highlights that the line between inspiration and copying can sometimes be fuzzy.  I'm not equating all such acts and defending plagiarism, copyright infringement, etc., but simply pointing out that there sometimes can be murkiness in these issues -- even from a purely Western perspective.

The issues of copying and localization play important roles for foreign companies doing business in China.  Copyright and trademark issues can be major problems, but to some degree many foreign companies will benefit from their own form of copying, whatever you want to call it, so they can best adapt to the local market.