‘China First’: Amway to open global digital and Asia product innovation centres in China
The firm also plans to build its Asia dietary supplement innovation centre in China.
The plan was announced during the China International Import Export (CIIE) held in Shanghai.
Given the vast opportunities in China, the company has adopted ‘China First’ as its global strategy and hopes to offer more tailor-made solutions for the Chinese consumers.
“Last year when we had our new CEO, (he) also proposed a ‘China First’ strategy. In fact, this strategy has showed how Amway’s future strategic focus will quickly move towards the China market.
“From the development of the internet to mobile data, and the entire data economics, this is a natural choice,” local media The Paper quoted Amway China’s CEO Yu Fang.
This year at CIIE, the firm introduced 20% to 30% more new products into the Chinese market, alongside an exhibition area double the size of last year.
Its flagship portfolio ‘Nutrilite’ is also available in more SKUs. It now has 10 SKUs in China, up from four SKUs in 2016.
The firm’s recent involvement in China also included its partnership with a government led R&D in internationalising and modernising the use of TCM worldwide.
To meet Chinese consumers’ demand for traceability, it also introduced the Nutrilite’s Traceability Program in China last year. The programme enables botanicals used in the products to be traced back to their sources.
Opportunities in China
Yu has identified three key opportunities in the China market.
First, Chinese consumers are becoming more health-conscious.
Second, the firm will push forth the ‘China First’ strategy and allocate more resources for developing the market.
Third, Amway will also upgrade its operations in China and build up its social e-commerce platform.
According to its financial report last year, 70% of Amway China’s sales were made through mobile orders.
Yu also highlighted sports nutrition, gut health, and weight management as functions to look out for in new products.
Last year, China was Amway’s biggest market. Top line growth was also seen in the US, Thailand, and India.
