se smaller quantities. It can take five times as many Chinese customers to achieve the same volume as a U.S. store. The result is a more congested store where the product assortment has been narrowed to ensure items are in stock. Wal-Mart's emphasis in its Chinese stores is on food. Food accounts for 50% of sales in China, and the presentation of food and its freshness is viewed as superior to U.S. operations because it has to do with meeting the expectations of Chinese customers. They are very selective with produce and demand freshness. In China, fresh means live, so Wal-Mart has tanks with live fish, snakes and frogs (DSN Retailing Today, 2001). Doing business in China (or most Asian countries for that matter) comes down to time and patience. These things don't happen overnight. Technology companies have the best odds of getting fast approval for projects. China wants to modernize as quickly as possible (Orange County Business Journal, 2001). While corruption is common in China, often being a good corporate citizen is enough to help get business done in the country. Conexant, which has offices in Shanghai, Shenzen and Beijing, trains Chinese engineers in the U.S. That plays well with the Chinese government. China also has a long-running tradition of lobbying and bureaucracy. Historical records indicate that lobbying Chinese feudal lords was a socially accepted occupation as early as 200 B.C. during the Han Dynasty. "Lobbying is and probably always will be a part of Chinese culture," said Gerald Hamilton, vice president of sales for Mindspeed Technologies, a unit of Conexant Systems Inc (Orange County Business Journal, 2001). Labor Practices Labor practices can be a hot issue when doing business in a foreign country. What every company tries to avoid is the type of negative publicity that circulated around Nike and Kathy Lee Gifford’s clot...
