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Consumers

Consumers
News about consumer spending and shifting shopping habits from around the world with a focus on developments in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Ikea’s smaller stores focus on design services and curated product selections, rather than maintaining extensive on-site inventory, according to analysts. Photo: Handout
Retailing

Ikea to open first small-format Beijing store to tap changing consumer trends

The Tongzhou district outlet marks the furniture retailer’s pivot to compact formats as China’s property slump hits home-furnishing demand.

Pop Mart

Pop Mart comes with a cool idea for red-hot Labubu: mini-fridges

China manufacturing

China’s industrial profits hit 6-month high amid Iran war price spikes

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China’s private sector

Turning cast-offs into cash: China’s Zhuanzhuan looks to Europe, US for growth

From phones to luxury bags, the recycling platform wants to take its ‘trash to treasure’ model global as second-hand demand accelerates.

China’s recycling start-up Zhuanzhuan plans to tap into Europe and the US. Photo: Handout
China economy

Letters | ‘Made in China’ label should be source of pride

Readers discuss the value of goods made in China, and Hong Kong’s mega-event strategy.

Banking & finance

Beijing ramps up tax crackdown, frames consumption levies as fiscal lifelines

Authorities target retailers, shell companies and off-the-books manoeuvres to lessen tax liabilities.

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Pop Mart

China’s Pop Mart eyes expansion at home and abroad for its Pop Land theme park

The company’s sole theme park in Beijing will launch its upgraded Labubu Forest Zone on Thursday.

Pop Mart’s Pop Land theme park in Beijing. Photo: AFP
China stock market

Baijiu bet: top China fund manager backs consumer rebound

Zhang Kun ramps up exposure to liquor makers and e-commerce, backing a gradual recovery in consumption despite weak retail data.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s durian growers in ‘survival mode’ as early glut squeezes export trade

An early bumper harvest and rising fuel and freight costs are squeezing premium durian exporters as they race to get their fruit into China.

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Indonesia

Can Indonesia’s front-of-pack nutrition labels help fight rising obesity?

Indonesians welcome the new labelling system to reduce sugar, salt and fat intake, but experts warn it is not a ‘silver bullet’.

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A street vendor sells drinks and other items at a beach in Bali. Many food and drink products in Indonesia already have a Guideline Daily Amount nutrition facts label. Photo: EPA-EFE
Electric & new energy vehicles

China’s premium EVs mount tech-powered challenge to BMW, Mercedes-Benz at expo

10-day show in Beijing, the world’s largest, to feature 1,451 models and exhibition area of 380,000 square metres.

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A worker puts the finishing touches on the China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing on Wednesday ahead of Auto China 2026. Photo: AFP
Cambodia

Cambodia is boycotting Thai products. Smuggled chicken could show otherwise

The Cambodian public is maintaining a boycott of Thai businesses even as the country’s economy is reeling from the global fuel crisis.

Electric & new energy vehicles

CATL to supercharge China’s EV sector with revamped battery tech

World’s largest EV battery producer reveals third-gen product that charges in under six and a half minutes, easing drivers’ range anxiety.

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Indonesia

Indonesia’s state energy firm raises fuel prices, risking subsidy strain

Analysts warn the price increases could encourage better-off consumers to switch to products meant for lower-income households.

A worker organises liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders at a distribution center in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in March. Photo: EPA
E-commerce

Hidden office, fractured bone: violent clashes in China’s food safety crackdown

Details of secrecy, obstruction and violence emerge from a probe into 67,000 ‘ghost’ bakeries across China’s biggest e-commerce platforms.

Regulators have imposed the heaviest fine of 1.51 billion yuan on PDD and suspended it from adding new bakery merchants for nine months. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong property

‘Kidults’ and nostalgia drive Toys ‘R’ Us pivot as Hong Kong retail evolves

The retailer is refining its operations with smaller outlets and lifestyle products to capture new demand from Gen Z and young adults.

US, Israel war on Iran

Why Iran war is making petrol cars an unwanted luxury in Asia

From Nepal to Vietnam, soaring fuel costs are making petrol cars a luxury as Asia outpaces Europe in the race to go electric.

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China trade

Record-setting Canton Fair under Middle East cloud as costs hit China’s exports

Manufacturers and buyers offer on-the-ground perspectives at China’s largest trade exhibition, swapping stories and predictions amid massive turnout.

Buyers browse household electrical appliances at the 139th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, in Guangdong province on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
United States

Ticketmaster owner Live Nation ran illegal monopoly, US jury finds

The anticompetitive conduct hurt music fans and the industry, the panel said in a verdict that may have big repercussions on the music world.

Malaysia

Malaysians urged to tighten their belts as Iran war fallout starts to bite

Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir warns the effects of the crisis can last until next year, with oil prices expected to remain high.

China’s private sector

Chinese firms drawn to Brazil as they seek anchor for Latin America expansion

Chinese brands like Mixue, BYD, and Geely are surging into Brazil, leveraging strong trade ties and local strategies for growth.

Chinese ice cream and beverage chain Mixue opened its first Brazilian store in Sao Paulo, on April 11, 2026. Photo: Reuters
China’s private sector

China’s tea-drink shops thirst for profits as price wars dry up prospects

‘I am learning a hard lesson of how involution can destroy my business,’ a Shanghai shop operator says.

Tea-drink sales grew 6.4 per cent in 2025, a sharp drop from annualised growth of more than 20 per cent over the past two decades. Photo: Shutterstock
European Union

Ireland police remove farmers, blockades protesting against fuel price rises

The protests have led to blockades at Ireland’s only oil refinery and prevented tanker trucks from delivering fuel to petrol stations.

Electric & new energy vehicles

Hyundai spearheads foreign EV comeback push in China with Ioniq brand

South Korean carmaker bets on local partnerships and technology as global brands prepare fresh push into China’s fast-moving EV market.

United States

Popeyes returns to Beijing after 24 years, as global chains eye China growth

Brand aims to open up to 20 stores in Beijing this year after ‘two years of exploration’, mostly in Shanghai, to perfect its model, CEO says.

Diners crowd Popeyes’ Beijing store at The Malls at Oriental Plaza on April 10, 2026. Photo: Zhu Wenqian
China inflation

China’s factory-gate prices rise for first time in 3 years as Iran war bites

The producer price index rose by 0.5 per cent in March, the first increase since 2022, as soaring global commodity prices affected Chinese firms.

A worker fills up a car at a petrol station in eastern China’s Shandong province. Photo: Getty Images
Banking & finance

Yiwu market owner eyes Hong Kong IPO to support overseas expansion

Hong Kong listing plan comes after the company reported net profit of 4.2 billion yuan for 2025, up 36.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Fashion

Feng Chen Wang on 10 years in fashion and ‘Chinamaxxing’ before it was cool

The Chinese-born designer, who had Virgil Abloh as a mentor, just celebrated her brand’s 10th year at Shanghai Fashion Week.

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