Welcome to another edition of the Hongda Business Services Roundup!
The year is slowly but surely moving along and we are as busy as can be. Weather-wise things are pretty wet in the South of China to say the least, with torrential downpours and thunderstorms leaving thousands of passengers stranded at Shenzhen Airport earlier this week.
As everyone comes to terms with the weather (and having to venture outdoors to get to the office) we are bringing you another roundup of some of the posts that made an impact in our world this week:
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China accounting work: Outsourcing vs. in-house?
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The biggest lost-in-translation mistakes made by western brands in China
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Can't open a WFOE yet, but still want to sell in China? You can!
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Cross-border e-commerce nightmares: How to avoid five common pitfalls
Let's get right to it!
1) China accounting work: Outsourcing vs. in-house?
When it comes to the setting up and running of a business in China, there are so many different aspects that owners need to consider for their business to run smoothly. Whether it is staffing up and navigating local labour laws, or ensuring that one’s company is in line with government regulations, to preparing the relevant documents for monthly tax filing and the annual audit, the reality is that one can only really manage a certain number of staff and business functions before a company’s ‘business’ starts to be affected.
It is for this reason that more owners and companies are turning to outsourcing business functions. This enables focus on what really matters, their core competencies. Let's take a look at outsourcing accounting work vs. in-house to showcase how outsourcing may benefit your company in the following key areas here...
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2) The biggest lost-in-translation mistakes made by western brands in China
Louis Vuitton's necklace to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Monkey
was roundly mocked.
source credit: Business Insider
Multi-billionaire investor Warren Buffet is credited with giving this nugget of financial advice: "The 19th century belonged to England, the 20th century belonged to the US, and the 21st century belongs to China. Invest accordingly."
Western fashion brands like Nike, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Dior, and Givenchy have really taken it to heart. The famous labels have not been content with simply setting up shop across the many vast cities of the world's second largest economy. For years, to truly affirm their presence in the country, they have been producing custom items referring to Chinese culture, often using Mandarin characters.
Unfortunately, these attempts at localization have often led to ridicule from Chinese people.Gogoboi, a massively popular Chinese fashion blogger, enjoys collecting the worst examples of cultural misunderstanding from western brands. He then shares them with his 5 million followers on Weibo — a popular Chinese social media website.
Landor, a global brand consulting firm, gathered five of the worst lost-in-translation western brand mistakes that were picked up by Gogoboi, and shared them with Business Insider.
3) Can't open a WFOE yet, but still want to sell in China? You can!
These days opening a WFOE (or WOFE) is the preferred method for foreign companies to sell in China, and it's small wonder given that it gives:
- Total legality in China
- The ability to invoice in RMB
- Allowance to legally hire both foreign and local staff
- Ability to repatriate profits and export products
- Protection of IP and trademarks
- No oversight or cooperation needed from Chinese organisations
So, in short, you get the above benefits and more, allowing foreigners to own a company with the same rights to trade as local companies, and with no relationships needed with locals whatsoever; and so offering total control over their destinies.
But what happens if you're not ready to open a WFOE, not yet in a position to do so, or don't wish to, BUT you still want to trade your products in China?
Keep reading as we explore some of the options open to those of you in the above positions...
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4) Cross-border e-commerce nightmares: How to avoid five common pitfalls
Cross-border e-commerce is an ideal channel for expansion for most online merchants seeking new markets. There are obvious issues that global merchants automatically address such as creating appealing messaging in the native tongue for different cultures, customizing products according to country, and building up local contacts. But unforeseen potholes can cripple cross-border commerce if they are not addressed properly.
The expansion to foreign markets necessitates a good deal of preparation of which you may be unaware. In this article, I will discuss several issues that merchants must consider before going global.
Please let us know about any of your thoughts regarding some of the topics we recapped this week in the comments below, or let us know about any other topics you'd like for us to cover.
Whatever you decide to do this weekend hope you have a good one! See you all again next week Friday for more of the same right here...
