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|Morus Walter <morus.wal...@tanto-xipolis.de>
|Re: Filtering the entire index
|Wed, 16 Apr 2003 06:33:23 GMT
Hi Ryan, > > I would like to be able to search the entire index and use only the Lucene > filters for results. I had a lot of trouble searching for date and int > ranges using terms and consequently used the ChainableFilter code (thanks to > Kelvin Tan) which works like a charm as long as I include some query. I can > not see a way of just using * as a query (cant start search with * etc) > > Of course the idea of saying search everything in the index just to let the > filters do the work seems a bit daft to me so possibly I'm on the completely > wrong track? > What's the use of a query in this scenario? I mean, if you have a filter describing the documents you want to find, you can simply loop over the filter and fetch the documents, for which the bit is set, using a IndexReader. Ok, it's a few lines of code to write (<= 10 I guess) but I don't see any advantage from combining this with a query. Morus --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com For additional commands, e-mail: email@example.com
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PC gamers looking to pick a virtual fight have two new historical titles to whet their appetite for destruction.
THQ's Titan Quest is an action-heavy role-playing game (RPG) that fuses ancient Greek and Egyptian history with mythological beasts. Midway's Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War, on the other hand, is a strategy game that also allows you to take control over a hero and fight alongside troops on the battlefield.
Both titles cost $49.99, are rated "Teen" (designed for ages 13 and older) and require a DVD-ROM drive to play. Here's a closer look at each one:
Titan Quest
Unleash your inner warrior with this accessible yet deep action-RPG hybrid that lets you create a male or female fighter and venture out in a huge and dangerous ancient world.
MULTIMEDIA: Screen shots
While taking on missions in fabled locations such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Great Pyramids, you'll face many mythological adversaries, be it satyr beasts, the Limos demons, club-wielding centaurs and the spiderlike Arachnos. Your goal is to imprison the Titan gods before they can wreak more havoc on humankind.
As with many RPGs, you begin the game weak and ill-equipped, but over time amass weaponry and magic and the skills to use them. In fact, you can choose one of eight mastery paths to hone certain skills, such as Earth-based combat (command volcanic fissures to open beneath your enemies' feet) or storm-based talents, such as hurling thunderbolts.
Not that you'll have much time to pay attention to the visuals, but Titan Quest is one gorgeous game, be it the shimmering water scenes to wheat fields that blow in the wind to the stunning special effects when battling giant baddies. The angled top-down view and simple mouse-based interface will be familiar to Diablo players.
One complaint: Titan Quest only allows for one save slot, which means you can only earmark one spot in the game to revisit when your character perishes. Otherwise, your character "re-spawns" at the nearest magical fountain. Most computer games allow you to save your progress at different points in the game, which is also nice if you want to replay a particular area.
Gamers who prefer to battle other human opponents will find Titan Quest a cinch to find and launch a multiplayer match over the Internet.
Download the free 494.7-megabyte Titan Quest demo at FilePlanet (www.fileplanet.com).
'Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War'
Rewrite ancient history with this new strategy game, starring you as a legendary leader, be it Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar or Nebuchadnezzar, to name a few.
While on the surface the game resembles other real-time strategy titles — you must first collect resources such as wood and gold, then build structures and create soldier units — but once your hero gains enough fighting points, you can double-click his or her picture at the top of the screen to fight as the character on the battlefield.
MULTIMEDIA: Trailer | Screen shots
The screen switches from an eagle-eye perspective to an "over-the-shoulder" view of your warrior as you swing Alexander's sword to defeat General Demetrius or shoot arrows at enemies as Cleopatra. You can also engage in naval battles against opposing forces by ramming, boarding or firing at enemy ships.
While it's a nice gimmick, these simple third-person action sequences aren't as much fun as maneuvering huge armies over battlefields, so you may opt to stick to the strategic game play — playing as commander instead of a soldier, if you will.
Other complaints include slow load times, blocky graphics and choppy multiplayer performance (and you need a GameSpy I.D. to play, so it takes a lot longer to get going than Titan Quest. And this is after sitting through a 32MB download "update" after the game is installed.
Despite these criticisms, Rise & Fall is an above-average game, but be sure to try before you buy: download the 410MB demo at www.riseandfallgame.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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By The Associated Press
Argentina, England, the Czech Republic and Tunisia got ready for the World Cup with victories in warmup games Tuesday.
Host Germany wasn't as lucky, settling for a 2-2 tie with World Cup qualifier Japan. Defending champion Brazil routed the Swiss club FC Lucerne 8-0, with Ronaldo and Adriano scoring two goals each.
Argentina edged Angola 2-0 on goals from Maxi Rodriguez and Juan Pablo Sorin. England beat Hungary 3-1 behind goals from Steve Gerrard, John Terry and Peter Crouch.
Also, the Czechs edged Costa Rica 1-0, Tunisia beat Belarus 3-0, Ivory Coast was held to a 1-1 tie by Chile and Poland lost to Colombia 2-1. In an exhibition between non-qualifiers, Uruguay beat Libya 2-1.
Rodriguez gave the Argentines the lead in the 28th minute off a pass from Sorin. Argentina made it 2-0 in the 36th when Sorin added another goal. Lionel Messi came on as a substitute in the 63rd and had a chance to score in the 88th but sent his shot wide.
Argentina, a two-time World Cup champion, was drawn into the toughest group at this year's tournament with the Netherlands, Serbia-Montenegro and Ivory Coast. Angola faces Mexico, Portugal and Iran in Group D.
Gerrard and Terry scored for England with headers within four minutes of each other early in the second half. Crouch added the third goal in the 84th minute. Pal Dardai made it 2-1 by scoring for Hungary in the 55th.
The game marked the international debut of Theo Walcott, who became England's youngest international player at 17 years, 75 days when he came on in the 65th minute, breaking Wayne Rooney's record. He nearly scored in the 88th but his shot went wide.
England plays in Group B at the World Cup in Germany with Sweden, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago.
In Leverkusen, the Germans scored two late goals to tie Japan.
After a scoreless first half, Atsushi Yanagisawa scored two goals to give the visitors the lead. Miroslav Klose then headed in from close range in the 76th and Bastian Schweinsteiger tied it in the 80th with another header.
"It was hard, we are in the middle of preparations and it showed — our legs were tired. This is normal, we still have 10 days — the main thing is we came back," Germany captain Michael Ballack said.
Japan looked well prepared for Brazil, Croatia and Australia in Group F.
"We developed our game very well and we led and that was very good, and we could have won," said Zico, a former Brazilian star now coaching Japan.
Germany opens the World Cup against Costa Rica on June 9. It also plays Poland and Ecuador in Group A.
Jan Koller started his first international game since injuring his knee in September, leading the Czech Republic over Costa Rica in Jablonec Nad Nisou, Czech Republic. Substitute Vratislav Lokvenc headed in a cross from Libor Sionko in the 82nd minute.
"Physically, I felt good but of course my play is not ideal yet," Koller said.
The Czechs are in Group E with the United States, Italy and Ghana.
Hamed Namouchi, Francileudo Santos and Issam Jomaa each scored to lift Tunisia over Belarus in Rades, Tunisia. Tunisia will face Spain, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia in Group H.
Goalkeeper Luis Enrique Martinez scored with a punt from his own goal box in the 64th minute to help Colombia beat host Poland in Chorzow. Poland substitute goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak misjudged the bouncing ball, and it dropped over his outstretched arms.
"We can't concede goals like those," Poland coach Pawel Janas said. "I'm unhappy, but the match is over and we have some tough work behind us."
Ivory Coast and Chile each scored a penalty kick in their tie in Vittell, France.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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The space shuttle Atlantis worked hard during its career, flying a total of 156 different crew members on 33 missions from 1985 to 2011. And now it's time for a well-earned retirement. On Friday, NASA's third and last operating space shuttle, moves 10 miles down the street from the Kennedy Space Center to its final home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Merritt Island in Florida. Motorists traveling along the route tomorrow should be able to spot the shuttle's hat poking above the steering wheel as it travels 40 mph on the highway. Actually, it won't be traveling nearly that fast (nor will it be behind the wheel). Atlantis will be transported on a 76-wheel vehicle over a 12-hour period, with a NASA ceremony, viewing opportunities for the public and a couple of bathroom stops scheduled along the way. And talk about high maintenance! According to Reuters, "To make way for Atlantis (which is 122 feet long and 78 feet wide), crews have temporarily removed 120 light poles, 23 traffic signals, 66 road signs and one high-voltage power line." Plus it will insist that all those damn kids along the way stop making so much noise. Once at its new home, Atlantis will hang from the ceiling of the visitor complex. The shuttle weighs 154,000 pounds (without its three main engines), so I for one will not be standing under it. During its illustrious and hard-working career, Atlantis circled the Earth 4,848 times, stubbornly refusing to ask for directions. In terms of distance, that equates to almost 126 million miles of space travel. It took more than four years for Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division to build Atlantis. Fellow retired space shuttle Endeavor was moved on Oct. 14 to its retirement home at the California Science Center. The third remaining shuttle, Discovery, is on display at a National Air and Space Museum facility in Virginia. Here's wishing all the space shuttles a long and happy retirement. Now read this:
Bizarre stuff you never knew about Venus and Mars
The tiny (yet powerful) world of speckled computing
Distracting sounds linked to diminished focus, memory, according to LSU study


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With increased disposal income, urbanization and food safety concerns, Chinese are consuming more U.S. food products; this is partly due to the excellent quality and safety reputation of American food products.
THIS REPORT CONTAINS ASSESSMENTS OF COMMODITY AND TRADE ISSUES MADE BY USDA STAFF AND NOT NECESSARILY STATEMENTS OF OFFICIAL U.S. GOVERNMENT POLICY Voluntary - Public Date: 1/26/2011 GAIN Report Number: CH0816 China - Peoples Republic of Post: Shanghai ATO China Retail Annual Report Report Categories: Retail Food Sector Approved By: Keith Schneller Prepared By: Leanne Wang, May Liu, Tong Wang and ATO-Chengdu Report Highlights: With increased disposal income, urbanization and food safety concerns, Chinese are consuming more U.S. food products; this is partly due to the excellent quality and safety reputation of American food products. While the Chinese economy has slowed this past year, it is still growing faster than any other major economy. This fact and Chinese customers? growing taste for imported products, makes the Chinese market very attractive to many U.S. food producers. Executive Summary In response to rising inflation and food safety concerns, more Chinese people are cutting back on eating out and are now cooking more and more at home. Consumers of imported food are generally expatriates and high and upper ?middle income locals. They are least affected by inflation and pay great attention to food safety. Consumption of western style products continues to grow as they generally are regarded as good quality, nutritious and safe. Some products, such as fresh fruit, frozen vegetables and nuts, have much deeper penetration, and some supermarkets and convenience stores are becoming more interested in imported products. Rapid economic growth has caused the total U.S. dollar sales value of food and beverages to rise by 26.2% to USD132 billion in 2008. International hypermarket retailers generally have a high level of familiarity with imported brands and products, and recognize the value of bringing new products to market. Hypermarkets frequently source high-volume merchandise directly from manufacturers but rarely do so with imports. Hypermarkets in China tend to develop groups of favored distributors. They dislike working with unfamiliar companies unless they can offer a large number of products, strong marketing support, or some other incentive. Specialty supermarket stores include those targeted to expatriates, upscale and upper-middle Chinese consumers and shoppers that want organic foods, wine, cheese and similar high-end products. These stores have proliferated in recent years, not only in first tier cities such as Shanghai or Beijing but also in some second tier cities. Originally designed for expatriates, these stores are becoming more and more popular by Chinese consumers. Some stores market more than 70-80% imported goods. Retail distribution channels have not grown to match the number and quality of retail outlets. China does not have a nationwide network of trucks, highways and cold storage warehouses that can efficiently deliver supplies from the manufacturer or importer to the store shelf. A lack of appreciation for the value of maintaining the cold chain creates special problems for temperature sensitive items. With some notable exceptions, distribution is handled on a store-by-store or city-by- city basis, with stores receiving most imports through a local distributor, often even when alternatives exist. Because of their relative size, stores are able to effectively pass all market risk onto the distributor. Distributors, in turn, tend to be very conservative about new products. If goods do not sell, the distributors are unable to return imported products. Distribution varies widely throughout China based on geography, product type and retail sector. As a general rule, the three cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing have the best infrastructure and the largest number of experienced distributors. Increasingly, those systems are being extended to the large webs of satellite cities surrounding Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. Other major cities along the eastern seaboard, beyond the reach of the ?big three,? generally have good logistics infrastructure, but most still rely on one of the ?big three? as an entry point for imports. Farther inland, there are a number of large cities with good market potential. Logistics can be problematic, but improvements in the national highway system have made trucking direct from Shanghai or Guangzhou far easier than it was just a few years ago. As a result, high value and temperature sensitive products shipped by truck directly from the importer to a local distributor do surprisingly well. Currently, many secondary cities have only a single distributor for imports, particularly for high-value or temperature- sensitive products. Multi modal refrigerated rail transportation to inland cities may become viable over the next several years. Several international companies are currently developing local partnerships to create modern cold chain and distribution systems across China. The most serious competition for U.S. food exporters comes from local and joint venture food producers and processors. The quality of fruit and vegetables in particular has increased rapidly, and many local traders now contend that the best of China?s fruit is similar in quality to imports. While some firms are trying to lower the price of imported products, the general trend to date has been for local manufacturers to push imports out of the price-driven mass market and into niche markets where quality and novelty are more important than price. The United States remains the largest single exporter of consumer-oriented food to China, and is the only exporter with a presence in most categories. China is not a single market but a jigsaw puzzle of small, overlapping markets separated by geography, culture, cuisine, demographics and dialects. As such, there is no single formula for success in China. The fragmented distribution and logistics systems help to reinforce existing divisions. While smaller emerging cities are still relatively small consumer markets compared to Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, they are starting to grow faster than the major markets and many would be considered large cities in countries other than China and India. Consumer Spending Patterns In responding to rising inflation and food safety concerns, more and more Chinese people are reducing the number of times they eat out each week and are cooking more often at home. Imported food consumers are generally expatriates, and high and upper ?middle locals. They are least affected by inflation and pay great attention to food safety. Consumption of western style products continues to grow as they generally enjoy a reputation for good quality, and being nutritious and safe. Industry sources told post more local consumers are buying imported food products due to health and food safety concerns. Convenience is also an import factor due to increasingly fast paced lifestyles. Chilled processed food and frozen processed food will see relatively rapid growth in the near future. As a result of the melamine contamination scare, many consumers in China switched to soy milk or soy drink as an alternative dairy protein source. Strong and continuous economic growth caused urban Chinese to increase their spending on food by almost 30% from year 2004 to 2009 when measured in U.S. dollars. While average annual food purchases for all cities was slightly more than $600 per year, per person food consumption in Shanghai was slightly more than $1,000 per person, and that in Beijing and Guangdong was about $800 per person. This compares with U.S. food purchases per person of about $2,300/year. Urban food purchases per person in Sichuan, a province in Western China that contains the city of Chengdu, come in at the national average for urban areas - demonstrating the potential of markets in western China. While there are some smaller cities where per capita income is about equal to that of Shanghai (such as Ningbo), the population and wealth of the three largest urban areas - Shanghai, Guangdong, and Beijing - lead most exporters to concentrate on at least one of those markets. Even some of the wealthiest rural areas in China - those in the commercial province of Zhejiang south of Shanghai - have a lower level of consumption than urban areas in poor provinces. Disposable income in these areas is rising rapidly however. If the current consumption data is correct, the rural population in Zhejiang province may achieve Shanghai's current level of consumption in 15 years. The population in most urban areas will likely still be more wealthy. . China is a very large country and different parts of China are at different levels of development. However, there are large variations of income and pockets of wealth in all large urban areas, and Chinese cities are no exception. The variation of wealth in China is illustrated in Table 1 in the Appendix. The wealthiest areas in China are Beijing and Tianjin in the north, Guangdong and Fujian in the south, and the Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang area in eastern China. There are many urban centers in China that westerners have not heard of. Even a "small" city by Chinese standards may have millions of people. These are becoming much more prosperous, and their growth rates are starting to exceed those of the three large urban areas. It would be a mistake to overlook these markets and the potential to develop strong market positions in them. While there are certainly opportunities in these secondary markets, the number of distributors handling your type of product may be very limited. Given differences in regional tastes, logistical difficulties, and the size of China, many exporters choose to focus in a particular region of China first rather than try to develop the entire market at once. The Chinese Central Government is promoting aggressive policies to develop these interior regions and many multinational companies are racing to establish an early presence in many of these major urban centers. Opportunities are waiting to be found, but require resources and patience. Market Size and Segments Determining the size and rate of growth of Chinese purchases of food and beverages is complicated. The official data does not attempt to pick up the smallest enterprises, and the usual concerns about data quality in a developing country are compounded by China's legacy of central planning. The Yuan also rose by about 9.5% against the U.S. dollar from 2007 to 2008. This gave an added boost to Chinese expenditures when measured in dollar terms. According to China's 2009 Statistical Yearbook, the total sales value of food and beverages rose by 15.3% in 2008, from 793 billion RMB in 2007 to 914 billion RMB in 2008. If you are a U.S. exporter, however, the change in U.S. dollars may be more useful to look at. Using average annual exchange rates, we find that the total sales volume in U.S. dollars rose by 26.2% in 2008, from $104 billion in 2007 to $132 billion in 2008. Market Segments While 2008 sales data for the major retailers is available, it is of limited use when discussing market segments. This is because retailers in China often cross several market segments. Some domestic players have hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, and specialty stores. However, we can say that most imported products have found their greatest success in the hypermarkets and in specialty supermarkets. Some products, such as fruits and snacks, have much deeper penetration, and some supermarkets and convenience stores may be becoming more interested in imported products. Hypermarkets: The hypermarket format is much more concentrated than other grocery channels. While some domestic retailers (including CRV-China Resources Vanguard and Lianhua) have a significant presence, this format is dominated by foreign operators including Carrefour, Wal-Mart, Metro, Lotus, Auchan and Tesco. In Shanghai for example, the 82 foreign hypermarkets accounted for 78.6% of the total hypermarket sales volume in 2008. Other retail channels, most notably supermarkets, are highly fragmented and controlled by domestic players. With the strong and sustainable development of China?s macro economy, the urbanization process continued its stable growth, and hypermarkets benefited from the urbanization trend. In contrast to people in rural areas, urban inhabitants are more willing to buy branded daily necessities from well- known hypermarkets, supermarkets and shop in department stores, rather than purchase products through traditional channels such as independent small grocery stores (xiao mai bu) or wet markets. Consequently, hypermarkets/supermarkets, particularly well-known names such as Carrefour, Auchan and Wal-Mart, recorded higher value growth than independent small grocers, thanks primarily to the urbanization trend. In addition, they also benefit from their reputation for offering better quality products than most domestic retailers, thanks to stricter quality control in a country where food safety is a major concern after several disturbing food scandals in recent years. In food products, especially fresh food, hypermarket retailers benefit from better hygiene controls and a higher volume flow rate, and are thus able to ensure better food safety for consumers. As such, an increasing number of Chinese consumers visit hypermarkets instead of independent food stores for grocery shopping. The proportion of grocery products in hypermarkets continues to increase, rising from 54% in 2005 to 60% in 2009. As a result, hypermarkets are trying to provide more food categories in order to meet the demands of consumers. Among them, fresh produce has become an attractive section to draw in Chinese consumers. International retailers generally have a higher level of familiarity with imported brands and products, and recognize the value of bringing new products to market and promoting them. Hypermarkets are also the major sales venue for imported food products, due to international retailer?s familiarity with imported products and better management and organization skills. Most are experienced in promoting new products, and Shanghai flagship stores like Carrefour?s Gubei store or Lotus? Superbrand Mall store in the Pudong area have it down to a science. Despite this, imports rarely constitute more than 5% of total SKUs even in high profile stores. Nevertheless hypermarkets are the single best retail venue for imported products. Most hypermarket chains vary the proportion of imported goods they carry in individual stores depending on the income level and foreign population that the store serves. Meanwhile, the urbanization trend in lower-tier cities has also stimulated leading retailers? expansion into less developed regions, to seize the opportunity in second-and third tier cities. The hypermarket has been well accepted by affluent customers due to large parking facilities, multiple stores and numerous restaurants and coffee shops that enable consumers to combine shopping and leisure activities. Most hypermarkets in China offer free shuttle bus service to nearby communities and constantly offer promotional items to attract consumers. These measures successfully draw heavy traffic to the store, but some consumers go to the store to buy the promotional items only, reducing the purchase per customer. This active promoting may also drive away some high-end consumers who desire a less crowded environment and more concentrated product display. As a result, specialty supermarket stores such as City Shop in Shanghai and Wuhan Life & Theatre supermarkets, both targeting high and upper-middle class clients, have successfully attracted customers from the hypermarkets. The most decisive component in hypermarket food promotion for imported goods is free sampling. Consumers are cautious rather than impulsive buyers, and will rarely spend money on a product they have not had a chance to try. Hypermarket promotions also come with many strings attached. Some charge listing fees, most demand that promoters be provided at the distributor?s expense (some even charge fees to have the promoters on their premises). Some require two months? credit, while others pay up front. Other conditions include accepting returns of unsold products at the end of the promotion. Although these problems are usually handled by the distributor, they will affect your sales. In addition to the major chains, hypermarkets often face competition (especially in Northeast and Central China) from local department store operators with one or two locations and specialty supermarket stores. Department stores have evolved in the direction of hypermarkets, adding large food stores, while many hypermarkets have taken on some attributes of department stores. Hypermarkets in China tend to be somewhat smaller than their western counterparts, and very few (excepting Metro) follow the big-box format faithfully. In large cities, they are typically multi-story operations. Most act as small shopping malls, setting aside a large amount of space for independent boutiques and eateries, a habit that tends to reinforce the perception of hypermarkets as places for occasional shopping expeditions rather than daily shopping. For the hypermarket itself, the food sales area typically accounts for about half of the total area. Management within the stores tends to be quite good, but distribution has not kept pace. Hypermarkets in China tend to develop groups of favored distributors. They dislike working with unfamiliar companies unless they can offer a large number of SKUs, strong marketing support or some other incentive. Distributors tend to be very conservative in introducing new products, due to the high level of market risk. As a result, exporters with a limited product range need to work both ends of the problem at the same time: identifying a retailer that is interested in the product, and identifying a distributor that either has an existing relationship or is willing to work with the retailer. Supermarkets: Domestic players dominated in supermarket sector. Companies like Lianhua, China Resources Vanguard, and Suguo are the major players in the market. But it?s still quite a fragmented market; there are a large number of regional small chained or independent supermarkets in the country, especially in many second and third tier cities. But some international retailers have started to enter this market in recent years. For example, Tesco launched a new brand called Tesco Express in mid 2008 in Shanghai, which was designed as an outlet mainly selling fresh food and daily supplies to nearby communities. In 2009, Wal-mart also opened its neighborhood market outlets. Post believes more international retailers will enter this market in the future. Imported food is relatively rare in Chinese supermarkets. Products that do well in this sector tend to be commodity products already widely available, such as fresh fruit, frozen vegetables and nuts. Supermarkets rarely if ever import directly, or even buy directly from an importer, tending instead to rely on wholesale markets and local manufacturers or distributors. Stores with a significant expatriate community nearby are likely to carry imported breakfast cereals and a perfunctory selection of imported sauces (especially pasta sauce) and seasonings. The best possibilities are in the smaller, privately held chains, which are more likely to see the value of high-margin imports and tend to have better integrated distribution systems. Such chains may carry products as varied as wine, exotic fruit (avocados, in one case) or confectionery, but only in low volumes and on an irregular basis. Even so, price will remain a consideration. State-owned supermarket chains generally have less integrated management and distribution. Opportunities exist, but only on a limited basis with a small number of stores, and only for products already present in the market. For either state-owned or private supermarkets, direct contact with company managers is the best means of introducing a new product. Import penetration is lower in supermarkets than other modern retail venues. U.S. food products in these venues are typically limited to frozen corn and mixed vegetables, frozen potato products, some packaged goods and occasionally fruit (apples or oranges). Other items tend to appear on a haphazard basis: past checks have turned up breakfast cereals, low-end wines and Washington state apples. The sparse selection of imports is rooted in the customer base of these stores, which focus on working class shoppers, who are notoriously price sensitive and less inclined to try new products than the more well-heeled customers that frequent hypermarkets and upscale convenience stores. Distribution is also a problem, as stores tend to source from local distributors, directly from manufacturers, or from local wholesale markets. Supermarkets are often franchised in China and can have much smaller footprints than is common in the United States. In order to compete with hypermarkets, Shanghai?s supermarkets are putting more efforts into enlarging their fresh section, catering to the tastes and demands of local consumers. The local government is also encouraging supermarket chains to create ?fresh? supermarkets, expanding the floor space dedicated to fresh products from less than 1/3 to over 1/2. Over 300 stores in Shanghai have finished the change. And sales of fresh produce are gradually increasing. Supermarkets throughout the region (including Suguo, a unit of CRV) appear to be moving in this direction, but are being slowed by problems in sourcing large quantities of quality product. This could also indicate trend away from low cost, traditional ?wet markets? which are often unable to match hygiene standards of supermarket/hypermarket chains. However wet markets still dominate sales of those fruits and vegetables. Specialty Supermarket Stores and Boutique stores: These stores have multiplied in the last few years. They are often located adjacent to high-end department stores or upscale business centers. Built to attract upscale consumers in first and second-tier cities, they have a high proportion of imported food products ? ranging from 10 to 80 percent of products. They are not only present in first tier cities such as Shanghai but also in some second tier cities like Wuhan or Hangzhou. Some high-end and specialty products first enter the Chinese market through these types of outlets before moving on to larger venues. Some of these companies also include import/distribution operations, and can assist exporters with issues such as labeling and product registration. Otherwise, exporters will need to identify a good distributor. In the case of high-end and specialty products, HRI-focused distributors (who are familiar with the products but may lack experience with labeling issues) may be as helpful as larger retail-oriented distributors (who often lack experience marketing high-end products), particularly in emerging city markets. Because of the small scale and highly varied nature of this market segment, interested exporters should contact the relevant ATO for a list of potential venues and importers/distributors. China is well covered with ATOs in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang. In Shanghai, many retailers have entered this sector to capture opportunities. City Shop Supermarket continues to be one of the best single venues for imported food, and now does significant business as a distributor of imports to other stores. Hong Kong based City-Super opened its first outlet and CRV's Ole opened two stores in Shanghai. Trade sources indicated another Hong Kong based high- end retailer is coming soon. Product assortment and service are key to be successful in this segment. The leading boutique retailers in northern China are BHG (Beijing Hualian Supermarket) and Ole in Beijing, Hisense Plaza in Qingdao and Jin Bou Da in Zhengzhou. Specialized imported food supermarkets also target high-end customers and expatriates in Beijing, Qingdao and Zhengzhou. BHG has several stores in Nanjing. Convenience Stores: Management in convenience store chains is probably the best of any retail sector. All stores have refrigerator and freezer sections, microwave ovens, and most have a selection of hot snacks (mostly meatball, tea eggs or tofu on skewers). Store layouts are highly standardized, although some chains have developed more complex systems that customize product selection to the peculiar location based on past sales patterns, and neighborhood income levels/spending habits. Stores are providing more and more services of ?convenience? such as payment services and delivery services. The concept of trading higher prices for convenience will take time to be accepted by Chinese consumers. Competition also tends to make convenience stores conservative about pricing, though ATO Shanghai?s experience indicates that chain managers are more price sensitive than their customers. The convenience store sector is relatively saturated in major cities especially in Shanghai. It is said that the average number of convenience stores per thousand people in Shanghai is even higher than the number in many developed countries. However, International brands still wants to gain a foothold in this highly populated and prosperous market in China, 7-Eleven, the World? largest convenience store chain, entered the market in Shanghai in 2009, and is very strong in South-China. Import penetration in this sector tends to be relatively low, despite a high level of interest on the part of several chains. Being largely domestic companies, management at convenience store chains tends to be less familiar with imported products than their counterparts in the hypermarket sector. A second difficulty faced by imports is packaging: convenience stores typically require smaller package sizes, being focused mainly on single-serving products. However the foreign players in the market, such as 7-Eleven and Family-Mart, have introduced more imported products into their stores. But these are mainly from Japan and south-east Asian countries. Exporters are advised to open discussions directly with chain officials to identify products with potential, and ensure that packaging meets their needs. Then the exporter will need to identify a local distributor that can handle the import paperwork and labeling issues. One alternative to this is to work with an importer/repacker, who can import in bulk, then package the products in China with Chinese labels and packaging appropriate to the convenience market. This strategy has proven extremely successful for U.S. prunes. One U.S. distributor in Beijing is directly importing products from the U.S. and is managing his own paperwork and packing. Managing logistics for convenience stores is very challenging. Limited shelf and storage spaces make convenience stores heavily reliant on sophisticated logistic systems that should provide delivery 2 or 3 times a day. But in Shanghai most convenience stores are guaranteed just one delivery per day. This adversely affects the ability of these stores to offer the fresh and ready-to-eat products that are among their most attractive offerings. In addition, the need for small package sizes limits their set of suppliers. Traditional Markets: These continue to be a presence throughout China, although they are no longer the dominant factor in the larger cities. Traditional markets fall into three general categories: wet markets, variety stores (xiaomaibu), and fruit stands. Wet markets specialize mainly in fresh vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood (Mostly sold live), eggs, tofu and to a lesser extent, fruit and staple foods. Sanitary standards are extremely low, particularly for meat. Officials generally regard wet markets as an eyesore, as well as a source of both food safety problems and unregulated (i.e., untaxed) commerce. The SARS epidemics of 2003, followed shortly by avian influenza outbreaks, provided more impetus to efforts to reform or close these markets. Nonetheless, they persist. The main reason for this is a lack of alternatives for buying fresh vegetables and, to a lesser extent, meat. With local government support, however, supermarkets? efforts to expand the fresh section, and especially with consumers? growing concerns over food safety, these traditional markets will gradually be phased out. The other traditional formats are small variety stores (xiaomaibu) and fruit stands. The typical xiaomaibu is much smaller than even a convenience store, family owned, and stocks an eclectic mix of products. Although they face a serious challenge from convenience stores, the xiaomaibu persists even in Shanghai. While convenience chains follow standard formats and target key sites (train and bus stations, schools, hospitals, etc.), xiaomaibu are infinitely adaptable. Small size and independent ownership allows these shops to adapt to individual sites such as apartment complexes, and adapt their product selection even to match individual consumers. Like convenience stores, xiaomaibu also offer a range of services such as bill payment and IP telecommunication card sales. Fruit stands fill another gap left by the convenience stores, which rarely carry more than one or two types of fruit. Sales are boosted by the tradition of giving gifts when visiting friends, and most fruit stands will wrap fruit baskets to order. Fruit stands frequently carry imported fruit, usually for inclusion in fruit baskets. However, they are generally regarded as poor venues for imported products, as they are generally price driven, poorly regulated and lack the means to store fruit properly. Counterfeiting is widespread in these markets, and where a brand name adds value, it is certain to be copied. As a result, there is little room for marketing and promotion of imported products. While both xiaomaibus and fruit stands will likely continue to decline in numbers relative to convenience stores, China?s high urban population densities are likely to support their continued existence for many years. Recently, there are new companies engaging in on-line sales of high quality imported fruits with next day delivery as incomes rise and internet usage increases, online sales may become good alternative to traditional fruit stand sales in the future. Product Distribution Retail distribution channels have not grown to match the number and quality of retail outlets. Roughly the size of the continental United States., China does not have a nationwide network of trucks, highways and cold storage warehouses that can efficiently deliver supplies from the manufacturer or importer to the store shelf. With some notable exceptions, distribution is handled on a store-by-store or city-by-city basis, with stores receiving most imports through a local distributor, often even when alternatives exist. Because of their relative size, stores are able to negotiate highly favorable terms that include free return of unsold products, high listing fees for new products, and credit terms, effectively passing all market risk onto the distributor. This gives store managers a powerful incentive to favor the local distributor over alternatives that offer less generous terms. In at least one case, an international retailer?s effort to establish single-desk distribution of imports failed when their own stores refused to work with the selected distributor. A second reason for reliance on local distributors is the tendency of international retailers to expand rapidly nationwide rather than focusing on a single city or region, creating large numbers of isolated stores that lack the volume to support a dedicated distribution network. A final reason has to do with the role of relationships in Chinese business: local distributors can provide a store with a network of business and government contacts that are useful in resolving problems with minimal fuss. Fragmentation among suppliers of locally sourced products, particularly of vegetables and meat, helps to perpetuate the dominant role of the local distributor. This is changing slowly, as the government encourages direct sourcing and farmers? professional associations become more common, giving producers the ability to supply larger quantities from a single source and at a more consistent level of quality. International retailers have recognized the problem and put a greater effort into improving the logistics system. Right now, Wal-Mart is focusing on building a nationwide distribution network, and has a recently built distribution center in Tianjin. The German retailer Metro has a centralized distribution system for many imported products, and a few large distributors have negotiated more favorable terms with retail chains at the national level, in some cases waiving listing fees. Carrefour also contracted with a third party logistics company to handle most of its imported grocery items. Tesco also can provide national distribution and purchasing. But fresh and frozen items still rely on importers or distributors to deliver to the stores themselves. The role of the local distributor in handling imports is declining. Nonetheless, for now, distribution remains the key obstacle to sales of imported processed foods in China?s retail sector. Because of the high level of risk they are expected to absorb, distributors tend to be very conservative about new products, particularly imports. As a result, penetration of imported foods into the retail sector is low. Even in relatively affluent cities, international retailers typically carry less than 1% imported SKUs. Notable exceptions include stores in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and nearby boomtowns, which are home to both large expatriate communities and to a large number of Chinese with overseas experience. Products that are already in the market but being sold mainly through gray channels or sub-distributors tend to be the most attractive to distributors. However, these products are most likely not labeled properly and are not available in market on a consist basis. Farther inland, distribution problems are complicated by China?s heavily fragmented logistics systems, which makes it difficult to transport products directly from the coast to deep inland cities. One survey in Chengdu found that temperature sensitive items, such as imported poultry and meat, changed ownership as many as five times within China before reaching the final user. A lack of appreciation for the value of maintaining the cold chain creates special problems for temperature sensitive items. Even if cold storage is used at the port of entry and the retailer maintains the appropriate environment, getting drivers to maintain the correct temperature during transportation has proved difficult. While this is certainly true in secondary markets, where frozen products often have a frosty covering, it is also true in the major costal markets. Distributors generally fall into one of two categories. The largest distributors tend to have longstanding relationships with the major retail chains, and can source in larger volumes and place products in a larger number of stores. However, they also tend to carry a large number of SKUs, and cannot dedicate resources to marketing any one particular item. Specialty distributors tend to be focused on one area or product type. Although they sometimes lack the volume and connections of larger distributors, they tend to be more aggressive in marketing products and better at identifying and selling into specific niches. The quality of these smaller distributors varies widely, however, and exporters need to be very careful in selecting a partner. A handful of retailers also act as distributors. Although they tend to provide less marketing support, they can be an effective means of getting product to retailers that have already expressed an interest, but cannot handle the import formalities themselves. One major importer in Shanghai who is familiar with several large grocery consolidators in the United States has opened two retail outlets showcasing these products, one in Nanjing in Central China and the other in Tianjin in China?s northeast coast. The company distributes products to specialty stores as far west as Lanzhou and Kunming and hopes to buy certain snack foods directly from U.S. manufacturers in the future. Geographic Differences in Distribution Chinese Distribution Channels Distribution varies widely throughout China based on geography, product type and retail sector. As a general rule, the three cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing have the best infrastructure and the largest number of experienced distributors. Increasingly, those systems are being extended to the large webs of satellite cities surrounding Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. Ports in these cities offer a growing array of services, including bonded storage (with temperature controlled facilities, if needed) and online inventory tracking. Some have duty-free industrial zones where products can be repackaged or further processed, with duty paid only on the original import value, and only after products leave the zone. Other major cities along the eastern seaboard, beyond the reach of the ?big three,? generally have good logistics infrastructure, but most still rely on one of the ?big three? as an entry point for imports. The number of distributors handling imported products in these cities is usually limited. These tend to be good markets for commodity products such as meat, poultry, fruit and seafood, as well as sauces, condiments and wine. Farther inland, there are a number of large cities with good market potential. Logistics can be problematic, but improvements in the national highway system have made trucking direct from Shanghai or Guangzhou far easier than it was just a few years ago. As a result, high value and sensitive products shipped by truck directly from the importer to a local distributor do surprisingly well, while lower value and shelf-stable products that ship on local roads through conventional distribution chains face more difficulties. Distribution in these cities is generally underdeveloped. Many cities have only a single distributor for imports, particularly high-value or temperature- sensitive products. Products going through conventional distribution channels typically change hands numerous times before reaching their final destination. Distribution channels for HRI tend to be better developed, and may be the best place to start for exporters seeking to develop new markets. Distribution by Product Type Distribution also varies widely by product type. Channels for shelf-stable grocery products tend to be the most heavily fragmented and the most dependent on the good graces of local distributors. This is partly because market risk is perceived to be higher: although shelf stable, the number of SKUs tends to be high and turnover low compared to other product categories. Hence the risk that a product will not sell (and the distributor will have to accept a return) is higher. Meat, poultry and seafood also face fragmented distribution, but the combined demand from HRI and retail venues is sufficient to warrant special arrangements for these high-value products. Fresh fruit appears to have the best distribution, working through a patchwork of wholesale markets and specialized distributors that works better than it should. Imported frozen corn and mixed vegetables are almost universally available, reinforcing the notion that the problem is less one of logistics than of distribution. Wine deserves special mention, due to the presence of a community of specialized distributors, some of whom act as exporter, importer and distributor all in one, taking product directly to retailers and food service venues. New Trends in Retail Merger and acquisition deals have been quite active in recent years and will continue in the near future. The whole market will become more consolidated and integrated. For example, Lotte group, the largest retailer in south Korea, purchased Jiangsu Times Supermarket chain. And Carrefour just finished its acquisition deal of a local retailer in Hebei province. With the increasing maturity and sophistication of Chinese consumers, the importance of brand awareness and loyalty will be more and more evident in the future. The current leading companies, such as Carrefour, Auchan and Wal- mart, will benefit from expansion of the urban market, while relatively small and regional companies will be phased out of the market. Direct sourcing of food and agricultural products from farm cooperatives has been adopted by many retailers in Shanghai and is growing elsewhere. This allows retailers to address consumers? concerns about food safety, reduced cost, and possibly improve product quality. On the imported product side, more and more retailers especially those in the specialty supermarket section are looking for direct sourcing channels. But not all of them are successful. Post heard from industry that one high- end retailer in Beijing purchased a consolidated container of goods directly from the United States and ended up selling at a heavy loss, due to product selection problems. International players have also moved in this direction. Wal-Mart started to directly source and import U.S.cherries. Metro established its own Hong Kong trading company to deal with direct sourcing, but decision making is still done by its buyers based in Shanghai. Neighborhood Supermarkets opened by Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco have reinforced their expansion into the supermarket format. These outlets offer low prices and fresh food as their selling points. The prices in Tesco Express are as competitive as in Tesco Hymall (hypermarket). Seventy to eighty percent of the products in Carrefour?s trial express neighborhood outlet are also fresh and chilled products. Making use of Carrefour?s purchase and logistics system, its operating cost is much lower. These express outlets may turn out to be a way for supermarkets to survive the fierce competition from hypermarkets and convenience stores. Such outlets can better cater to consumers? daily needs due to their convenient location. Private label products are a new development in China. Each hypermarket, supermarket and convenience store chain in China has a unique private label offer: Carrefour, Great Value, Metro?s IKA, Tesco and Lianhua are private label lines from leading players. In terms of imports, more private label products are coming on the market here. Metro has moved ahead of the pack in this regard - it imports salmon from Norway by itself, and then packs it and sells in under its private label brand IKA. Carrefour is expanding the ?O? organics brand which is a Safeway private label product and sells well in coastal cities. Several specialty wine retail outlets have opened in Shanghai. These sell a selection of imported and domestic wines and are not to be confused with state-owned liquor and tobacco stores. The most notable is Napa Reserve, which features a wide range of wines from that region of California. (Please see CH8802 Shanghai Retail Wine Show. ) The Chinese wine market is more completely analyzed in the National Wine Market Report CH9808. Retailer Profiles Domestic retailers generally have an advantage over foreign retailers, and China is not an exception to the rule. Lianhua and the Suguo - Vanguard combination are easily the largest food retailers in China. The three largest multinational chains - Auchan, Carrefour, and Wal-Mart - have not been in a position to challenge the local incumbents for sales leadership. If you look at the hypermarket channel, or imported products however, the situation is different. Most of the Chinese domestic retailers focus on a clientele that is more representative of the Chinese population than that of the multinational retailers. They also have store base that is often older, partly franchised, and has large numbers of smaller properties. While the domestic retailers are becoming more interested in imported products, importers have traditionally focused on, and gotten better results from, the multinational hypermarket retailers. The number of hypermarkets by retailer in selected cities and the total number of stores by retailer in Shanghai are presented in the appendix. The table below gives a snapshot of the relative competitive position of some of China's leading food retailers. The data is for the year ending December 31, 2008. Leading Food Retailers in China: 2008 C Sales* ompany Ownership Business Line Stores ¥ billion Chinese Lianhua China SOE** Super/Hypermarket/ Convenience 3932 74.0 Wumart China Pvt Supermarket/ Convenience 726 31.0 Suguo (CRV) China SOE*** Supermarket/ Convenience 1802 45.0 Nonggongshang China SOE Super/Hypermarket/ Convenience 3330 39.0 Vanguard (CRV) China SOE Super/Hypermarket/ Convenience 2698 49.1 Xiuyijia (A. Best) China Pvt Department 105 25.0 Wuhan Zhongbai China SOE Super/Hypermarket 626 16.0 Multinational RT Mart France Hypermarket 101 49.4 Carrefour France Hypermarket 134 49.7 Wal-Mart U.S. JV Hypermarket 290 41.0 Metro Germany JV Hypermarket 38 18.5 Tesco U.K. JV Hypermarket 61 19.9 Auchan France Hypermarket 37 11.9 Lotus Thailand Hypermarket/Convenience 76 19.1 * Food and non-food sales ** SOE= State-Owned Enterprise *** Joint venture with China Resources Vanguard Source: China Chain Store & Franchise Association 2009-2010 Hypermarkets Auchan was the number one company in the Hypermarket sector in 2009 by sales value. The company currently has two major brands, RT Mart and Auchan. RT-Mart mainly targets the mid-and low-end market in second-or third-tier cities, Auchan is mainly designed for the high- and mid-end market in first tier cities.Auchan has 37 stores in overall China with 5 stores in Shanghai, another new store will open in Shanghai soon. It stocks about 1000 import product SKUs, about 15% are from the U.S. Its main clientele are young people and high income locals. Auchan has a centralized system for import distribution. Its purchasing and distribution department are located in Shanghai. RT Mart has 102 stores in China at the end of 2008; at the end of 2010 it had 10 outlets in Shanghai alone. Although overall store numbers lag behind Wal-mart and Carrefour, RT-Mart single store sales are the highest. Wal-Mart: Currently Wal-Mart has over 290 stores nationwide, including three independent operations (Wal-Mart supercenters, Trust Mart stores, and Sam?s Clubs). Wal-Mart set up its headquarters and opened its first store in Shenzhen in Southern China 13 years ago. It?s ?Everyday Low-Price? strategy helps Wal-Mart attract traffic, and it continues to aggressively open new stores to penetrate Mainland China?s second- and third-tier cities. After Wal-Mart?s acquisition of Trust- Mart three years ago, Wal-Mart now has full management control of all three retail formats. Wal- Mart is looking to further expand in the coming years. In order to promote more U.S. products in these three retail formats, a strong buying team and operational team will be built. Wal-Mart claimed that their buying teams now have the capacity to purchase U.S. food items directly from the States, instead of contracting through Hong kong brokers. Last year, for example, Wal-Mart (China) purchased 2,000 cartons of Northwest cherries directly from the States. Post also sponsored an ?American Food Festival? with Sam?s Clubs in South China in November of 2009 which generated a total of USD1 million worth of sales. Compared to the other international retailers Wal-Mart may be more willing to open stores in secondary cities and in suburbs. In 2005, Wal-Mart made an entrance into Shanghai with the opening of a large suburban outlet. It has established a second company in Eastern China to manage its expansion in the Shanghai area. Sam?s Club: In addition to Wal-Mart supercenters, Sam?s Club (membership warehouse store) is another Wal Mart retail format. Sam?s Club has gained a favorable reputation by introducing a greater amount of imported foods to local consumers than other competitors. To date, five Sam?s Clubs have opened, including stores in Shenzhen, Beijing, in Fuzhou, Guangzhou and Shanghai. The Shenzhen store is reported to be one of the most profitable Sam?s Club stores in the world. This coming November and December, ATO/Guangzhou together with several cooperators will work closely with three Sam?s Clubs in South China to conduct a regional promotion featuring various snack foods and fresh items. A new Sam?s Clubs opened in Shanghai in Dec 2010 and more in the coming months in Zhejiang and Dalian. Trust-Mart: With over 100 stores in Mainland China and 38 in the south, Trust-Mart is one of the largest retailers in the country. Trust-Mart sold a 35 percent stake in its China business to Wal-Mart. This Taiwanese company has 17 stores in Guangzhou, four in Shenzhen, three in Dongguan and one each in Zhongshan and Zhanjiang in Guangdong. It has 10 stores in Fujian province, covering five in Fuzhou, four in Xiamen and one in Quanzhou. It also has a presence in Changsha, Hunan. French Carrefour, the World?s 2nd largest retailer, recently acquired a regional supermarket chain in Hebei province demonstrating its determination to expand into second tier and third tier cities in China. Its recent decision to centralize purchasing created internal discord. Many store managers who used to make purchasing decisions by themselves chose to leave. Import product purchasing has not changed; decisions are still made by buyers based in headquarters. While Carrefour continues to dominate at the high end, with 19 hypermarkets presently in Shanghai alone, its single store sales lag behind RT-Mart. Carrefour China current CEO has a finance background. Since his arrival, Carrefour has paid more attention to profitability and has become more conservative in terms of new product sourcing and merchandising. This has impacted the introduction of new imported products. Carrefour?s internal organizational structure and policy has changed to favor people with a finance background and a volume sales-oriented strategy. Thai-Lotus Chain has a target of 100 stores in the next few years. It has quietly expanded and has 21 stores in Shanghai, although turnover for these stores is lower than for Carrefour stores. Imported products have a relatively small presence in its stores compared with other retailers. And it has changed its marketing slogan from ?Everyday Low Price? to ?Freshen Your Life?, indicating an attempt to stand out from its mass positioning. It recently renovated its flagship store located in Super brand mall in Shanghai, with reduced overall space. And wider aisles. It intends to build different corners based on countries. A newly hired purchasing team from Japan is going to make purchasing decisions for imported products. An industry source told Post that another similar format store will be set up in Shanghai soon. AEON-Jusco Jusco opened its first North China hypermarket in Qingdao in 1998 with 40,000 square meters of retail space and parking for 1,000 cars. The format links shopping and leisure by offering a supermarket, restaurants, coffee shops, etc., all under one roof to have become the number one expatriate and middle class Chinese consumer destination. Sales reached $0.2 billion in 2010 and the also retailer operates 6 outlets in Shandong Province (3 in Qingdao; 1 each in Yantai, Weifang and Weihai (opened May 2010). In addition, the retailer has increased market share by expanding into the convenience store market operating 9 convenience stores in Qingdao alone. Based on Jusco?s development strategy, they plan to open 3 new hypermarkets and 90 convenience stores over the next two years. The company established a subsidiary company in Beijing in 2007 focused on Beijing and Tianjin markets with the first hypermarket located in suburban Beijing targeted at high-end consumers from surrounding upscale communities who use their cars to shop with the family on weekends. In 2010, the company opened its second outlet in Beijing in Chaoyang District, as well as entering into an agreement with Teda Promenades in Tianjin where the company will open its first outlet in the Tianjin market. The German based, cash and carry Metro chain relies on its niche-market strategy of targeting small and medium sized restaurants, effectively positioning itself as an HRI wholesaler and distancing itself from its competitors. To this end, Metro has added a training kitchen to its facilities in Shanghai. Historically it has opened stores more slowly than other international retailers, but it recently announced plans to open stores at much more aggressive pace. Depending on the opening dates of 4 new stores, Metro may currently have 42 stores throughout China. Metro has the widest selection of imported products of any of the key retailers, and 10 percent of their sales revenue is from imported products. Metro has a membership system similar to that of Sam?s Club or Costco. Their large section of frozen processed foods, including desserts, frozen vegetable mixes, and frozen potato products, is easy to use and open to U.S. products. This meat case carries a large variety of both frozen and chilled beef and pork. Metro?s main competition is the local wholesale market, not other high-end hypermarkets. Its import company previously intended to import volume-sales products directly, but now more focuses on importing its own private label products from Europe. Its import department has been dismantled, and the staff has been re-allocated to product categories departments. Its import manager told Post it?s still determined to import directly in the future and plans to set up its own trading company in Hong Kong. Imported product purchasing decisions are still conducted at the headquarters. British Tesco moved its headquarters to Shanghai in 2009 and has 19 stores in metro Shanghai. It opened a new retailing format in Shanghai in 2008. Called the ?Express?, which has fresh food as its core offer. Recent interview with its import manager disclosed Tesco ambitious investment plans in mainland China and may invest about USD7.5 Billion in the next three years to expand its current presence in China. Import products penetration, including American products in Tesco is rather low, concentrating on a few condiment and sauces and several SKUs of wine. China Resources - Vanguard (CRV): As one of China?s leading retail chain operators in China, its first store was opened in Hong Kong in 1984. It entered the supermarket business in Shenzhen in 1991, Suzhou in 1995, and Beijing in 1998. Acquisition helped CR Vanguard to become the national number one retailer in terms of number of outlets and total sales. It acquired Suguo supermarket in 2004, then continued to purchase Tianjin Yuetan in 2005 and Jia shijie in 2007. In 2008, CRV completed the acquisition of Aijia supermarket in Xi?an. This year, CRV entered Wuxi by acquiring a 100 percent stake in Yongan supermarket. This Hong Kong operator manages hypermarkets, supercenters, and superstores under the Vanguard brand name. Currently, CRV has over 3,000 stores (up 500 from 2007) in China. This includes 400 hypermarkets, 2,500 superstores, over 80 community stores, as well as 14 high-end Ole stores that focus on large percent of imported products. The total sales have reached $10 billion. In Guangdong, there are around 300 stores, including 44 hypermarkets. Recently, the new format ?Vango 24hours? convenience stores and Better Life Together (BLT) stores opened in Shenzhen. Generally speaking, Vanguard targets customers likely to buy local produce; however, in some selected stores, special imported food sections have been opened to promote imported food items and according to our contact, consumers are showing greater interest in expanding their selection of imported food items. CRV also opened two upscale ?Ole? stores in Shanghai. Century Lianhua is the hypermarket brand of the state owned Balian group. This group?s food retail side is dominated by supermarkets, but it has substantial number of hypermarkets in East China. While it is still small, they are focusing on improving their selection of imported products in both Hangzhou and Shanghai. In Shanghai they are also starting to import directly. Department Stores Ito Yokado and Isetan are high-end, Japanese-owned stores that target upper class consumers. These retailers? emphasis on expansion in to these second-tier markets suggests that there is easier access for high-end retailers in the second-tier markets. China wide, Ito Yokado has two stores in Beijing and one store in Chengdu. Isetan?s Chinese stores are in Shanghai and the second-tier cities of Jinan, Tianjin, Chengdu, and Shenyang. Depending on the market, higher end grocery stores in a department store may carry a large selection of imported products, or a section of a store that specializes in other types of merchandise may be dedicated to imported dry goods. There are many other examples of department stores containing a high end grocery store or supermarket. Specialty Supermarkets and Boutique Stores Jenny Lou?s is a major retailer of imported food products for expatriates, upper middle income Chinese consumers and others who have lived and studies overseas. The company, established in 1995, operates 13 supermarkets in Beijing located in high-income and/or upscale communities ? often near diplomatic compounds and missions. More than 98 percent of the products offered in the small supermarkets are from overseas with 60 percent from the United States. In particular, breakfast cereal, seasonings, dairy products and wine make up the greatest focus of offerings. Jenny Lou?s states that their business has recovered from the economic crisis of the last few years but gradually. Sales have returned to average levels prior to the financial crisis and are on the increase. Beijing Hua Lian High-End Supermarket (BHG) is under the Hua Lian Group targets elite Chinese and expatriate consumers in Beijing. The retailer operates 5 outlets in Beijing located in high-income areas or near diplomatic compounds. The most famous is located in the basement of the Xing Kong Plaza and is often considered to be the most high end department store in Beijing, offering a wide selection of luxury brands. The store?s sales results were more than $29 million for 2009. The retailer provides a wide selection of imported food products of which more than 40 percent are from the United States. BHG also runs a high end supermarket in Nanjing and based on current plans will add 3 new supermarkets in Beijing over the next year. In addition BHG is considering accessing the Shanghai and Guangzhou markets in the very near future. City Shop sells an extensive range of imported foods. Over 85% of City Shop?s products are imported. City Shop carries nearly 3,000 American food and non-food products, which make up 1/3 of total product SKUs, while contributing 50% of overall sales. Started as a corner shop by a former Cochran fellow, City Shop now has 9 retail outlets in Shanghai and one in Beijing. And another store will open in Beijing soon. It has developed its own system of retail and wholesale services. It maintains its own farms with internationally recognized organic farming and logistics systems. It produces 140 different organic vegetables and herbs, and produce is transported daily via temperature-controlled trucks to City Shop outlets and other wholesale business partners. Ole: operated by CRV, targets upper-middle income shoppers and white-collar workers. Its 10 Beijing stores are all located in business or shopping centers. There are two stores in Shenzhen, one in Dongguan with another set to open in Guangzhou. Imported food product sales are approximately 50 percent or more of total food sales. The stores in Shenzhen have been successful in introducing imported foods such as cheeses, chocolates, coffee, wine, liquor, biscuits, and fresh fruits at higher prices. Undermining this early success is an unstable supply chain and lack of promotion to support further demand growth. Ole has opened two stores in Shanghai. Supermarkets Lianhua, Hualian and Nonggongshang are three large state owned supermarket chains. These, and other domestic firms, dominate the supermarket sector. Although Lianhua and Hualian were nominally merged three years ago to form the behemoth Bailian, the largest retailer group in China, they continue to operate as distinct (and competitive) chains. Bailian appears to be more focused on rationalizing its diverse portfolio, and developing its shopping mall management component. Both Lianhua and Hualian have expanded aggressively through acquisitions of other chains, leaving both companies with the challenge of incorporating them into already weak state owned management structures. Inspired by foreign-invested companies, the Chinese chains are paying greater attention to branding, and most now carry a substantial number of house brands. All three have also opened branded hypermarkets in and beyond Shanghai, and Lianhua is putting a particularly strong effort into its Century Lianhua hypermarkets. Although Nonggongshang?s market share has slipped, it is attempting to expand its reach to match Lianhua and Hualian, opening NGS hypermarkets in distant cities like Nanchang, with mixed results. The state owned supermarket chains also play another role ? that of the local partner of international retailers. The international players had to agree to this to enter China. So Lianhua, for example, owns a large minority position in both Carrefour and Metro. China Resources Vanguard also has a large number of supermarkets. It acquired with Suguo, a regional giant headquartered in Nanjing in 2004. The brands continue to operate independently. Wu-Mart is a major retail chain based in Beijing operating over 700 stores throughout China including hypermarkets, supermarkets, and convenience stores targeting middle class and low end consumers. The outlets are mainly located in Beijing and Tianjin, and Zhejiang and Ningxia Provinces. According to company financial reports, total revenues reached $99 million for the first half year of 2010 or an increase of 17.7% over the previous period of last year. The high revenues were achieved thought strong older stand alone outlet sales as well as new outlets which opened in the second half of 2009. In addition, PE firms TPG and Hony Capital (investment companies) input $212.9 million to help the retail further expansion and acquisition in China market. Advantages and Challenges for U.S. Products Overall, U.S. products enjoy a high image in the China market. Rising incomes and growing concerns over food safety among Chinese consumers after numerous episodes of food contamination mean there will be more opportunities for U.S. products, which are largely perceived as safe and wholesome. On the other hand, price is still one of the barriers for U.S. products to reach more Chinese consumers; other challenges include labeling regulations, distribution, and limited product know


text: Item#: T371633 BILQIS ELLE BRA $100.00 AUD $100.00 AUD $100.00 AUD Or 4 Interest Free Payments Of $25.00 with Learn More Write A Review LEOPARD. Select Colour: Select Size Oout of Stock Add to Bag Add to Wishlist Features longline sporty bra shape with raised front apex, fixed underbust panel for support, adjustable straps and clipback fastening. cut out centre front fastens with rouleau ties finished with our signature amulet trims. FABRIC: ITALIAN MICROFIBRE LYCRA View Size Chart View Size Chart Shipping Info Standard Shipping: 1-2 working days for metro areas, 2-5 working days for the rest of Australia - $9.99 or FREE when you spend over $150* We aim to dispatch all orders placed before 2pm AEST (working days only) same day. If your order is placed after 2pm AEST, it will be dispatched the following working day. *Excludes bulky items. Click here to learn more about our Shipping and Delivery Services. View Shipping Info Share This Product Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Twitter Send to a friend Customer Reviews Submit A Review Tigerlily values your opinion! BILQIS ELLE BRA Rate it! - Please select a star rating What did you think about this product? (Help other customers make their choice by leaving a detailed review!) About You Your Name Email Address


text:
Kuster's Marching Orders
Dear Friend,
On Wednesday night, Democrat National Committee Chair Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz personally delivered the Democrat party's marching orders to Ann Kuster at a fundraiser in Sunapee. And yesterday, we learned that a Democrat Super PAC funded by Jonathon Soros, son of liberal billionaire George Soros, will be airing attack ads against our campaign, spending $137,000 next week on television.
Let's show Ann Kuster and her partisan Washington insiders that New Hampshire voters expect and deserve more than attack ads from outside interest groups by helping me fight back. Let's match their $137,000 with 137 new donors by Sunday evening. Please contribute $25, $50, $100 or more today to send a message that it is the voters that matter, not Soros' money.
From government run healthcare to raising taxes on small businesses, it is clear that Kuster is ready to fall in lock step with the most liberal and partisan members of her party. While we have made great strides over the last year and a half, there is still much to be done to get our nation's debt under control and to strengthen our stalled economy. Your contribution of any amount will greatly assist the campaign in spreading our message of solving this nation's problems with real solutions and not just political talking points. Please contribute any amount today.
It is obvious that Ann Kuster thinks she can win this election by relying on outside special interest groups. I believe I will win it the old-fashioned way - I will earn it.
As always, thank you for your friendship and support and I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.


text:
Tough Camera for a 5 year old
I love this thread. Listen to my tale if you would:
When our daughters were 7 and 5 we gutted our bank ballence and bough them each what were then pretty expensive (approx. £240 each) White Casio S-500 cameras for Christmas. We also bought, all the way from Japan, fine white leather neck straps at £30 each. They looked fabulous.
On the day the girls couldn't believe their eyes. They were over the moon with their precious prizes, and from that moment the cameras have been cherished, worn and used, through many an outing.
Now they are 17 and 15. We have 60,000 photos to look back on, of friends coming round, parties, trips away, school events. All thes taken by girls who were only too proud to be seen with their still beautiful cameras.
My eldest is now studying to become a photographer.
You cannot spend too much on your daughters camera - believe me.
The FZ50: DSLR handling of a bright Leica 35-420mm lens that's this good:
(slideshow always good). And now add the LX2:
[Tomorrows camera is better and smaller than todays]
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text:
By Ivy Chan, Diane Tabilas,
and Aleisha Lew
The Republic
What is a republic?
When was the republic started?
It was started in 509 B.C. by Roman nobles who overthrew a dictatorial king
Indirect and Direct
Indirect Democracy
people elect representatives
the representatives make decisions or vote
Direct Democracy
decisions are made directly by the citizens
It is a form of government
Both have to vote for what they want in their government
Ex. Indirect votes for representatives while Direct votes for policies.
The citizens have the power to choose a leaders who will create government laws
They vote for the policies they want
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George Washingtonon 28 August 2014
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Running Time: 92 minutes
Released: 03/2009
Studio Name: Gourmet Video Collection
Director: Peter Balakoff
Description: Paul, a smugly handsome leading man is a middle-aged director of TV commercials who has a longstanding on-again, off-again relationship with actress Lisa (Diane Miller) when he marries much younger fledgling writer Caroline (Gena Lee) out of the blue. Initially apprehensive of one another, the two women end up falling in love, excluding Paul from their union with terrible results.
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