Local partners are the key to cracking China's vast retail market, advises expert

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Last week’s news that Tesco is looking to reassess the way it serves the Chinese market has graphically demonstrated the difficulties that many western retailers have had in establishing a foothold in what is destined to become the world’s largest single consumer market.

The UK’s biggest supermarket operator has announced plans to form a joint-venture with China Resources Enterprise (CRE), “which, if formed, will serve as the exclusive platform for the parties to engage in the operations of hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience ...