UK Only Article:
standard article
Issue:
Turning Japanese
Fly Title:
Chinese internet companies
Rubric:
Online business in China is growing even faster than the offline sort. Local tastes and needs, as well as the state, are endowing it with distinctive features
Location:
HANGZHOU
Main image:
20110730_BBP001.jpg
WHEN Huang Bing graduated from university in 2005, he promised himself he would make his first 1m yuan (about $155,000) within three years. It took him a bit longer, but no matter: if his business, a collection of online cosmetics stores, maintains its current trajectory, he will soon count his first billion. In a few years he expects annual revenues to reach 10 billion yuan.
Mr Huang's company, United Cosmetics International, is only one of thousands on Taobao Mall, a huge online shopping centre. He spotted a demand from women in China's hinterland for branded cosmetics—and advice on how to use them. “A lot ...
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