L’Oréal is pulling its Garnier brand out of China. Good. Last week Revlon said it would leave the country altogether, incurring a $22m charge. Also good. And they are not the only consumer companies taking a more sceptical view of China.
Last year UK retailer Tesco put its Chinese business into a joint venture with a local partner rather than go it alone. And Germany’s Metro closed its Media Saturn electronics stores in the country.
For too long all China investment has been seen as good investment. There is a map doing the rounds on the internet with a circle drawn around India, China and southeast Asia: more people live inside the circle than outside. Companies that led the charge into these markets (such as Unilever) have seen their share prices rise. Those perceived as slow to enter (such as Procter & Gamble) have underperformed.