• Once an idealistic hot spot for retail business during the 1990s, changing conditions within China have made the market a greater challenge to navigate for international, brick-and-mortar retailers.
• Reported average sales growth in 2012 was down 10.5 points from 2011, according to the China National Commercial Information Center
• In order to remain competitive within China’s complex retail market, sellers are applying changes to the daily operations aimed at reducing the complexity - while maximizing the efficiency – of business operations.

From the article:

"China is the most challenging market for international retailers. You can find retailers such as Carrefour and Auchan. Everybody is here," said Paul Ritchie, chief executive officer of Tesco China.