There is a strong interdependence between Chinese factories and local ecommerce brands. Chinese factories attend expos to showcase their products, while ecommerce brands seek new product opportunities, they both coexist in harmony. However, this system hinges on two core conditions:
The first condition is the incapacity of Chinese companies to sell directly to local consumers effectively. This happens due to language and cultural barriers, lack of understanding of consumer preferences, regulatory and compliance challenges, lack of brand trust, high shipping costs, and time zone differences.
The second condition is the incapacity of ecommerce brands to establish their own factories that can compete with Chinese prices. This is due to higher labor costs and regulations, less developed supply chains, smaller economies of scale, lack of government incentives, higher overhead operational costs, environmental regulations, limited access to raw materials, and less established global sourcing networks.
Eventually, one of these conditions will change, making one actor irrelevant. Which condition do you think will change first?