MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM CHINA
According to Customs figures, China exported $1.6bn worth of Christmas products in ’03, of which more than half went to the US -- including seven artificial trees erected in the White House. China’s export of Christmas-related goods in the first nine months of ’04 amounted to $850m.
More than half of that – $510m worth – came from South China’s Guangdong province, the country’s major exporter and the heartland of its manufacturing boom.
In the US alone, unless your family purchased a natural tree, you would have had a 70% chance of celebrating your Christmas with an artificial tree manufactured in the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong.
Starting his own business only three years ago, Cheng said one of the most difficult things about making Christmas decorations in a non-Christian country is to understand Western culture and meet its requirements.
“They have different perceptions of colours. They like white trees, which is supposed to be a funeral colour here and doesn’t seem appropriate in this happy season,” he said.
Despite the hi-tech fibre-optic trees his company makes, Cheng said the old-fashioned, green-needle ones are still the most popular.
Cheng’s turnover this year has doubled to $6m, but he says rising prices for plastic, the raw material of Christmas, along with increasing salaries, are cutting into profits.
“I should start thinking about developing products for other Western festivals, like the Valentine’s Day or Halloween.”
According to Customs figures, China exported $1.6bn worth of Christmas products in ’03, of which more than half went to the US -- including seven artificial trees erected in the White House. China’s export of Christmas-related goods in the first nine months of ’04 amounted to $850m.
More than half of that – $510m worth – came from South China’s Guangdong province, the country’s major exporter and the heartland of its manufacturing boom.
In the US alone, unless your family purchased a natural tree, you would have had a 70% chance of celebrating your Christmas with an artificial tree manufactured in the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong.
Starting his own business only three years ago, Cheng said one of the most difficult things about making Christmas decorations in a non-Christian country is to understand Western culture and meet its requirements.
“They have different perceptions of colours. They like white trees, which is supposed to be a funeral colour here and doesn’t seem appropriate in this happy season,” he said.
Despite the hi-tech fibre-optic trees his company makes, Cheng said the old-fashioned, green-needle ones are still the most popular.
Cheng’s turnover this year has doubled to $6m, but he says rising prices for plastic, the raw material of Christmas, along with increasing salaries, are cutting into profits.
“I should start thinking about developing products for other Western festivals, like the Valentine’s Day or Halloween.”
posted by Johnny @ 11:03 AM
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