Red carpet for foreign retailers

Zhou says the European retailers sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to offer the products locals want.

"During the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) some outlets were selling red underwear since someone born in the Year of the Rabbit needs to wear red underwear to bring them luck," she says.

"Localization usually means foreign retailers offering the type of food people want in Sichuan. The food sections will have cooked or semi-cooked spicy local dishes."

Zhou says European retailers tend to take a much more strategic view of the whole country than Chinese ones.

"There are a number of Sichuan brands which have developed in the Sichuan region which are unheard of in the rest of China. This also applies to retailers who have started out in Shanghai or Hangzhou and also remain in these areas. The likes of Carrefour, Auchan or Ikea have a particular strategy to enter the China market as a whole," she says

Zhou says local city chiefs are always very responsive to European retailers wanting to set up outlets and will often go out of the way to provide incentives.

"It is very difficult to give examples but everything is discussed."