US brands find sweet spot for growth in China

Look out Gucci and Prada. China's zest for Western products, which has made it the leading market for luxury goods since 2012, is moving downstream.

Michael DeSimone realized it when he and colleagues toured a warehouse loaded with items destined for China. "We expected the Michael Kors designer handbags," said DeSimone, chief executive officer of e-commerce logistics handler Borderfree Inc. "What we didn't expect were the Cosco car seats."

These days it's the prosaic - pink Barbie backpacks, California almonds, Oral-B electric toothbrushes - that Chinese click on more often when they shop American purveyors. Worried about the bona fides of what is on the shelves in a country famous for knockoffs, they are looking online to the United States for reliability and brand authenticity in ordinary consumer goods. "There's a pent-up demand for the real deal," said Krista Garcia, an EMarketer Inc retail analyst. "Not just luxury but more middle-class, mainstream American brands."