在中国，去一次星巴克可不只是喝杯纸杯装的咖啡那么简单。大部分的美国产品在中国的价格都要比在美国高出很多，这就给来自西雅图的星巴克涂上了一层奢华和自我沉醉的光泽，而这种光环星巴克在美国本土是不曾享有的。许多中国消费者都喜欢和朋友，家人或者是商业伙伴一起去星巴克享受这种生活体验，而不是单纯为了喝咖啡。星巴克十分清楚该怎样在中国挖掘人们寻找高级消费体验的需求，并且通过挤压市场来将星巴克推向高端消费的场所，而不是把星巴克在美国的大众消费形象传播到中国。而这种做法是有效的：星巴克亚太地区总裁John Culver在4月1日，对彭博通讯社讲，到2015年，星巴克在中国的分店数量将扩大3倍，达到1500家，这样中国将成为星巴克最大的海外市场。
星巴克仅是在中国谋求发展的众多西方消费品公司的其中之一而已。一些品牌比如Gap，Weight Watcher和美国的Eagle也都宣布计划将把中国的中层消费者作为拉动增长的关键。在去年的11月份，Gap负责全球房地产的高级副总裁David Zoba也宣布要高调进驻中国市场。他表示，截止到2012年年底，位于位于旧金山总部的服装零售Gap将要在中国开设45家分店，原来只有8家。Gap在未来三到四年内计划将营业收入达到10亿美元，主要目标客户群是中国的中产阶级。
但是持有这种想法的公司还是要提高警惕的。因为中国的中产阶级事实上是不存在的，至少以美国的概念来讲，是这样的。许多分析人士是这样给3.5亿中国中产阶层定义的：他们拥有独立住宅并且年收入在6000美元到15000美元之间。然而，有此社会经济背景的中国人却不是有着美国人同样的消费欲望，愿望和消费习惯。结果是，强调适合中产阶层的品牌，在中国是不会引起消费者的注意的。
为了能够了解中国消费者的消费需求，中国市场研究小组在过去的一年里，在15个城市的几千人中做了一番调查。我们的调查表明大部分的中国中产阶层都认为自己正在向富人阶段转变，尽管当前经济形势并不乐观。在过去的十年里，他们的工资增长速度达到了两位数甚至更多。所有人都知道15年前在农场辛苦劳作的人，现在都成了百万富翁，开着奔驰，住着豪华别墅。与我们交谈的许多人都认为自己有机会变得更加富有。
In China, a trip to Starbucks (SBUX) isn’t just about grabbing a tall latte in a cardboard cup. Most American products are priced higher in China than in the U.S., which gives the Seattle company’s shops a patina of luxury and self-indulgence that they don’t have back home. Many Chinese consumers go to Starbucks with friends, family, or business partners for the lifestyle experience, rather than to drink the coffee. Starbucks has understood how to tap into the demand for premium experiences by tweaking its marketing to go upscale in China, rather than transferring the same mass-market image it has in America. The formula is working: The company’s Asia-Pacific boss, John Culver, on April 1 told Bloomberg News about plans to triple the number of Chinese outlets to 1,500 by 2015, making China Starbucks’s largest market outside of the United States.
Starbucks is just one of many Western consumer-products companies taking aim at China. Brands from the Gap (GPS) to Weight Watchers (WTW) to American Eagle (AEO) have also announced plans to target the emerging Chinese middle class as a major driver of growth. In November, David Zoba, Gap’s senior vice president for global real estate, announced aggressive growth plans for China. He said the San Francisco-based apparel retailer plans to open 45 stores there by the end of 2012—up from eight at that time—with the goal of hitting $1 billion in revenue there during the next three to four years by targeting the country’s growing middle class.
These companies need to be wary, though. China’s middle class does not really exist, at least by the American definition. Many analysts define the 350 million Chinese who live in households that earn between $6,000 and $15,000 a year as middle class. However, Chinese consumers with this socio-economic background do not exhibit the same hopes, aspirations, and shopping habits of middle-class Americans. As a result, brands that emphasize a middling position will not appeal to consumers there.
To understand what these consumers want, China Market Research Group has talked with thousands of Chinese in 15 cities in the past year. Our research suggests that most “middle class” Chinese consumers consider themselves on their way to riches, despite the slowing economy. Their salaries have been rising in double digits or more for the past decade. Everyone knows someone who was tilling farms 15 years ago who now is a multimillionaire, driving a Mercedes, and living in a posh villa. Many of the Chinese we spoke to think they, too, can get seriously rich.
