Cirque du Soleil latest brand to tap China's vast consumer market: 'It is a massive opportunity'
Attracting Chinese consumers is an increasing goal of Canadian brands looking to add immediate scale to their businesses
Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images
Hollie Shaw
Attracting Chinese consumers is an increasing goal of Canadian brands looking to add immediate scale to their businesses, and when it comes to cultural products, they might not have to change too much to align to the tastes of local consumers.
The purchase of a controlling stake in Cirque du Soleil by U.S. private equity fund TPG Capital LP and its Chinese partner Fosun Capital Group comes just weeks after the Canadian American film production company Lions Gate Entertainment inked a co-financing and co-production pact with Hunan TV, China's biggest provincial broadcaster.
The partnership will work with Cirque to launch and expand the business in China.
George Minakakis, a Toronto retail consultant who worked as the CEO in China for Italian eyewear giant Luxottica Group's from 2006 to 2009, said Cirque will likely fare very well in the Chinese market.
"There is a segment of well-educated and worldly Chinese who are attracted to these kinds of upscale, more sophisticated entertainment venues, and it is likely they will be able to use some local talent for [Cirque]," he said.
Cirque du Soleil sold to investor group led by private-equity giant TPG Capital
China now has 15 megacities, each with more than 10 million people
While not all big retail brands have fared will in China — Home Depot is one notable failure — Canadian brands such as Roots and Canada Goose have performed well because of their cultural appeal as Canadian brands, experts say.
"Certainly volume is a huge appeal for brands, given the size of China," said Ken Wong, marketing professor at Queen's University. He also agreed Cirque's style of performance will resonate well in the Chinese market, given the highly acrobatic style of the Chinese ballet.
"If you are the Cirque, what do you do to grow?" Wong said. "And there seems to be a fascination with branding in China — big, global, brands — as there was in Japan 20 to 30 years ago. It is a massive opportunity."
The opportunity is not confined to the apparel and entertainment business categories.
Canadian icewine has been growing in popularity among Chinese consumers for the better part of the past decade, thanks to growth initiatives from Ontario's winemakers.
Ontario exports more than $8 million in wine to China annually, an increase of close to 200 per cent in the last five years.
Pillitteri Estates Winery of Ontario recently signed a $6 million agreement with China-based Hare Wine Co. to meet growing demand for the product. Hare's investment will help to establish a new vineyard and winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Chinese consumers are also big buyers of British Columbia wines.
Promoted by Business Wire
Accenture Names Jimmy Etheredge Group Chief Executive -- North America
SnapPay Delivers New Revenue Stream for UBC Bookstore
Retail & Marketing Newsletter (Every Friday)
Fake meat is 'no laughing matter': Plant-based protein will be worth $85-billion by 2030
Amazon is offering $10 to Prime Day shoppers who hand over their data by installing a shopping tool
The sale of sales: Why retail competitors shouldn't try to copy Amazon's Prime Day
WatchLululemon opens massive new store where you can work out in its gear before buying it
High-end sex toys are coming to heat up Walmart's usually staid product lineup
For those who love airports but don't necessarily want to go away
Subway got too big, too fast. And franchisees paid the price
Dollarama to buy 50.1% stake in Latin American value retailer Dollarcity
'Deceived and confused': Muskoka Brewery sues Molson for using image of Muskoka chair on t-shirt
'Only one left in your size!' How e-commerce's dark patterns manipulate your shopping
The Beyond Meat of fish is coming to a bagel near you
An Instant Pot will cost $38 more in the U.S. if Trump goes ahead with new China tariffs