Any type of imported product can potentially succeed in this market, but value-add is necessary. Due to the costs of importing and marketing, your product will need to sell at a premium, often 20-50% higher than in the US. Will this work? Not for every brand. A few things to consider when assessing this market:
1. Check if your products are being sold on Taobao by cowboy resellers (or dai gou). A good number of resellers and some sales volume is a good sign.
2. Map out the competition and see what they are selling and at what price and volumes. How do your products compare?
3. Which of your SKUs can be stars? How can second-tier SKUs ride their coattails while also supporting the star SKU successes? Star SKUs are critical for crafting expanded exposure and driving not only sales, but comments, store volumes and ratings. Their light must shine over the rest of the product line to achieve integrated, sustainable success.
