Can you introduce yourself and your background?
My passion with China began when my father suggested I studied Chinese. I wasn’t excited by this idea and went to my Chinese classes just to show him that this was not right for me. The problem was that I enjoyed it very much and decided I had to spend some time in China. I obtained a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in East Asian Studies and Political Science from Tel Aviv University, and during my last year of studies, I went to Nanjing University南京大学 for one-semester student exchange program. After this experience, I was determined to come back to China. I arrived in Shanghai three years ago (in 2013), and since then graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University上海交通大学, earning a Master Degree in Political Economy. I also worked for a market intelligence company before joining Daxue Consulting.
What are you doing for Daxue Consulting?
As a Project Leader, I am in charge of writing project proposals to clients while developing the research structure and design. I am responsible for project execution and work on strategic analysis and recommendations.
What recent project did you work on? Do you have a specific sector you like to work on?
I worked on a few naming projects recently, finding Chinese names to foreign products and companies entering the Chinese market. I also worked on market assessment before market entry for several brands in the recruitment, Food & Beverage (F&B) and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industries recently. I am also working with a leading fashion brand: the project aims to help our client to understand its Chinese consumers better. We conduct a large-scale survey, analyze it, and provide recommendations for marketing, product development, and e-commerce strategies.
I especially enjoy working on China market entry projects, because we put emphasis on the differences between Western and Chinese markets and provide our special insight as professionals who live in China, understand Chinese culture and language and experience the everyday life here. This type of information is precious for brands that do not have previous experience in China, and I feel very confident of the insights I can provide to these brands. Much of this information cannot be acquired through data sources; you have to be here to understand the market completely.
What recent news did catch your eyes in China?
Concerning the National Holiday of this year (Chinese Independence Day for which we get a one week vacation) which took place at the beginning of October, I read a report saying that 589 million Chinese traveled around the country and spent 94 billion USD in just one week, 80% of spending was online. This is beyond massive, and it’s just another proof that the online travel industry is growing rapidly.
Any hobby in Shanghai? Where would be your first choice for a dinner / party in Shanghai?
Food is definitely one of my favorite activities. I love Saigon Mama, Sichuan Citizen, Yershari (Xinjiang cuisine which reminds me of food from home), MUST grill, Vedas, Pistolera… I’ll stop here because this can go on for a while.
One of my other favorite time-consuming and money-consuming activities is online shopping on Tmall.com and Taobao.com I can get clothes from my favorite brands shipped to my door in less than 24h!
