RE: I think you are missing the point25 Sep 2013 18:11
I understand your points coming from a western retailer perspective, but the Chinese consumer is completely different to West. For instance in Major cities it is always about branding hence burberry and apples top customer, and that's not just due to wealth or population, but homeware is incredibly cheap £50 for a sofa that would cost a few thousand over here. The Chinese will probably never embrace online shopping to the same extent as the West. The cramp living and show off culture (outside homes) makes shopping feel all the more impressive in a status driven country. Regardless of Naibu being an affordable brand the shopping out sentiment is still a huge factor against online shopping. This is from someone who is a HK national. Online shopping is on the rise due to wealthy areas , but perhaps not as important in Naibu's case
In terms of the Factory I don't know too much about the exact reasons. However the rates of pay in Sichuan are some of the lowest (on average) in China http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/wages-china. Furthermore there are some major cities nearby such as Chongqing with populations of 28m Chengdu with 14m. Indeed Sichuan as a province is the 4th most populated region in China (and not as wealthy!) http://china.org.cn/top10/2011-06/10/content_22757240.htm (all figures from 2011*). As shown by your video of Dawu, the Chinese infrastructure/roads is fine and whilst the countryside is dominant, this doesn't affect using low cost workers in reasonably populated areas to supply an area and customer without the glitz and wealth of Shanghai or cities a like It also keeps in control wage and commercial costs, the general area is ideal for NBU's marketing in my opinion.