There are only a few multinationals that can claim to have figured out China. Carrefour would stake a claim to be one of them. The French retailer, and the world’s second largest, started off in a small way in 1995. Today, it runs a chain of 79 stores. Experts reckon Carrefour has found the right formula to win in China. But the successful run hasn’t come without its share of mistakes.
Companies typically make the mistake of underestimating the rigour required in government relations. So while a lot of energy and effort goes into building the manufacturing facilities, government relations tends to get only two people. What they don’t realise is that government-relations people have a big role to play: They have to be, and they meet, decision makers.
(This story appears in the 30 April, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)