How fast companies dodge price wars

Retail | Koh Yew Hong

China's retail industry increasingly resembles an army of mice running on wheels. More and more money is being invested, but at the end of the day, companies find themselves running neck and neck with the rest of the competition, with nothing much to show for all the effort.

The 2012 financial results of listed retailers all paint the same picture. Profits are slowly but surely being eroded, and operating margins are increasingly being squeezed in the face of rising costs and intensifying competition.