Executive Summary

As China prepares for the 10th annual Singles’ Day shopping festival, we take note of the following recent developments in the Chinese economy:

• Comps have been weakening at large food and beverage merchants.
• Consumers are registering lower intention to spend on big purchases.
• Consumer confidence has been declining.
• China’s GDP growth slowed slightly quarter over quarter in the third quarter, while retail sales in September grew strongly year over year.