A newly released report by China Commerce Association for General Merchandise or CCAGM shows that China's general merchandise industry has two problems: they tend to sell similar products and a lack of domestic brands.

A newly released report by China Commerce Association for
General Merchandise or CCAGM shows that China's general
merchandise industry has two problems.

According to the report, China's medium and top-grade shopping malls are currently quite similar, in terms of operations, product variety, and brands available.

Most shopping centers lease out their space to retailers, and try to include as many products and as much variety as possible. But the brands, be they domestic or international ones on offer, are mostly the same. So even though there may be multiple malls, the association says consumers actually have very few choices.

Chu Xiuqi, Official of China Commerce Association for General Merchandise said "Businesses should work out their own strategy and try to give prominence to their own uniqueness."

Referring to the lack of domestic brand, the report says this problem is more severe in fields like cosmetics, handbags and clothes. The ratio of foreign brands in these industries keeps rising, some even surpassing 90 percent.

Industry insiders say although foreign brands helps a shopping center's image, the profit margin and sales for foreign brands are often lower than those for domestic products.