FMI EVENT TO FOCUS ON CHINA'S POTENTIAL

HONG KONG -- The potentials of the China market will be high on the agenda at the Food Marketing Institute's first-ever AsiaMart convention, scheduled here Oct. 18 to 20. AsiaMart '95's opening session Oct. 18 will be preceded by a two-hour seminar called "China Day: Doing Business in China," conducted by Michael McNabb, managing principal in Coopers & Lybrand China Consulting, Shanghai, China. The presentation will summarize best practices for foreign corporations interested in investing or doing business in China, including strategic and operational information for analyzing the commercial environment there. A workshop Oct. 19 will focus on the experiences of Singapore-based Yaohan in China. It will be conducted by Kazuo Wada, chairman of Yaohan International Holdings here. The session will present details of Yaohan Group's move into Shanghai, including the opening of two department stores with food and a wholesale distribution center, plus the operations of supermarkets and fast-food chains in China and market development for Chinese products. A workshop Oct. 20 called "Understanding Retailing and the Consumer in China" will explore past, present and future markets in China. Kenneth Farmer, research director for the Hong Kong office of the Gallup Organization, will focus on the latest consumer research throughout China, while Gene A. German, professor of marketing at Cornell University, will discuss the food retailing environment there, looking at retailers' future plans, current store types, projected changes and other developments. AsiaMart will be held at the Hong Kong Convention Centre. Other convention workshops will include the following: · The future of supercenters and hypermarkets in Asia, featuring Dennis Carter, vice president of food for Super Kmart Centers, Troy, Mich., and Leon Salto, chief operating officer for Continent International, Chambourey, France. · Tailoring business to meet the Asian consumer, featuring Judith Kozacik, vice president of research and member relations for FMI; Chris Nelson, chief executive officer of Dairy Farm Co. here; K.N. Tang, chairman of customer services in Asia/Pacific for Nielsen SRG here, and Douglas Handler, director of research and corporate economist for Dun & Bradstreet and A.C. Nielsen here. · Successful store formats of the future, featuring Masamichi Okuzumi, president of Okuzumi Management Institute Co., Tokyo. · Merchandising innovations, featuring Norman C. Mayne, vice president of Dorothy Lane Market, Dayton, Ohio.