A recent analysis of China revealed 22 distinct urban clusters
For additional detail form the authors about this exhibit, see “A Better Approach to China’s Markets,” from the March 2010 issue of the Harvard Business Review. More specifically, this approach can help companies to address opportunities in attractive smaller cities cost effectively and to spot opportunities for, among other things, expanding within rather than across clusters (Exhibit 2)—a strategy that requires a less complex supply chain and fewer partners. Companies that nonetheless want to expand across clusters may find it easier to target 50 to 100 similar cities within four or five big clusters than cities that theoretically offer the same market opportunity but are dispersed widely across the country.