120 Chocolate Fortunes
and retail end of the business. In a relationship-based culture
like China, strong business relationships result in strong sales,
and therefore these relationships became an important factor
in Hershey’s China success.
Armed with a 5Ps framework and a couple of ocean ship-
ping containers of chocolate, in the fall of 1995, Porter and
his young China team began test-marketing Hershey’s prod-
ucts with Chinese consumers in selected Shanghai retail
stores. Sales were good and consumer feedback was positive,
and all indications were that Hershey’s chocolates were able
to make a connection with Chinese consumers. But many
more questions remained to be answered if Hershey was to
succeed in its new commitment to build a business develop- ...