{"text":[[{"start":7.25,"text":"US company General Mills is selling its Häagen-Dazs ice cream shops in China to a group of investors including tea business Ningji, in the latest example of a shift towards local management for foreign brands."}],[{"start":19.8,"text":"The deal will involve a licence from General Mills to use the Häagen-Dazs brand in shops in mainland China, the company said late on Monday."}],[{"start":27.75,"text":"China’s consumer sector has been marked by intense domestic competition and pressures from an economic slowdown, prompting a spate of recent deals."}],[{"start":37.3,"text":"Starbucks this year sold a 60 per cent stake in its China business to private equity group Boyu Capital, forming a joint venture worth $4bn, while Burger King has sold an 83 per cent stake in its China operations to Beijing-based private equity group CPE for $350mn."}],[{"start":55.599999999999994,"text":"Häagen-Dazs launched in China in 1996 and has more than 170 stores in the country."}],[{"start":62.14999999999999,"text":"“I just don’t think they innovated,” said Jessica Gleeson, chief executive of retail consultancy Brighter Beauty, and a former Starbucks executive in China. “When it launched . . . there weren’t a lot of premium ice creams out there in the market.”"}],[{"start":75.94999999999999,"text":"Ice cream is a major arena of competition within China, from the gelato shops of downtown Shanghai to tens of thousands of Mixue stores where ice creams sell for as little as Rmb2 ($0.30)."}],[{"start":88.04999999999998,"text":"The deal “elevates the company’s focus on its brands and channels that provide the strongest opportunities for profitable growth”, General Mills said in a statement. "}],[{"start":97.69999999999999,"text":"Ningji operates more than 3,000 tea shops in China, General Mills said. The deal is expected to close this year. Terms were not disclosed. Citi advised General Mills."}],[{"start":110.14999999999999,"text":"While China’s consumer industries have faced a challenging backdrop for years, there have recently been signs of renewed optimism, including a relaunch of Reebok by US owner Authentic Brands Group."}],[{"start":120.64999999999999,"text":"Chinese companies have also launched an outbound push with a series of purchases of consumer businesses overseas. "}],[{"start":128.1,"text":"Sportswear company Anta, which owns a stake in US-listed Amer Sports, earlier this year agreed to buy a 29 per cent stake in Puma, while Centurium Capital, the controlling shareholder of Luckin Coffee, snapped up US chain Blue Bottle Coffee."}],[{"start":151.5,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780393722_4466.mp3"}