My Time at CMR China Market Research Group

My Time at CMR (China Market Research Group) By Gavin Cook

WHERE • China – Largest country in the world by population – Very, very important country • Shanghai – Largest city in China –the “New York” of China to Beijing’s “Washington D. C. ” • Pudong – China’s “Wall Street” – full of massive skyscrapers and home to offices of powerful multinationals

CMR • A boutique consulting firm focusing on market research • Founded by Shaun Rein -> • Many Fortune-500 clients • In many different fields • Performs many on-the-ground consumer interviews and conducts lots of primary research for each project

My responsibilities • I spent my time preparing “decks” (Powerpoint slides) for a project for a major retail/hotel/restaurant chain preparing to reenter China – This involved translation from Chinese to English, competitor research, desk research, and occasionally visits to competitors in Shanghai • There was limited training as well • Most interns get to travel, but we worked almost exclusively on the one project and saw lots of Shanghai

Day in the Life • 6 AM – wake up, meditate, arrive in office early • 9 AM – begin day, work on research and assembling the “deck” for the client • 12 PM – lunch for an hour • 1 PM – cold-call Chinese hotels, create table of prices for various services across China • 4 PM – short coffee break • 6 PM – get take-out dinner • 7 PM – present deck to boss, go home • 8 PM – read, relax with roommates, update my journal • 1030 -11 PM - Sleep

On the whole… • Learned more about China – Specifically about the Chinese consumer market • Learned consulting skills – “Talk of the trade” – Am now very good at Powerpoint – key skill for the industry! • Received wonderful mentoring from bosses

If you have any questions, email me at gcook@princeton. edu!