GB Group’s China entry was designed around two time horizons: a long-term position inside Shaeps’ Nordic cultural projects, and a near-term presence through a Shanghai live-stream shop that generates revenue and builds brand recognition while the cultural projects develop.
Case type
Market validation and entry
Sector
Ergonomic workplace solutions, interior design, and creative learning materials
Client
GB Gruppen
The company and the question
GB Gruppen is a Danish company based in Holstebro that develops and distributes ergonomic workplace solutions, interior design, and creative learning materials for children. The play and learning division specialises in motor skill development, creative materials, and learning products designed to stimulate children's senses through movement and play. The China focus is on this category specifically - creative learning games for children, a product class that fits well with China's stated educational priorities around creativity and innovation in early childhood development.
The question was how to enter a market where the long-term strategic position would take time to build, while not waiting passively for that time to pass.
The challenge
The timing constraint
The long-term strategic goal for GB in China was to become part of the product portfolio in Shaeps' Nordic cultural projects - the cultural-commercial hubs being built in Tier 2-3 Chinese cities, which integrate Nordic brand presence with cultural programming, education, and community space. The fit is genuine. Creative learning materials for children sit naturally inside cultural and educational environments aimed at the same demographic - middle-class Chinese families investing in their children's creative development.
The constraint was timing. The cultural projects develop on a long horizon - years, not quarters. A Danish SME cannot wait passively through that period without commercial activity, brand-building, or revenue from the market it intends to scale into.
Two constraints shaped the work:
- The long-term strategic position required patience the company could not afford to sustain commercially without near-term activity.
- The near-term activity had to be commercially serious enough to generate income and brand recognition, not just hold the market position.
The entry needed two horizons running in parallel.
The Solution
Two horizons in parallel
We structured a dual-horizon entry. The long-term path remains anchored to the cultural project integration - product placement and brand presence inside the Nordic cultural projects as they open. The near-term path runs through a Shanghai shop with live-streaming retail capability, where GB's products are placed and a branding campaign begins.
The Shanghai live-stream shop provides three things:
- Direct revenue from product sales into the Chinese consumer market
- A brand-building venue where GB's product story is communicated to the live-stream audience
- A learning environment for what works commercially in China - what products, what pricing, what messaging - which informs the longer-horizon cultural project positioning
Our role is local representation: operating the entity, managing the Shanghai shop placement, structuring the live-stream activity, and ensuring brand alignment with GB's commercial and quality standards.
Implementation
Entity, shop, and live-stream
A Chinese legal entity has been established to operate GB's commercial activity in China. The entity carries the operational and commercial responsibility for the near-term activity.
GB's products have been placed in a Shanghai shop with live-streaming retail capability. The shop serves as both the physical commercial point and the live-streaming venue. The branding campaign has begun from this venue.
Shanghai's live-stream commerce sector reached approximately RMB 494 billion (EUR 65 billion) in retail revenue in 2024, with municipal targets pointing to RMB 600 billion (EUR 79 billion) by 2026. The infrastructure for live-stream retail at scale is in place; the question for any foreign brand entering this channel is execution - product fit, presenter capability, and channel-native content design.
Status
Both horizons running
The Shanghai shop is operational. The live-stream branding campaign is in early-stage execution. Initial commercial results from the live-stream channel are being measured against the entity's near-term income objectives.
The longer-horizon cultural project integration is planned for the cultural-commercial hubs as they open. GB's product placement and brand presence in those hubs will activate when the venues do.
The two horizons are managed in parallel: the Shanghai shop generates near-term commercial signals and builds Chinese consumer recognition; the cultural project integration secures the longer-term strategic position.
Value
Why two horizons work
The structure converts GB's China entry from a single-horizon decision into a parallel commercial and strategic test.
For GB Gruppen, the dual-horizon approach provides near-term commercial activity and revenue while the longer-term cultural project position is built. The brand develops Chinese consumer recognition through live-stream retail and a physical Shanghai presence - both of which compound in value as the cultural project venues open and GB's products are placed there with established brand equity, not as unknown new entries.
For the Chinese legal entity, the live-stream shop activity provides operational revenue and a commercial mandate, rather than a long wait for the cultural projects to mature.
For us, the engagement demonstrates a structuring model for Danish SMEs whose strategic fit with the cultural projects is long but whose commercial timeline cannot accommodate a pure long-term play. The Shanghai live-stream shop is the bridge: revenue and recognition in the period the strategic position is being built.
The architectural principle: when a brand has long-horizon strategic fit but cannot wait passively, the right structure runs near-term commercial activity in parallel with the long-term play. The Shanghai live-stream channel is the commercial bridge; the cultural projects are the strategic destination.
