Chinese idioms：Chengyu for Why Starbucks Wins in China

We know China's a huge market....wher well-known multinational brands like Ebay, Groupon, and Best Buy go to die.

But for Starbucks, China is one of their most profitable markets.

The reason for their success?

They adjusted to local conditions with things like green tea flavored drikks and larger outlet sizes.

In other words they 因地制宜 （yīn dì zhì yí）.

因地制宜(yīn dì zhì yí) means to adapt a way of doing things to suit local conditions. It’s usually used in more formal contexts like business or politics.

Here’s a breakdown of the characters in 因地制宜(yīn dì zhì yí):

因 (yīn): according to or on the basis of

地 (dì): place (eg. 地方 – dì fang)

制 (zhì): to lay down or draw up (eg. 制定 - zhì dìng)

宜 (yí): to be suitable, appropriate

Here are some examples of how to use  因地制宜(yīn dì zhì yí):

Usage 1) As a Verb.

Example 1 A)

       “产品开发要根据实际需求因地制宜”  

“chǎn pǐn kāi fā yào gēn jù shí jì xū qiú yīn dì zhì yí“

“Product development needs to be based on real demand – it needs to be suited to local conditions“

Example 1 B)

“…得根据不同的条件因地制宜 ”

“…děi gēn jù bù tóng de tiáo jiàn yīn dì zhì yí “

“….you need to adapt it to suit different local conditions“

Usage 2) 因地制宜 + 地 + Verb.

Example 2 A)

“…各地区应因地制宜地做好粮食作物的保全工作“

“…gè dì qū yīng yīn dì zhì yí de zuò hǎo liáng shi zuò wù de bǎo quán gōng zuò”

“…each area should adapt to local conditions in doing their grain crop preservation work”

Example 2 B)

“在当今社会，应该如何因地制宜…地学雷锋？ ”

“zài dāng jīn shè huì, yīng gāi rú hé yīn dì zhì yí… de xué léi fēng? “

“In current society, how should we emulate Lei Feng and adapt his example to local conditions?”

Usage 3) 因地制宜 + 的 + Noun.

Example 3 A)

“采取因地制宜的方法…”

“cǎi qǔ yīn dì zhì yí de fāng fǎ…”

“adapting a method that is suited to local conditions“

Example 3 B)

“…创造因地制宜的融资环境 “

“…chuàng zào yīn dì zhì yí de róng zī huán jìng “

“…to create an investment environment that is suited to local conditions“