By / Ma Tian (Consulting Director, Burgeon Technology)

In recent years, an undeniable trend has quietly taken shape in China's retail market: numerous international brands are abandoning long-standing overseas POS suppliers and choosing China-local solutions instead.

Burgeon Technology, deeply rooted in the retail industry for over two decades, has successfully helped Columbia, UGG, Hoka, Lee, ASICS, MLB, PVH, Clarks, Helly Hansen, UNDEFEATED, and other well-known groups and brands complete POS system localization in the past year or two.

This phenomenon is by no means accidental — it reflects the unique demands of China's market ecosystem on retail infrastructure and the rise of Chinese tech companies' hard power.

The Heavy Chains of Overseas Systems

International brands first feel the high comprehensive costs brought by existing overseas POS systems. High annual software licensing and maintenance fees continuously erode brand profits. The deeper pain point is sluggish response. System maintenance often relies on distant overseas teams (e.g., in India), with time zone and language barriers making everyday issue response abnormally slow.

When Chinese stores urgently need support, long waits often leave frontline operations in limbo. Especially frustrating is innovation stagnation. System updates are slow, struggling to match China's rapidly changing business demands. High costs combined with inefficient service and lack of innovation drive brands to seek better solutions.

Overseas Systems Struggle with China's Complex Chessboard

China's retail market's refined operational demands have far exceeded the carrying capacity of traditional overseas POS systems. We've observed that overseas systems often struggle when facing O2O omni-channel integration, off-store sales scenario expansion, and complex and varied member and promotional strategies (such as multi-tier discounts and bundled points programs).

When brands want to connect to local life platforms, build cross-industry alliances, efficiently redeem government consumer vouchers or Douyin group-buying vouchers — these systems fall short. What the Chinese market needs is an operational engine that changes on demand and responds nimbly — this is precisely the strength of local POS.

Performance Bottlenecks and Hardware Adaptation Challenges

On the technical front, overseas POS systems have also exposed obvious weaknesses in the Chinese market, with performance bottlenecks especially prominent during large promotions or high-concurrency member days. More critically, support for local mainstream hardware devices is insufficient.

Double-sided screens widely adopted for customer information verification, and various self-checkout terminals — overseas systems often cannot effectively drive or integrate these, forcing brands to invest extra effort in cumbersome integration.

Burgeon Technology's intelligent cashier solution deployed for international brands is deeply adapted to mainstream double-sided screens and self-service devices, significantly improving store efficiency and customer experience.

Flexibility and Autonomy

The success of international brands in the Chinese market depends on rapid response and flexible adjustment to local needs. However, relying on overseas core systems often means relinquishing ""autonomy."" Any secondary development demand for the Chinese market — even minor feature optimizations — requires submission to distant international headquarters for approval. Lengthy processes let business opportunities slip away while waiting.

Before switching systems, a small holiday-themed promotional module for China often required months of cross-national review — this kind of efficiency loss is unbearable for brands. Local POS systems give brands direct control over their technology platform, making agile innovation possible.

China's "Chip" Powers International Brands' New Localization Engine

China's market is complex and changeable yet infinitely vibrant. China's local POS system providers are winning broad trust from international brands through deep market understanding, agile response speed, powerful technological innovation, and ecosystem integration capabilities.

The deepening of this ""chip replacement"" trend signals that international brands will operate more flexibly, more efficiently, and closer to Chinese consumers. China's POS systems are becoming the strategic infrastructure for international brands to deeply cultivate the local market.

This article is featured in Burgeon New Vision, edited-in-chief by Sun Yihui, Chairman of Burgeon Technology, and produced by Burgeon Research Institute.