If you think ‘Made in China’ is always associated with cheap and low quality goods, think again. DJI—the first choice for any drone fan—is headquartered in Shenzhen and dominates 70% of the consumer drone market globally; Huawei, the telecommunication company that developed its first branded smartphone only five years ago, has already become the third largest player in the sector with a 9.4% market share worldwide, behind Samsung and Apple. In this interview, Doreen Wang, author of the BrandZ Top 30 Chinese Global Brand Builders report, makes sense of China’s “glocalized” brands and the bumpy roads they may face in the future.
Good Signals: Huawei Pushes Further Forward
Huawei is one of only a few Chinese companies that has become truly global, deriving more revenue abroad than at home. Long a telecom equipment provider, Huawei shifted its focus to consumer devices and took only five years to become the second most profitable Android smartphone maker and the third largest in terms of production. How did the company manage to do that, given that the smartphone industry is highly competitive? And smartphones are only the highest-profile part of the sprawling telecom giant. With over 170,000 employees across the globe, what is the company’s management system like and what could we learn from Huawei’s model?
Torben Pheiffer on Chinese Consumer Behavior in a Rapidly Changing Market
Chinese consumers have changed faster than consumers in probably any other market. Increasing exposure to international media and social media is changing the expectations of Chinese consumers. On top of that, the broad economic slowdown and brand saturation in China has ratcheted up competition to new levels as the days of easy money disappear. For both multinationals and Chinese companies, the changing market dynamics present challenges they have never seen before. In this interview, Torben Pheiffer, Managing Director of SapientNitro, China, explains how companies need to adapt their branding strategies.
Losing Signal: China’s Smartphone Market Slowdown
Companies that have spent months being feted by the media don’t tend to revise down their sales target, but in March Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi did just that—from 100 million units set in December 2014 to 80-100 million. Rival Chinese brand Huawei overtook Xiaomi in the third quarter as China’s top smartphone vendor. It’s a reality check for the upstart vendor, which soared to fame and a $45 billion valuation in less than five years as China’s first-time smartphone buyers snapped up handsets at a furious rate. But Xiaomi isn’t the only one hurting from the smartphone market slowdown in China.
OnePlus and its Global-First Strategy
Chinese smartphone company OnePlus has received many accolades in the global market. Can it recreate the same magic in China?
China Roundup: Alibaba Share Price Touches New High and Lenovo Completes Motorola Mobility Buyout
Xiaomi was officially crowned the world’s third-largest smartphone maker but news of Lenovo completing its buyout of Motorola Mobility is clouding the verdict; and meanwhile Alibaba’s share price touched new highs.
British Chip Designer ARM on How to Win in China
Allen Wu, chip designer ARMʼs Greater China President, on how the company is navigating Chinaʼs increasingly treacherous environment for foreign companies.
India-China Relations: Silk Road 2.0
Will India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi change India-China business relations?
Shaun Rein on How China Will Become an Innovative Economy
China is not known to be an innovative economy, but Shaun Rein, author of The End of Copycat China, believes that will change sooner than we know. Can you name one innovative project, one innovative change, or one innovative product that has come out of China? That was a challenge posed by US Vice-President Joe Biden, […]
The Going Gets Tough for MNCs in China
A combination of factors such as a slowing Chinese economy, rising costs, lethal competition and increased government scrutiny are changing the dynamics of business for MNCs in China. How should they cope? In the past three decades, China was the place to be for multinational companies (MNCs): a cheap labor force, effective infrastructure and an increasingly […]
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