Chinese brands need to emphasis quality, not pricing : HK4As

This report is a partnership between HK4As, Omnicom, WPP, Interpublic, Publicis and research partner TNS.

Only 9 per cent of the respondents from the 29 countries surveyed said Chinese brands are on par or above their international counterparts.

Respondents from the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region has the highest expectation for Chinese brands, with 23 per cent indicating they think Chinese brands are above par.

By product sector, 63 per cent of those surveyed, said China is best at internet, gaming and media. Computer hardware also received strong support from more than half of the respondents. The automotive industry has the least support with 21 per cent.

Chinese brands are associated with ‘good value’. However, quality and safety concerns mark the biggest setback for consumers of domestic brands.

“Brand experts generally agree that if Chinese brands can improve key issues relating to quality, trust (safety, reliability), awareness-building and after-sales service they can be as good as, if not better than major international brands in the future,” said Richard Thomas, chairman of HK4As.

The brand experts surveyed suggested China first has to focus on improving the quality of its products. The next priority should be promoting the change through public relations and advertising. Promoting low pricing was thought to be insignificant.

Currently domestic brands like Lenovo (75 per cent), Air China (72 per cent), Bank of China (61 per cent), CCTV (51 per cent) and Haier (46 per cent) has the highest awareness among respondents. Brands like Midea, ZTE and Li Ning still has work to do to increase awareness globally.

This project is part of the government’s Hong Kong Trade Development Council for the Hong Kong SAR Programme for Shanghai Expo 2010.

Click here for more details of the survey.