Mighty emperors of the east jumping wall to the west (Chinese brands take off in the west)

Article Type: Abstracts From: Strategic Direction, Volume 29, Issue 4

Bacon J. Marketing Week, 6 December 2012, Start page: 14, No. of pages: 5

Observes what lessons companies in the west can learn from China as the latter’s brands seek to find a place in western markets. Records that recent months have seen several Chinese brands launching in the west, where telecoms company Huawei, car brand Great Wall and menswear retailer Bosideng have all expanded their presence in developed markets during 2012, including the US and UK. Explains that so far there are few cases of Chinese brands actually breaking the western market, although China’s home-grown brands have flourished in emerging economies like Latin America and the Middle East where the markets are less saturated and more accepting of new brands. Points to the challenge of generating brand awareness in a crowded western market and of understanding cultural perceptions of western brands that are up for sale to Chinese companies. Illustrates these points with particular reference to a brief case study involving PepsiCo, and a question and answer (Q&A) session with Ryan Young, marketing manager at Great Wall. Article type: Viewpoint ISSN: 0141-9285 Reference: 42AC385

Keywords: Brand management, China, Consumer goods, Consumer marketing, Marketing management, Marketing models, Marketing philosophy,Marketing planning, Marketing strategy, Marketing theory, Organizations, Sales campaigns