When the national image becomes the focus of China’s rise, the significance of the brand becomes particularly prominent. A survey by an American polling company shows that in the national image of major countries in the world, Japan, Germany and the United States lead the proportion of brands, accounting for 38.5%, 36% and 34.3% respectively. The impact of Chinese brands on the national image is Still at a low level. In recent years, with the development of market economy, some of China's "time-honored" national brands have disappeared, and some new brands have emerged. The demise and rebirth of Chinese national brands are going through a difficult evolution process, and they are also re-constructing China's national image.

Three things about Shanghai

The brand life of people in Shanghai

Mr. Wang moved to Pudong, Shanghai 4 years ago. I heard that the reporter wanted to ask him to talk about it. When talking about his impression of old domestic famous brands, he couldn't help but sigh: "Old domestic brands can no longer be seen at home." 36 years ago, when he got married in a small house in the Huangpu River Lane, he prepared The classic "three old pieces": a pair of Shanghai brand watches, a permanent black men's bicycle, a Phoenix brand purple women's bicycle, and a "Butterfly" sewing machine.

Mr. Wang also casually counted many old domestic brands like this: White Jade and Zhonghua are the toothpastes used for gargling in the morning, and Maxam is the most commonly used for skin care. Later, televisions became available, and the most famous black and white televisions were The brands are "Feiyue" and "Jinxing", and the old brand of suits is "Pelomon". For a long time, "Great Wall" and "Earth" raincoats were popular all over the country... Now that I think about it, Mr. Wang still has a strong interest in these old brands. Full of praise - Forever and Phoenix bicycles are easy to ride and durable, Shanghai watches are still very accurate after decades of running, Peromont suits are crisp and chic, and Megamax and White Jade have remained elegant and fresh for decades, making people nostalgic for them.

However, these things have almost disappeared from Mr. Wang’s life now. The reporter couldn't help but wonder, where are these domestic famous brands with good reputation and quality now?

Either joint ventures or mergers

Multinational companies swallowed up old brands

When talking about why domestic brands were so popular back then, Li Jianming believed that, on the one hand, it was the domestic The brand quality is indeed excellent. On the other hand, the Chinese market was not fully open at that time. However, after entering the market economy, these domestic famous brand manufacturers suddenly faced extremely fierce international competition. Some companies died, and some accepted joint ventures or mergers from multinational companies. There is a set of data that is extremely shocking: 90% of Sino-foreign joint ventures use the trademarks of foreign investors; currently, 7 of my country’s eight largest beverage companies have been annexed by Coca-Cola or PepsiCo of the United States; the four major laundry companies with an annual output of over 80,000 tons Three powder factories have been eaten up by foreign companies; foreign brands account for 75% of the cosmetics market.

When multinational companies want to enter China, they usually choose joint ventures with local famous Chinese brands. Brands such as Volkswagen and Procter & Gamble have entered China this way. For Chinese brands with greater value, foreign investors generally do not buy out their ownership, but buy out their use rights with relatively small amounts of capital. After a joint venture, foreign businessmen will generally use their controlling decision-making power to intentionally place the Chinese brand on low-end products, or simply abandon the Chinese brand, while vigorously cultivating foreign brands. If a Chinese brand is not used for a few years after a joint venture, it will be gradually forgotten by consumers.

At the same time, China's accession to the World Trade Organization has relaxed restrictions on foreign investment in many aspects, and foreign capital has taken the opportunity to monopolize power. As a result, cases of “joint ventures turning into sole proprietorships” occur frequently. Since P&G entered the Chinese market in 1988, it has gradually dominated China's daily chemical consumer goods market. In 2004, it parted ways with its Chinese partner of 16 years and became a sole proprietor. Lucky film, Yangtze refrigerator, etc. also disappeared in this way.

Another point that must be mentioned is the admiration for foreigners among some citizens, which has allowed foreign brands to repeatedly capture the Chinese market. More than 20 years have passed, but many Chinese consumers are still as obsessed with "exported products" as they were in the early days of reform and opening up.

High exports, low profits

A big manufacturing country but a small brand country

“A big manufacturing country, a small brand country”, this is the current situation of China’s brand landscape. The American "Business Weekly" selects the "100 Most Valuable Brands in the World" every year, but Chinese brands have never appeared here.

In the recently announced "Top 500 World Brands" rankings, the United States accounts for almost half of them with 247 seats, while only 12 of our country were selected. In sharp contrast, China is the third largest exporter in the world.

Although many foreigners find it difficult to leave "Made in China", they also understand that "the vast majority of 'Made in China' products are not Chinese famous brands." Take China's garment industry, a major export earner, as an example. One out of every three exported garments in the world is made in China. However, it is difficult to find a piece of Chinese brand-name clothing. Chinese ties, which account for 30% of the global market share, have less than 5% of the world's profits; Chinese watches, which account for 80% of the world's output, have an average export price of US$1.3, while the average export price of Swiss watches is as high as US$329.

Quality high-tech innovation

The way out to protect Chinese brands

Without the rise of national enterprises and national brands, how can we talk about the country's economic strength. A famous Japanese person said: "Japanese people have Panasonic on their left cheek and Toyota Motor on their right cheek."

How to protect our national brand? Li Jianming believes that the most important thing is to be superior in quality and technology. For example, he gave the example of Guangxi Liugong Group, a state-owned enterprise, which has always maintained its dominant position in key technologies and overseas marketing when cooperating with multinational companies; Huawei, a private communications company, in order to stay ahead in the technology field, invests more in R&D every year than national enterprises. The most. In the economic wave of globalization, some of our national brands have disappeared. This is an inevitable law of the development of market economy. Chinese brands such as Lenovo and Haier that have successfully entered the international market represent the future of Chinese brands.