Kantar Greater China CEO shares insight into Chinese brand success

Brands across China are expected to witness further growth in their global influence over the coming years as the country's economy has entered a more mature phase of development, a senior executive said on Thursday.

During an interview with China Daily, Doreen Wang, Kantar Greater China CEO and Global Chair of Kantar BrandZ, said many Chinese brands have turned increasingly professional and actively expanded into foreign markets, which has strengthened the market research firm Kantar's confidence in them.

Wang said the brands' moves conform to China's commitment to achieving a transformation from a "made in China" economy to a "created in China" economy.

Besides, as the Chinese economy gradually matures, the local brands will naturally seek to "find new spaces abroad" so they can keep growing.

"For instance... China recently replaced Japan as the world's top auto exporter, a shift driven especially by the rise of lower-cost Chinese electric vehicle brands," said Wang.

According to Wang, the growth of brand influence will not only appear in China's emerging industries like the electric vehicle, but also in the traditional industries.

The constant innovation and the rising emergence of co-branding trends have both provided multiple opportunities for the traditional Chinese industries and brands to get closer to young consumers.

When it comes to development strategies, Wang said further efforts could be made in terms of increasing investment in advertising, improving brand awareness, and developing more new services or products.

Such remarks came after Kantar released a report on the 2024 most valuable global brands late on Wednesday.

According to the report, 11 Chinese brands have made it to the top 100 list, which involve a wide range of industries such as media and entertainment, telecom, and financial services.

Haier, for example, ranked 58th and its brand value has grown significantly to nearly $32.35 billion. The report said Haier used to produce devices, but now it creates ecosystems, which allows the brand to carry out more continuous interactions with its users.

Meanwhile, Tencent and Alibaba ranked 10th and 28th, with total brand values of around $135.22 billion and $69.95 billion, respectively.

liuzizheng@chinadaily.com.cn