Chinese brands finding growing market in Japan
Apps, tech and lifestyle products all attracting enthusiastic overseas customers
Chinese brands and products are gaining popularity among Japanese youngsters. The products range from gadgets like smartphones to games, mobile apps and lifestyle products, according to a report in The Nikkei on Sept 6.
The country’s leading financial newspaper said Japanese people used to think Chinese products had low prices but were of poor quality, but now, the stereotype is changing.
Japanese teens are getting excited about apps such as Tik Tok, that allows users to choose music that they can add to a 15-second video they shoot themselves, according to The Nikkei. The app is developed by Chinese startup Bytedance.
The app had 200 million monthly active users globally in July.
In 2017, Bytedance bought musical.ly, a popular app in the United States. The services were merged in August and the number of users is expected to grow further.
After Tik Tok launched in Japan, famous models and other celebrities jumped on the bandwagon, posting short videos on the platform and sparking explosive download growth for the app in the country.
Besides smartphones and apps, people riding orange and silver bikes in the real world have also drawn attention recently in the Japanese prefecture of Kanagawa.
The bikes are provided by Chinese bike-sharing company Mobike, which has accumulated roughly 100 million users worldwide.
Mobike made its debut in the Japanese city of Sapporo in 2017. Users can unlock and return the bikes using only their smartphones.
Shanghai-based retailer MJstyle is also riding high in Japan.
It opened its first store in Japan in Aeon Mall Makuhari Shintoshin in June. Stylish dresses, T-shirts and bags are sold in its 730-squaremeter store at affordable prices.
Since its founding in 2011, MJstyle has opened 500 stores and franchises in China.
The company’s products feature bright colors and sell at an average price between 2,000 to 6,500 yen ($17.94 to $58.30).
The Aeon Mall group has recognized the potential of MJstyle, opening stores in seven of its malls in China. As its first opening in Japan, the MJstyle store at Aeon Mall Makuhari Shintoshin was offered a prime location.
With its first Japanese outlet as a base, MJstyle said it will study the demands of its Japanese customers before opening more stores in the future. China’s homegrown designers have been growing rapidly in the last five years, said an Aeon Mall representative. He said that at the moment the mall is exploring deeper cooperation with a number of other Chinese brands.
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is also making a foray into the Japanese market. According to BCN, a Tokyo-based online marketing agency, China’s Huawei claimed 49.2 percent of Japan’s SIM-free smartphone market in July.
At the Yurakucho branch of Bic Camera, an electronics retailer, Huawei takes pride of place in the SIM-free section.
Huawei has been raising its brand recognition in Japan and other countries, especially those that are developing.
Its P20 series phone, the company’s cheapest model to date and released earlier this year, has been particularly popular in Japan.
It has an edgeless display, high quality camera and sleek design, and costs around 30,000 yen.
The Nikkei quoted a staff member at the Yurakucho store as saying that some users had been hesitant to buy Chinese brands at first.
“But with improved user support, Huawei is now attracting a wide range of customers,” the staff member was quoted in The Nikkei.
Japan is not the only foreign market that is turning on to Chinese smartphone brands. Customers in India are also buying Chinesemade smartphones in their droves. According to reports from news website 36kr.com, stores of the Chinese mobile phone brand Xiaomi are opening up rapidly in Indian cities and towns.
In the second quarter of this year, Xiaomi surpassed Samsung to become the top seller of mobile phones in the Indian market with a 29.7 percent market share.
Xiaomi entered the Indian market in July 2014 and immediately started manufacturing localized models. It took just four years for Xiaomi to catch up with Samsung.
In 2015, Xiaomi launched the “Made in India” program, which involved a plan to sell more than 95 percent of its mobile phones made in India, locally. In terms of the localized cellphone design, it customized a special operating system for the Indian market.
The mobile phone charger and coating were also redesigned to adjust to the local climate.