Chinese brands gaining international clout
Xiaomi, Haier, BYD among the domestic names enhancing profile overseas through innovative growth
Chinese brands enjoyed increasing recognition from overseas consumers in 2023 as the former pursued market expansion alongside high-quality growth backed by innovation and localization.
This year, the reputations of Chinese companies “going global” have been bolstered by improvements to product research and development, winning the admiration of foreign consumers by providing products tailored to their needs, according to the Kantar BrandZ Chinese Global Brand Builders 2023 report.
The report, jointly compiled by international market research firm Kantar and IT giant Google, surveyed consumers from 11 foreign markets on their opinions about Chinese brands. It revealed that at least 70 percent of interviewees were willing to consider more than 90 percent of the 234 Chinese brands participating in the research.
Among the top 50 Chinese global brands named in the report were smartphone maker Xiaomi, home appliance giant Haier, and electric vehicle brand BYD. Xinhua News Agency spoke with representatives from the three companies’ branding and marketing departments to reveal the stories behind their successful globalization drive.
Technology and innovation have served as growth engines powering Chinese brands going global, said Doreen Wang, CEO of Kantar Greater China and global chair of Kantar BrandZ.
Chinese firms have put these considerations on the front burner amid their brand-building processes as they seek to improve brand competitiveness and consumer experience.
“Xiaomi’s long-term mission has always been adhering to innovation for everyone in international markets,” said Jim Xue, vice-president of brand and marketing at Xiaomi International. The company ranked second among the 2023 Top 50 Chinese Global Brand Builders revealed in the aforementioned report.
Since the start of 2023, a series of technological achievements have demonstrated Xiaomi’s efforts and commitment to innovation. At Mobile World Congress 2023, Xiaomi showcased the company’s first wireless augmented reality (AR) glasses to utilize distributed computing.
Connecting data from a smartphone to AR glasses with Xiaomideveloped high-speed interconnected modalities, the product is among the first to achieve “retina-level” displays, while also being designed for a more user-friendly experience with a lighter weight and more refined and innovative hand tracking.
In the field of advanced robotics, cutting-edge products, including the bio-inspired quadruped robot CyberDog 2 launched last August, have also reinforced Xiaomi’s brand image as a leading consumer electronics and smart manufacturing business enterprise in the international market.
“In recognition of our efforts and commitment to innovation, the company was ranked among Boston Consulting Group’s ‘50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023,’” Xue said.
As for BYD, it has “put brand building in an important position in the development of the company, and leveraged technologies and qualities to empower products and therefore enhance brand influence,” Brian Luo, BYD’s assistant general manager of branding and public relations, told Xinhua.
Relying on its innovative capabilities in electric vehicle manufacturing, BYD has also made path-breaking achievements in overseas markets in the past 10 years.
The company has promoted new energy buses and taxis in international markets under its strategy of developing the electrification of urban public transportation, Luo said. So far, the company’s electrification strategy has been implemented in more than 400 cities in over 70 countries and regions, he added.
As the company powers ahead in the globalization process, it has grown its presence worldwide with robust sales performances and endorsements.
The company’s passenger EVs have entered 59 countries and regions, including Japan, Germany, and Australia. By November, it had exported more than 200,000 new energy passenger cars to markets outside China.
Widely recognized by overseas consumers, a popular model of BYD — Atto 3 — has won international awards including the United Kingdom’s Best Electric Car 2023 and Brazil’s 2023 Best Car to Buy, Luo said.
Building upon the innovation competitiveness that Chinese brands have extensively developed, companies have launched several products and services to serve the needs of different consumers to deepen globalization and strive for stronger business growth.
Home appliance brand Haier extended its global influence by orienting toward the strategy of localization, which involves research and development, manufacturing, and marketing in local markets.
The company has opened 35 industrial parks and 138 manufacturing centers worldwide, reaching more than 200 countries and regions, said Wang Meiyan, chief brand officer at Haier Group.
To serve the different needs of consumers, the company has launched more market-tailored products overseas, Wang said.
For example, it introduced washing machines with larger capacity for culturally specific clothing in the Middle East, and dryers with sterilizing functionality to cater to local weather conditions and special needs in the UK.
Xiaomi has also adapted product features for specific markets or consumers, enabled by the strategic partnerships it has forged with major corporations worldwide. For example, it launched the smartwatch Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro last September, featuring Wear OS by Google to serve international consumers.
Its partnership with Germany’s Leica in enhancing the camera capabilities of Xiaomi smartphones has helped the company cater to the needs of photographers.
Extending the collaboration to generate a stronger connection with its users, the company has also launched online educational photography courses taught by professional instructors at Leica to help participants draw inspiration from masters and better hone their skills.
“Only through consumer recognition and by injecting our brand power into the hearts of our consumers can we seek to take our premium brand image to greater heights and enhance our competitiveness in global markets,” said Xue.
“As the development of Chinese brands matures, competition among them will be more and more intense,” Haier’s Wang said.
She added that apart from innovation and global expansion, the brands will need to make breakthroughs in digitalization and diversification to realize stable and high-quality growth.