Chinese getting tired of ?Made in China? - MarketWatch
The world is tired of "Made In China" goods. Now Chinese are getting tired of "Made In China" too and are looking at imported better quality product too.
Chinese getting tired of ‘Made in China’
Craig Stephen's This Week in China
Commentary: Multinationals press brand advantage
May 06, 2012|Craig Stephen
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — It’s hardly news that ‘made in China’ products get bad press. But now, upwardly mobile mainland Chinese are starting to turn their nose up at home-grown brands of even low-end staples.
This could spell trouble for mainland consumer stocks that have been one of the most crowded trades in the China consumption growth story. Conversely, multinationals that have been patiently investing in their mainland Chinese business could find their fortunes are on the up.
In a new research report, Barclays Capital says that after continued double-digit wage hikes, many more mainland Chinese aren’t just getting wealthier, but also more discerning on how they spend. Increasingly, they are looking at premium products and often, foreign ones. This, they say, applies to both staples and discretionary consumers stocks.
Barclays warns that mainland companies who have neglected to invest in building strong brands, R&D and product development will be exposed to this shift in consumer tastes. Many local companies achieved dominance through cheap manufacturing and low pricing, as well as dominant local distribution. As the era of cheap products comes to an end, companies that are unable to upgrade are vulnerable.
The market appears to have already passed judgment that some mainland companies are not up to the task. At least 10 consumer stocks in Barclays mainland China consumer universe have lost between 35% and 85% of their market cap in the past two years, following earnings downgrades — this suggests something more serious than a cyclical slowdown. These include sportswear names such as Anta (HK:2020)(US:ANPDF), Li Ning (HK:2331) (US:LNNGF), and China Dongxiang (HK:3818) (US:CDGXF), as well as high-end fashion names such as Ports Design (HK:589) (USDESF)
Mainland Chinese corporates have been maligned before for their poor performance at brand-building, although it was often in the context of how this prevents them venturing overseas. Where mainland brands have made it onto leading-brand lists, it is typically due to a historical dominance in their home market, such as banking major ICBC (HK:1398) (US:IDCBF) (CN:601398) with its 16,000-plus branches.
The difference now is that this weakness in branding could come back to bite local companies in their own backyard.
And it is conceivable that foreign firms could make bigger inroads in retail, which has been substantially deregulated since China entered the World Trade Organization a decade ago, in comparison to more restricted industries like banking, telecom or insurance.
Meanwhile, foreign companies are ready to push home their advantage.
Barclay’s report also included some interesting updates on the progress of foreign multinationals penetrating deeper into China’s hinterlands as they make some sizable investments.
The world is tired of "Made In China" goods. Now Chinese are getting tired of "Made In China" too and are looking at imported better quality product too.