Chinese brands buck downward trend, sustain robust growth momentum

BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese brands bucked the downward trend and sustained robust growth momentum in the post-pandemic era, according to a report released by the international market research firm Kantar on Wednesday.

A total of 14 Chinese brands feature in the 2023 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings against the backdrop of a decrease in the overall brand value of 100 global brands on the chart.

Tencent and Alibaba ranked seventh and 14th in the overall rankings, registering brand values of 141.02 billion U.S. dollars and 91.9 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.

"Chinese brands have become a part of their lifestyles for global consumers, which we think is a very important breakthrough," Doreen Wang, Global Chair of Kantar BrandZ, told a press briefing.

From "Made in China" to "Created in China" and from selling products to story-telling, Chinese brands have achieved remarkable transformations through innovation efforts and brand growth initiatives.

There has been a positive change in the perception of Chinese brands among global consumers, from low-price for low-quality to low-price for medium- and high-quality, Sirius Wang, Kantar Greater China CPO &Kantar Marketplace Greater China CEO, said at the press briefing.

The success of Chinese fast-fashion brand SHEIN, which entered the list for the first time, as well as the robust performance of Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall, have contributed to the change, Sirius Wang added, noting that their success paves the way for more Chinese brands to venture overseas.

In fact, Chinese brands going global has entered an imperative stage, said Lynn Zhang, who is managing director of Kantar China.

On the one hand, more and more medium- and small-scale enterprises, in addition to established Chinese brands, are riding the waves of internationalization. On the other hand, Chinese companies going overseas have transformed from selling products to selling brands over the past few years.

Going high-end is also one of the advantages of Chinese brands, said Lynn, citing China's home appliance giant Haier as an example.

Seeking a high-grade market can help brands not only differentiate themselves from their competitors, but also improve brand awareness among high-end consumers, Lynn added.

In terms of calculations, the brand value is the multiplication of financial value by brand contribution of each company featuring in the top 100 of the rankings.

The 2023 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings saw Apple retain its crown as the world's most valuable brand, with Google and Microsoft ranked second and third, respectively.