Domestic companies producing fast-moving consumer goods still have
a long way to go before they become competitive internationally
both in terms of sales and market share, industry officials said.
AC Nielsen , a top
market-research firm, conducted a survey recently to study the
global presence of more than 200 consumer brands in such industries
as beverages, tobacco, food and home utilities.
The study selected 43 brands from 23 manufacturers, which, it said,
were qualified as "truly global" products.
The findings were based on data received from 30 countries and
regions in the Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle
East, Africa and Latin America, which reportedly account for 90
percent of the world's gross domestic product.
AC
Nielsen set three criteria for the "Billion Dollar Brands":
-
Annual sales of at least US$1 billion over a 12-month period ending
in March;
-
Presence in all the regions surveyed;
-
At least 5 percent sales realized outside the brand's home
country.
The survey found that not a single Chinese brand met the
criteria.
"None of the Chinese brands can be described as a true
multinational brand," said Alistair Watts, managing director at AC
Nielsen in China.
"The problem here is that while many goods are manufactured here,
very few are sold under Chinese brand names, while they are also
not packaged household goods that we measure."
Watts noted that China has to leverage its manufacturing excellence
to build global brands. Coca-Cola topped the list with global
annual sales reaching US$15 billion - one tenth of which is
realized in the Asia-Pacific region. Pepsi-Cola ranked third with
its annual sales exceeding US$5 billion.
"Chinese beverage makers are still competing with foreign brands at
home," said Zhao Yali, secretary general of the China Soft Drink
Industry Association. "It's hard to predict when they will be able
to look overseas and compete abroad."
Zhao noted that the higher brand value of international products
enabled them to rely on local franchises to grab foreign markets
quickly.
At
present, industry officials here are skeptical of a sharp growth of
domestically produced fast-moving consumer products in the
international market.
Most of them, including Philip Kotler, the guru of modern marketing
with innumerable books on the subject to his credit, saw a better
future for Chinese-made products like home appliances, cameras and
electronic products in the international arena.
"China-made home appliances offer much lower prices," said Xu Jun,
analyst with China Securities. "They can compete abroad because
lower labor costs at home help them to keep prices down."
(eastday.com November 12,
2001)