Executive with 'golden touch' urges Chinese companies to focus on branding

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, April 04, 2004

Executive with 'golden touch' urges Chinese companies to focus on branding

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Chinese enterprises should take effective measures to raise their image from the factory of low cost and cheap commodities to the home of powerful brands through both governmental and corporate efforts, according to Frank Maguire, an executive who has successfully helped popularize big names like Kentucky Fried Chicken, American Airlines and FedEx.

According to Maguire, founding senior executive at Federal Express (FedEx), it's very wrong for some Chinese entrepreneurs to think that China is competitive simply because of its cheap labor and low commodity prices.

"They should have enough confidence in themselves," he said. "Only in this way, can they be brave enough to go outside and battle competitors from abroad."

Both Chinese enterprises and the Chinese government should perform their own duties to incubate local brands that are internationally competitive, which will take maybe decades of time and painstaking efforts.

"An enterprise will never become a world brand if it simply eyes the products of others for which it could earn a lot by assembling parts and pasting labels by using cheap labor," said Maguire, who is on his first branding idea promotion tour to China.

According to Maguire, a successful brand doesn't necessarily rely on technology. All it needs is to satisfy consumers' needs 100 percent and for its commitment to sales promises to be 100 percent.

"Coca Cola, FedEx and KFC have done it this way, so Chinese firms can sometimes follow their examples when getting started."

Actually, many elite Chinese companies have recognized the power of brands and are increasingly viewing high quality and sales commitments as ways to win customers. Branding is one of the most commonly used methods, and has resulted in some Chinese namesalready successfully entering western markets.

"Some Chinese brands are known to western families. For instance, my own son is using a Chinese brand washing machine, made by Haier. It works great," he said.

"I have visited the workshops of Haier. My impression is that they are on the way to making a successful world brand."

Many Chinese companies are eager to use the coming Beijing Olympic Games as an opportunity to debut or promote their brands before the eyes of the world. As a rule, some local names are sharpened into world brands at the end of each Games.

Lenovo, China's biggest computer maker, has already elbowed itsway to becoming a supporter of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, viewed by experts as a major step towards world markets.

"China is a bright rising star with thousands of years of history. Local brands of China can well become owners of the Chinese market since they have been there longer than any foreign firms. The reason is that, in essence, a brand is a brand not for its quality, but for the relations behind it," Maguire said.

"It very unfair that 'made in China' items are not really Chinese brands. I believe in 20 to 30 years, there will be lots of Chinese brands overwhelming the world," he said.

Source: Xinhua

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