This year marks a watershed moment for the Top 50 Chinese Global Brand Builders report. It marks the fifth time that Google and Kantar are analyzing Chinese global brands and already, consumer awareness in the Top 50 developed markets they surveyed continues to rise year on year.
Kantar’s Top 50 Chinese Global Brand Builders ranking will expand from seven developed markets (the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, and Japan) to include India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico in 2021.
The Top 50 list is led by Alibaba Group, ByteDance, Huawei, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Oppo, Hisense, Haier, One Plus, Vivo, Shein, and Tencent.
Alibaba Group
Among all internationally organized online shopping festivals, Alibaba’s Singles’ Day event has the highest market share which made them included in the Top 50 list. Over the years, it has grown to become the single largest global shopping festival, with revenues regularly exceeding the combined sales of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday in the United States.
Byte Dance
Much of the company’s success has been attributed to the incredibly popular app TikTok, which has seen its usage skyrocket during the coronavirus’s lockdown. The TikTok owner was rewarded with a massive +56 percent increase in brand power over the previous year’s results. However, ByteDance’s 2021 evaluation may be drastically different as India and the United States take action against Chinese apps and technology.
Huawei
Huawei maintains its position as one of the top three premium brands in the world. With the increasing penetration rate of 5G devices, Huawei will have more opportunities to grow, but the downside is the company’s limited reach. The premium segment has opened up, and many new entrants are competing against some established names.
Xiaomi
You might want to try out one of Xiaomi’s phones now that it is the world’s second-largest smartphone company. The company is best known for its reasonably priced mid-range handsets, but it actually has a wide range of handsets.
Xiaomi sells its phones under a variety of sub-brands, including its flagship Mi, budget Redmi, mid-range Pocophone, and gaming-focused Black Shark brands, all of which have multiple product lines.
Lenovo
It’s not just their phone that has landed them in the Top Brands list; it’s also their laptop range. Lenovo has been obsessively focused on the customer experience. And they improve so by utilizing cutting-edge technologies. Lenovo continues to demonstrate world-class corporate stewardship through sustainability and social impact efforts, including aggressive sustainability targets, participation in the Science Based Targets initiative and the UN CEO Water Mandate, and a commitment to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.
Oppo
Since 2018, OPPO brand power has increased at a compounded annual growth rate of more than 30 percent in developed markets; in emerging markets, OPPO was ranked second due to its outstanding brand power. OPPO has been featured on the list for five consecutive years as a leading global smart device brand, and the company’s ranking has steadily increased due to its impressive achievements and growing brand influence in the global market.
Hisense
Hisense ranked No. 6 on the list and No. 1 in the home appliance industry in a survey of 860,000 global consumers, staying in the Top 10 brands for 5 years in a row. Hisense was ranked No. 8 and No. 1 in the home appliance industry in the list of “Top 20 Chinese Star Brands in Emerging Markets.”
Haier
Haier’s consistent and steady growth has piqued the interest of industry analysts, who are looking into the factors that have contributed to the company’s success. Haier’s goal is to create innovative and smart appliances with which users can communicate via the internet, enabling multi-way communication between users and a suite of smart appliances to create an intelligent life experience.
One Plus
Oneplus.com is a globally focused online store with eCommerce net sales primarily in the United States, as well as Greater China and the United Kingdom. In terms of product offerings, oneplus.com focuses on the “Electronics & Media” category, particularly on “Consumer Electronics.” The online store first opened its doors in 2013.
Vivo
Vivo ranked fourth in the global smartphone market this quarter, with an 11 percent market share. The company experienced annual growth of 95.9 percent, shipping 38.2 million units.
Shein
Shein has grown to become China’s largest cross-border fast fashion e-commerce company. Consumer markets for the e-commerce clothing brand include the United States, France, Russia, Germany, and over 200 other countries. According to Airnow Data, Shein’s mobile app will have over 7 million active users per month in the United States alone by 2021. That is why they have been included in the list.
Tacent
Tencent recognized the challenges of globalization. As a result, investments and acquisitions have emerged as key international business strategies for Tencent. Tencent is a major shareholder in the Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart, which was purchased by Walmart for $16 billion earlier this year. In Southeast Asia, Tencent invested in Garena, whose mobile e-commerce business Shopee is the main competitor to Alibaba’s Lazada.
As of 2021, the top Chinese global brand builders (in BrandZ brand power score
Photo source: chinainternetwatch.com
Top Chinese Brands in the Global Ranking
The total value of the 2021 Kantar Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, published in June 2021, has increased by 42 percent, reaching new highs of more than $7 trillion.
The following 17 Chinese brands were named to the Global Top 100 Brands List in 2021:
- Alibaba: 7th
- Tencent: 5th
- Moutai: 11th
- Meituan: 34th
- JD: 44th
- Douyin/TikTok: 45th
- Ping An (Insurance): 49th
- Huawei: 50th
- ICBC (Bank): 51st
- Haier (IoT): 65th
- China Mobile: 68th
- Xiaomi: 70th
- Baidu: 77th
- Pinduoduo: 81st
- AIA: 87th
- Didi Chuxing: 93rd
- CCB (Bank): 94th
- Didi: 64th
- BEKE: 96th
Most Valuable Chinese Brands
Fourteen of the 24 categories increased in value, with Technology accounting for a quarter of the total value of the ranking and Retail accounting for about a fifth. For the second year in a row, entertainment saw the highest growth, rising 221 percent in value as people spent more time online in lockdown, while education grew by 92 percent as the growing popularity of online learning was boosted by COVID-19.
The ability of the most valuable brands to align with the major trends shaping the Chinese market, such as the desire for self-improvement and wellness, rapid urbanization, premiumization, and heightened national pride, has driven growth within the China Top 100.
COVID-19 accelerated many trends as consumers reconsidered their priorities, with the accumulation of wealth declining in importance and an increased focus on health, the environment, and national welfare.
This year, there are 16 new entrants, led by short-form video brand Douyin (TikTok’s Chinese brand, no.14; $16.9 billion) and e-commerce group purchasing platform Pinduoduo.
Constant Innovation
China has surpassed the United States in terms of customer satisfaction. Consumers can now get what they want whenever they want, which is a critical differentiator. The brands with the highest ‘positive experience’ scores increased their brand value three times faster year on year.
Content commerce exemplifies the trend toward multifunctional or overlapping experiences that increase convenience.
Brands are integrating social media and e-commerce in a way that simplifies people’s lives, creating appealing content that can be monetised seamlessly. Short-video sharing apps like Douyin, for example, frequently offer the option to purchase items for immediate delivery.
One thing in common among the top brands: Continuous innovation leads them to the pinnacle of global competitiveness. If a company understands how to deploy new technologies, it can accelerate the development of its brand and overtake its competitors.
Across different industries, technology has become a general trend informing both R&D and product planning. As a result, Chinese brands will undoubtedly accelerate the updating of products, as well as cultivate new forms of business, to further drive the global economy.
