FEATUREREPUTATION OVER
RECOGNITION
In any case, both cases above serve as
examples of how European companies
have managed to retain their “soul”
despite being bought over by a foreign
company. Granted, there will certainly
be cases like MLS’s investment and
subsequent closure of German lightbulb
manufacturer Ledvance’s manufacturing
plant in Augsburg, but it appears the
savvy Chinese companies of today are
well aware of their reputation overseas.
For a good number of us, Made in
Europe still holds greater value than
Made in China. And that’s despite the fact
that we know full well that China is where
most of the components in our latest
smartphone and laptop computer were
manufactured, if not the entire device
itself. Fair or not, “Poor knockoff ” is a
legacy that Chinese companies have
had since the early days, and they’re
well aware of it.
But the solution is simple. Instead of
trying to enter a new market with a legacy
you don’t have, when not just buy into
the brands that do? You could say the
recent European debt crisis left the door
wide open to Chinese investment, as
the governments of Greece, Portugal
and Cyprus are well in need of
investment capital.
GfK’s global market trends report for
2019 notes that China is becoming home
to an increasing number of global brands,
while high innovation rate and upmarket
trends are observed in all their technical
consumer goods. At the same time,
consumers in Europe are expected toREVERSAL OF FORTUNES
In the early 1990s, General Electric (GE) tried to buy Chinese manufacturer
Qingdao Haier only to be refused by the much smaller company as Haier
felt they didn’t intend to help them expand. In response, GE threatened the
Chinese company with competition, saying GE were de nitely going to enter
the Chinese market, and their rst goal would be to eliminate them.
Fast-forward to 2009, and Haier had then become the world’s top home
appliance brand, buying its way into Japan and New Zealand by snapping up
Sanyo and Fisher & Paykel in the following years. Around this point, GE
decided it wanted out of the appliance game, nally accepting Haier’s bid of
US$5.6 billion in 2016 for its appliances division.PICTURESHUTTERSTOCKFor a good
number of us,
Made in Europe
still holds greater
value than Made
in China.
be more willing to pay a premium for
high-end consumer goods. So, what
better way to capture the global market
than to have stakes in both fronts?
Sooner rather than later, it won’t matter
what the label says. Some part of
everything will be Made by China.50 HWM | JUNE 2019