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China affluent like foreign brands instead of local ones
According to the latest issue of MasterCard Worldwide Insights, Brand Preference of the China Affluent, the affluent in China have preference for foreign brands, and rarely choose to buy local branded products.
The report states that, affluent consumers in China think that brands are very important, and those in Shanghai and Guangzhou place greater emphasis on brands than those in Beijing. Among the various brands, affluent consumers still have preference for the international ones; 36.3% of the respondents prefer foreign brands, and only 19.8% prefer upmarket domestic brands. Shanghai has the highest percentage of affluent consumers expressing preference for domestic brands.
92.7% of the interviewed affluent serve "high quality" as the key factor for choosing a brand; other factors determining brand choices are "brand being widely recognized" (68.3%), "fashionable looks and designs" (58.5%) and "environmentally friendly" (48%).
Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic advisor to MasterCard International in Asia/Pacific, commented, "China affluent consumers have sound reasons to support their preference for brands. Their preference for popular global brands is not based on their demand for showing personal identity; instead, it shows their concerns for quality, design and the environmentally friendly side of the product."
The research project was conducted in three main cities, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou at the same time, and 1,800 qualified completed questionnaires were collected (600 for each city). It investigated affluent consumers' first choice in various main consumption categories, including automobile, consumer electronics, fashion, sportswear, jewelry, airline, wine, shopping locations and venues, etc.
Here are the main findings of the research project:
Most preferred automobile brands
All of the ten most preferred automobile brands are foreign ones. German brands are most popular for all three cities. The top three brands are BMW, VW and Mercedes-Benz.
Most preferred consumer electronics brands
Except for household appliances, most China affluent consumers prefer consumer electronics made by international brands. Sony Ericsson enjoys high popularity among all. It is ranked first in digital cameras, and second in notebooks and household appliances. Nokia is the most preferred mobile phone brand, while the 1st for household appliances is Haier.
Fashion/ watch/ jewelry/ sportswear
Though international brands of watches, fashion, sportswear and sports footwear are more popular, it is not the case for jewelry, as the most preferred brand of this category is from Hong Kong. Chow Tai Fook, a Hong Kong jewelry retailer, has a commanding lead as the number one brand -- preferred by 29% of affluent consumers. Cartier comes in the second place (14.2%).
With 15.3% of preference level, Chanel is voted as the most preferred fashion brand; Giorgio Armani follows with 15.1%. Among sports brands, Nike (sportswear: 78%, sports footwear: 51.5%) has an obvious leading position over Adidas (sportswear: 68.8%, sports footwear: 37.4%) and other brands.
Traveling
Air China becomes the most preferred airline brand for both domestic and international travel while Singapore Airlines is the most popular international airline among China affluent.
Most preferred wine brands
Although French wine enjoys a powerful dominant position, preferred by 80.7% of affluent consumers in China, it shows that Chinese wine has a rising popularity, ahead of Spanish, Australian and German wines.
Most preferred shopping locations and venues
Hong Kong is undisputed first priority of shopping location, preferred by 49.7% of affluent consumers. The interesting point is, home cities in China rank second, ahead of Europe and Southeast Asia. For information on where to shop, fashion magazine advertising appears to be the most powerful medium, followed by TV advertising and the Internet.
Research methodology
Field research was conducted by the China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center in the second half of 2007 in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Random surveys were carried out in city centers and key shopping malls; and only those respondents with an annual income exceeding US$16,000 per year are included in the data analysis. A total of 600 qualified samples were collected in each of the three cities.
Source: QQ.com
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