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06-01-2015, 11:20 PM
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LAS VEGAS — Most Americans have a house full of gadgets made by Chinese manufacturers, but are hard-pressed to name a single brand from the country. It’s why many Chinese companies are here this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s biggest trade show for consumer electronics, appliances and other gadgets.
Large electronics vendors such as Lenovo Group and Huawei Technologies, as well as an array of smaller Chinese gadget makers, are a prominent presence at this year’s show as they step up efforts to build global brands.
Though some US companies such as Microsoft and Apple aren’t exhibiting at CES, many Chinese companies still see America’s largest gadget show as a prime opportunity to raise their profile in the US.
More than one in four exhibitors at the show this year will be Chinese, according to CES’s online exhibitor list. One is Hisense, a Chinese appliance manufacturer that has quietly made TVs and other electronics for US big-box retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy for years under clients’ brands.
Hisense decided three years ago to begin selling under its own brand in the US.
"Hisense is the top TV brand in China, but it doesn’t matter how successful we are there," said Lan Lin, an executive vice-president at the company.
"The US and Europe are the two key regions we must succeed in, or otherwise we cannot call ourselves a global brand."
The company is using CES to show off new TVs and other devices, including a personal drink-dispensing machine called Chill that will be sold at Costco Wholesale for about $600, Mr Lan said. Chill, similar to a soda vending machine with no payment slot, can hold up to 72 12-ounce cans in four varieties.
Hisense and other Chinese companies have grabbed prominent spots for ads this week in Las Vegas, including a splashy billboard-style sign promoting a Hisense 100-inch TV on a main building at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
Other company signs adorn doors on the platforms of the Las Vegas monorail. TCL Corp, a rival Chinese electronics company, also has signs stretching across the front of the convention centre.
Other major Chinese gadget makers also have their eyes on expanding their US footprint this year. The best known is Lenovo, which has been on a buying spree in the US, acquiring Motorola’s mobile-phone business and IBM’s low-end server unit last year. The China-based company is the world’s biggest PC maker, with 20% of global market share in the third quarter of 2014, but only 10.7% of the market in the US, according to IDC.
Lenovo unveiled a range of new PCs and mobile devices on Monday, including the ultra-thin LaVie Z 13-inch laptop that only weighs 1.72 pounds. Lenovo chief marketing officer David Roman said the company previously had a weaker brand among regular US consumers, despite its strength in the corporate market due to its acquisition of IBM’s PC business in 2005.
The company has poured money into bolstering its brand, such as with a marketing partnership with actor Ashton Kutcher.
" The US now has become a major focus for us with the premium end of the consumer brand," Mr Roman said.
Most Chinese brands have had much more trouble than Lenovo in building brand awareness. According to one study by branding research firm Millward Brown, only 6% of Americans could name a single Chinese brand, and those that did often associated them with negative attributes such as safety issues and fake merchandise. Interbrand’s Best 100 Global Brands ranking in 2014 included just one Chinese brand: Huawei, at No 94.
Huawei has special challenges because it has been virtually shut out of the US market for telecommunications gear due to allegations that its products may have "back doors" that could enable the Chinese government to spy on customers abroad.
Huawei has repeatedly denied the charges, but has shifted its emphasis in the US toward less controversial consumer products such as smartphones. The company launched its first self-branded smartphone in the US last year, the Ascend Mate 2. Huawei also introduced its fast-growing subbrand, Honor, in the US last month with billboards in Times Square.
Xu Zhiqiang, president of Huawei’s US devices business, said it plans to launch more high-end Huawei smartphones in the US this year. Mr Xu said his goal is for Huawei to be among the top three smart device vendors in the US.
Mr Xu said he believes the spying allegations shouldn’t affect Huawei’s smartphone efforts, since it uses the standard Android operating system from Google. The company has also made smartphones for years that sold under US carriers’ own brands.
"An Android phone is an Android phone," he said. "Consumers care about the product, the services you provide." Another Chinese smartphone maker, ZTE, unveiled a new logo last month with an eye on winning more US users.
Waiman Lam, the company’s senior director for mobile technology and partnership, said he is mindful of the branding challenge for Chinese companies. But he added that the perception is changing as Chinese electronics makers launch more high-end and innovative products.
"ZTE is trying hard to change that stereotype, that Chinese is inexpensive, cheap in quality," said Mr Lam. "We try very hard to combat that stereotype."
Although ZTE still has limited brand recognition in the US, the company already sells more smartphones to Americans than Sony or Nokia.
ZTE has grown to become the fourth-largest smartphone vendor in the US, largely through offerings of budget-friendly devices that can be purchased without a contract.
Smaller Chinese vendors are also looking to CES this week as a way to gain recognition and search for new business partnerships. One that gathered a crowd at a CES event for reporters on Sunday night was Sengled Optoelectronics, which makes light-emitting diode, or LED, light bulbs that have other built-in functions, such as Wi-Fi or a video camera.
"We are the first Chinese brand to be sold in the Apple online store," said Alex Ruan, Sengled’s US GM, showing off a row of lamps that doubled as video cameras or stereo speakers. Another Chinese vendor with high hopes for the show is Lepow, which makes mobile accessories such as Bluetooth speakers and smartphone cases with built-in battery packs.
Lepow’s sales more than doubled in China last year to $16m, but co-founder Julianna Le said growth in the home market isn’t enough. She and the company’s other founder moved to Silicon Valley in 2013 with the goal of expanding their business internationally.
"We want to build up a global brand, and the US is the first step for that," she said.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?197334-Read-My-Lips!!-The-Chinese-are-coming!!!!&goto=newpost).
LAS VEGAS — Most Americans have a house full of gadgets made by Chinese manufacturers, but are hard-pressed to name a single brand from the country. It’s why many Chinese companies are here this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s biggest trade show for consumer electronics, appliances and other gadgets.
Large electronics vendors such as Lenovo Group and Huawei Technologies, as well as an array of smaller Chinese gadget makers, are a prominent presence at this year’s show as they step up efforts to build global brands.
Though some US companies such as Microsoft and Apple aren’t exhibiting at CES, many Chinese companies still see America’s largest gadget show as a prime opportunity to raise their profile in the US.
More than one in four exhibitors at the show this year will be Chinese, according to CES’s online exhibitor list. One is Hisense, a Chinese appliance manufacturer that has quietly made TVs and other electronics for US big-box retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy for years under clients’ brands.
Hisense decided three years ago to begin selling under its own brand in the US.
"Hisense is the top TV brand in China, but it doesn’t matter how successful we are there," said Lan Lin, an executive vice-president at the company.
"The US and Europe are the two key regions we must succeed in, or otherwise we cannot call ourselves a global brand."
The company is using CES to show off new TVs and other devices, including a personal drink-dispensing machine called Chill that will be sold at Costco Wholesale for about $600, Mr Lan said. Chill, similar to a soda vending machine with no payment slot, can hold up to 72 12-ounce cans in four varieties.
Hisense and other Chinese companies have grabbed prominent spots for ads this week in Las Vegas, including a splashy billboard-style sign promoting a Hisense 100-inch TV on a main building at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
Other company signs adorn doors on the platforms of the Las Vegas monorail. TCL Corp, a rival Chinese electronics company, also has signs stretching across the front of the convention centre.
Other major Chinese gadget makers also have their eyes on expanding their US footprint this year. The best known is Lenovo, which has been on a buying spree in the US, acquiring Motorola’s mobile-phone business and IBM’s low-end server unit last year. The China-based company is the world’s biggest PC maker, with 20% of global market share in the third quarter of 2014, but only 10.7% of the market in the US, according to IDC.
Lenovo unveiled a range of new PCs and mobile devices on Monday, including the ultra-thin LaVie Z 13-inch laptop that only weighs 1.72 pounds. Lenovo chief marketing officer David Roman said the company previously had a weaker brand among regular US consumers, despite its strength in the corporate market due to its acquisition of IBM’s PC business in 2005.
The company has poured money into bolstering its brand, such as with a marketing partnership with actor Ashton Kutcher.
" The US now has become a major focus for us with the premium end of the consumer brand," Mr Roman said.
Most Chinese brands have had much more trouble than Lenovo in building brand awareness. According to one study by branding research firm Millward Brown, only 6% of Americans could name a single Chinese brand, and those that did often associated them with negative attributes such as safety issues and fake merchandise. Interbrand’s Best 100 Global Brands ranking in 2014 included just one Chinese brand: Huawei, at No 94.
Huawei has special challenges because it has been virtually shut out of the US market for telecommunications gear due to allegations that its products may have "back doors" that could enable the Chinese government to spy on customers abroad.
Huawei has repeatedly denied the charges, but has shifted its emphasis in the US toward less controversial consumer products such as smartphones. The company launched its first self-branded smartphone in the US last year, the Ascend Mate 2. Huawei also introduced its fast-growing subbrand, Honor, in the US last month with billboards in Times Square.
Xu Zhiqiang, president of Huawei’s US devices business, said it plans to launch more high-end Huawei smartphones in the US this year. Mr Xu said his goal is for Huawei to be among the top three smart device vendors in the US.
Mr Xu said he believes the spying allegations shouldn’t affect Huawei’s smartphone efforts, since it uses the standard Android operating system from Google. The company has also made smartphones for years that sold under US carriers’ own brands.
"An Android phone is an Android phone," he said. "Consumers care about the product, the services you provide." Another Chinese smartphone maker, ZTE, unveiled a new logo last month with an eye on winning more US users.
Waiman Lam, the company’s senior director for mobile technology and partnership, said he is mindful of the branding challenge for Chinese companies. But he added that the perception is changing as Chinese electronics makers launch more high-end and innovative products.
"ZTE is trying hard to change that stereotype, that Chinese is inexpensive, cheap in quality," said Mr Lam. "We try very hard to combat that stereotype."
Although ZTE still has limited brand recognition in the US, the company already sells more smartphones to Americans than Sony or Nokia.
ZTE has grown to become the fourth-largest smartphone vendor in the US, largely through offerings of budget-friendly devices that can be purchased without a contract.
Smaller Chinese vendors are also looking to CES this week as a way to gain recognition and search for new business partnerships. One that gathered a crowd at a CES event for reporters on Sunday night was Sengled Optoelectronics, which makes light-emitting diode, or LED, light bulbs that have other built-in functions, such as Wi-Fi or a video camera.
"We are the first Chinese brand to be sold in the Apple online store," said Alex Ruan, Sengled’s US GM, showing off a row of lamps that doubled as video cameras or stereo speakers. Another Chinese vendor with high hopes for the show is Lepow, which makes mobile accessories such as Bluetooth speakers and smartphone cases with built-in battery packs.
Lepow’s sales more than doubled in China last year to $16m, but co-founder Julianna Le said growth in the home market isn’t enough. She and the company’s other founder moved to Silicon Valley in 2013 with the goal of expanding their business internationally.
"We want to build up a global brand, and the US is the first step for that," she said.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?197334-Read-My-Lips!!-The-Chinese-are-coming!!!!&goto=newpost).