Chinese Brands Eye Global Lead

SHANGHAI, November 21, 2014 — China’s next business challenge is to match the world’s best for global brand supremacy, says a leading authority here.

According to James Ng, Managing Partner of Cornerstone International Group & President of Cornerstone CCC in China, business leaders have to close a gap between economic and brand supremacy. Writing in the Cornerstone Blog this week, Ng, says:

“China is predicted to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest economy in a few more years. And Chinese corporations recently jumped to 20% of the Fortune 500.   But how many Chinese Brands are listed in the Interbrand Global top 100?   One

The Cornerstone Blog is an opinion leading feature of www.cornerstone-group.com, the global website of Cornerstone International Group, a leading executive recruiter and leadership development organization.

In his latest post, Ng cites a recent survey of CEOs that suggests domestic brands are now poised to crack the prestige Interbrand index.

• Domestic brands now lead global brands in several sectors. Wahaha and Master Kong now significantly outsell Coca Cola or Nestle in China.
• The recent IPO of Alibaba reached $USD228 billion, larger than Coca Cola, Facebook and Amazon and second only to Google among Internet companies.
• Huaiwei is the world’s #1 telecom equipment company, serving 40 of the top 50 operators (and the only Chinese brand in the global 100)
• Lenovo is the world’s largest PC brand, now operating in 60 countries.

According to Ng, Chinese brands in some respects are still in their infancy.   Brands such as Procter and Gamble and GE took over 100 years to reach world supremacy, battling foreign cultures and business environments, winning local channels and competing with local competitors.

Many domestic giants are only now becoming known beyond China’s borders.

“To be a true global brand, they will need to prove they can win the minds and hearts of consumers across the world,” he says.

James Ng has over 20 years of senior corporate service in Asia and China. As President of the Cornerstone C-Suites Circle (CCC) in China, he mentors CEOs on the burning issues they face, helping them clarify the most important and identify appropriate action.

Cornerstone International Group is a global executive recruitment and leadership development organization with member-owned offices in 70 locations around the world.