Leadership: "China Free" Label Could Undermine China’s Growth

Despite its unquestioned emergence as a global economic power, China does not have a single global brand. Can you name one? In survey after survey, American consumers can’t name one either. By virtue of its acquisition of IBM’s PC business, Lenovo is probably the closest China comes to a global brand – but it certainly isn’t home-grown. In its January, 2006 cover story, Fast Company suggested that fashion house Shanghai Tang could become China’s first global brand – but that has yet to materialize.

In reality, the most-recognized Chinese brand is….Made in China.

A successful brand conveys favorable attributes about the company, products and services it represents - and the market responds by increasing the revenue, profits, and stock value of the world’s leading brands. What attributes are represented by “Made in China?â€