Opinion | Nine out of 10 Americans can't name a single Chinese brand, says survey
Computer giant Lenovo was the best-known Chinese brand in the US, but with only 2.5 per cent of respondents able to name it.
Lenovo, the world's second-biggest maker of personal computers, turned out to be the best-known of all Chinese brands to US consumers. However, only 2.5 per cent of 1,500 respondents could name the company which gained an international profile when it bought IBM’s PC production unit in 2005.
The computer maker is followed by Baidu, China’s equivalent to Google, named by 1.2 per cent of those surveyed and Huawei, China’s largest phone maker, named by 1.1 per cent.
More people named Japanese companies - Toyota, Sony and Honda - than either Baidu or Huawei.
Chinese companies have not dedicated enough resources to gain visibility in the United States, HDTS, the consultancy that conducted the survey, reasoned. Many companies also preferred acquiring American companies, taking over their market share and brand recognition.
China, already the world’s second largest economy, grew 3.5 times faster than the United States last year and American consumers should take notice.