I have the utmost respect for China Law Blog as it regularly hits on topics that make me think and, more often than not, nails a topic that I was planning on blogging about. He's done it again, this time around its on brands in China. I'm working on a series of articles on the "Made in China" issue, and since Dan's hit on the topic of Chinese brands, that's what I'll start off with.
This topic's been in the news a lot lately, Dan's entry hits on a recent Newsweek article titles "Generic Giants". Interestingly, Fortune's taken a different approach with an article titled "China Buys the World". From an American standpoint, it doesn't appear that there are a lot of big Chinese brands out there and people are only starting to recognize them when they purchase a major American brand. However, that is far from reality.
First off, and what should be most obvious, is that China's brands are on the rise, but there's still a ways to go. Its hard to believe, but Japanese brands haven't been major players in the US market for that long and Korean brands, limited mainly to electronics, have been around even shorter. Chinese companies have started out fighting in home electronics, a wide open category where they can beat a lot of competitors on price and still offer good quality. In other areas, there have been minor achievements, but its going to take some time, in 10 years the picture will be far different.
Another issue is that the magazines are writing from a US perspective, where Chinese brands are few and far between, yet if a more global view is taken, greater influence can be seen. China has placed a heavy focus on developing countries that the Western world and multinationals has left behind. In Asia, Latin America, and especially Africa. This allows them a more open playing field, less brand loyalty, and less obsession with locally made goods. Not only is it an incredibly smart move, but its also a "training ground" for these brands before they make the more difficult entry into the US market. A number of Chinese car manufacturers have started building factories and importing cars into Mexico, hoping that the market there will pave their way into entering the US and having factories nearby will ease deliveries.
Newsweek argues that its the "incredibly competitive" domestic market (what market isn't competitive?) that hurts Chinese brands, but they are missing something about the domestic market, its incredibly large. If you're the boss of a major Chinese brand in a 2nd tier city and you're making money hand over fist domestically, why bother dealing with the bureaucrats in Beijing only to then battle your way in an unfamiliar market? For many, the headaches involved with creating a global brand aren't worth the potential gains.
This post focused on the major reasons why we've yet to see a lot of Chinese brands "go global", but it doesn't hit on all the issues, for that I'd need a lot more words and I think I'm already trying most of my few dear readers patience, so they'll be more on this in the coming days.
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
2009/11/19
2 of World's Top Late Night Dining Spots in China?!?
Travel + Leisure recently ran an article on top late night dining spots where they quizzed some of the best chefs in the world (and Anthony Bourdain) on their favorite late night restaurants. I was a little surprised to find 2 of them were located in China.
Massive kitchen luminary Daniel Boulud, whose restaurant Maison Boulud a Pekin is arguably Beijing's best restaurant, included one of my favorite spots after a couple of "pops", Jin Ding Xuan (金鼎轩). Boulud offered this about the popular dim sum spot:
David Chang, the Asian chef who took over New York with his noodles, offered up an equally popular Shanghai spot (with a number of Beijing outlets as well), Bellagio, saying:
While many of the late night restaurants on the list were located in New York, Tokyo, and Paris, its great to see some Chinese spots getting some love.
Jin Ding Xuan (金鼎轩)
multiple locations around Beijing, but the favorite is the 3 story behometh just north of Yonghegong
77 Heping Li Xi Jie (和平里西街77号)
Bellagio (鹿港小镇)
multiple locations around Beijing, but Gongti branch probably best for late nighters
6 Gongti Xilu (工体西路6号)
Massive kitchen luminary Daniel Boulud, whose restaurant Maison Boulud a Pekin is arguably Beijing's best restaurant, included one of my favorite spots after a couple of "pops", Jin Ding Xuan (金鼎轩). Boulud offered this about the popular dim sum spot:
“This is a 24-hours restaurant that serves Cantonese cuisine, mainly in small dim sum portions. It’s a great place for people-watching, too. The shrimp dumplings, stewed beef with radish, and spare ribs with black bean sauce are some of my favorites. This is just the kind of steamy hot food that’s especially comforting on a cold, damp Beijing winter night.”Hmm...people watching? Not sure about that, though you definitely see some interesting characters at the massive Yonghegong location at 3 am. I do agree that their dim sum, especially the fried options and a big bowl of zhou, are perfect to soak up the alcohol consumed during a night on the town. I wouldn't recommend the place before midnight, but then again, this is a list of late night restaurants. What Boulud fails to mention (and why should he, money's no object to him) is that after midnight many of the dim sum are discounted, making it all the better in these tough economic times.
David Chang, the Asian chef who took over New York with his noodles, offered up an equally popular Shanghai spot (with a number of Beijing outlets as well), Bellagio, saying:
"This Bellagio is not a Las Vegas hotel, but a faux-swanky Taiwanese brasserie. There are several locations in Shanghai, and they’re all open at all hours. It’s my favorite restaurant in Shanghai—which I know is sacrilegious—but everything is so delicious, like the pork-belly pot with egg and their weird fried breads. Don’t leave without ordering the shaved ice—it’s a must."Personally, I tend to prefer some of the late night "da pai dongs" on Shouning Rd, I've been to Bellagio a few times during more "regular" hours and, well, the food is pretty good.
While many of the late night restaurants on the list were located in New York, Tokyo, and Paris, its great to see some Chinese spots getting some love.
Jin Ding Xuan (金鼎轩)
multiple locations around Beijing, but the favorite is the 3 story behometh just north of Yonghegong
77 Heping Li Xi Jie (和平里西街77号)
Bellagio (鹿港小镇)
multiple locations around Beijing, but Gongti branch probably best for late nighters
6 Gongti Xilu (工体西路6号)
2009/03/12
Complex Does Chinese Women
Complex has been putting together lists of the top 9 hottest women from spots around the world and since it started, I was always waiting for the Chinese version. Well, its out and its disappointing. First off, a lot of the individuals aren't even from mainland China, though that should make the young nationalists happy that they were included in the China list. It focuses heavily on stars who've featured in the west and, let's just say, the list isn't really up to date.
Here goes, and I've added where they're actually from in parenthesis:
9. Liu Yifei (Wuhan)
8. Zhao Wei (Anhui)
7. Huang Shengyi (Shanghai)
6. Vivian Hsu (Taiwan)
5. Christy Chung (Canada)
4. Shu Qi (Taiwan)
3. Zhang Ziyi (Beijing)
2. Maggy Cheung (Hong Kong)
1. Gong Li (Liaoning)
Hmm, a very unusual list, especially considering nearly half aren't even from the mainland and it doesn't include China's former Miss World or Chinese favorites like Fan (or Li) Bingbing, Zhang Jingchu, or Zhou Xun. Or if you really want to include a Taiwanese, what about Lin Chiling?!?
What do you think of the list? Who is missing? And sorry, a post on beautiful women and no pictures, such a tease....
Here goes, and I've added where they're actually from in parenthesis:
9. Liu Yifei (Wuhan)
8. Zhao Wei (Anhui)
7. Huang Shengyi (Shanghai)
6. Vivian Hsu (Taiwan)
5. Christy Chung (Canada)
4. Shu Qi (Taiwan)
3. Zhang Ziyi (Beijing)
2. Maggy Cheung (Hong Kong)
1. Gong Li (Liaoning)
Hmm, a very unusual list, especially considering nearly half aren't even from the mainland and it doesn't include China's former Miss World or Chinese favorites like Fan (or Li) Bingbing, Zhang Jingchu, or Zhou Xun. Or if you really want to include a Taiwanese, what about Lin Chiling?!?
What do you think of the list? Who is missing? And sorry, a post on beautiful women and no pictures, such a tease....
2009/01/28
Hater in the House, Part 1*
During the run up to last summer's Olympics, we ran a series called Bylines at Customs made up of all the stupid pronouncements made by good (and not so good) journos who came to Beijing looking for the "real" story. Journalists come to Beijing, see a small example of something, and want to blow it up into something larger. Often these stories are about making the Chinese seem "more like us", ie they eat fast food, just like us, they listen to such and such music, just like us or are cliches about contradictions in modern China. Stories that are almost completely false or without any real backing, like this waste of space on George Bush remaining popular in China, get printed because to the editor back in the US, it sounds good. To borrow from a Chinese saying, its the case of "the mountains are high and the editors are far away."
Therefore, when the New York Times ran a story last week on Chinese hip hop, it was a "stop the presses" moment here at Modern Lei Feng, almost enough to bring us out of our hibernation. Lots of phone calls back and forth and disbelief, but nobody bothering to pick up the pen. Perhaps its because we thought we dreamed the article, the idea of a burgeoning hip hop scene in China just made us laugh. Then we found this generally on point snark filled blog post about the story and realized we could no longer stay quiet (though his hip hop vs. rap note shows where he's coming from).
Jimmy Wang is generally a good reporter on China, perhaps this article was a case of not having enough material or already being on mental vacation due to the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday. It has all the signs of a hack "they're just like us" story by a Chinese first timer.
The article discusses how Q-Tip and Eminem (first record release: 1999) have been popular in China "since the 90s". Interesting. I defy you to find me 5 Chinese "hip hoppers" who know that Q-Tip isn't one of those things you stick in your ear, or even know what group he belonged to. It talks about hip hop clubs that opened "across the country" and yet the "hip hop clubs" in Beijing or Shanghai cater musically more to the tastes of suburban teens than any real hip hop heads. The article spends so much time building up the idea of hip hop in China, only to end with the reality that its still nothing more than a tiny niche.
While we have a lot of problems with the way the author puts things in the beginning of the article, like: "Over the last decade many students and working-class Chinese have been writing rap as a form of self-expression. Rougher and more rebellious than the well-scrubbed pop that floods the airwaves here," which is just wrong on so many different levels, the big problem is that this story is more expat rag fodder (and something they've been writing since 2001 or so), not the kind of august journalism one (should) expect from the New York Times.
As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words, the main picture that accompanies the article shows 3 "rappers" surrounded by an almost exclusively white crowd with nary a Chinese face to be seen, so much for Chinese hip hop.
*Part 2 is coming soon, our own look at the hip hop scene in China
Therefore, when the New York Times ran a story last week on Chinese hip hop, it was a "stop the presses" moment here at Modern Lei Feng, almost enough to bring us out of our hibernation. Lots of phone calls back and forth and disbelief, but nobody bothering to pick up the pen. Perhaps its because we thought we dreamed the article, the idea of a burgeoning hip hop scene in China just made us laugh. Then we found this generally on point snark filled blog post about the story and realized we could no longer stay quiet (though his hip hop vs. rap note shows where he's coming from).
Jimmy Wang is generally a good reporter on China, perhaps this article was a case of not having enough material or already being on mental vacation due to the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday. It has all the signs of a hack "they're just like us" story by a Chinese first timer.
The article discusses how Q-Tip and Eminem (first record release: 1999) have been popular in China "since the 90s". Interesting. I defy you to find me 5 Chinese "hip hoppers" who know that Q-Tip isn't one of those things you stick in your ear, or even know what group he belonged to. It talks about hip hop clubs that opened "across the country" and yet the "hip hop clubs" in Beijing or Shanghai cater musically more to the tastes of suburban teens than any real hip hop heads. The article spends so much time building up the idea of hip hop in China, only to end with the reality that its still nothing more than a tiny niche.
While we have a lot of problems with the way the author puts things in the beginning of the article, like: "Over the last decade many students and working-class Chinese have been writing rap as a form of self-expression. Rougher and more rebellious than the well-scrubbed pop that floods the airwaves here," which is just wrong on so many different levels, the big problem is that this story is more expat rag fodder (and something they've been writing since 2001 or so), not the kind of august journalism one (should) expect from the New York Times.
As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words, the main picture that accompanies the article shows 3 "rappers" surrounded by an almost exclusively white crowd with nary a Chinese face to be seen, so much for Chinese hip hop.
*Part 2 is coming soon, our own look at the hip hop scene in China
2008/11/22
Interesting But Relevant?
US News & World Report went from the irrelevant step sister behind Time and Newsweek to a major player for its annual rankings of US universities, graduate schools, and hospitals. Though these lists are roundly denounced for being meaningless, law schools do everything in their power to improve their numbers (including sending out free iTunes cards to applicants).
Recently, US News released their World's Best Colleges and, unsurprisingly, Harvard is number 1. The list was put together based on 6 categories: Academic Peer Review, Employer Review, Student to Faculty Ratio, Proportion of International Faculty, Proportion of International Students, and Citations Per Faculty.
The University of Tokyo is the top Asian university that came in at 19th, while University of Hong Kong was 26th. Two other HK institutions were in the top 50 as Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was 39th and Chinese University of Hong Kong was 42nd. This would surprise a lot of HKers as the only school people want to attend is HKU. Beijing University was the highest mainland institute, coming in at 50th, no surprise, but the low ranking (especially behind the HK schools) may shock a few.
Other Chinese schools on the list:
Qinghua University, 56
University of Southern California, 102 (couldn't pass this up)
Fudan University, 113
University of Science and Technology of China, 141
Nanjing University, 143
Shanghai Jiaotong University, 144
So what do the rankings mean? Is there any importance to them beyond just an interesting discussion? How does one decide Beida is 50th and Dartmouth is 54th and does it even matter to anyone? Anyways, I'm a sucker for lists.
And while we're at it, some notables for our writers/readers:
King's College London, 22
University of Virginia, 96
Georgetown University, 110
Indiana University, 170
Recently, US News released their World's Best Colleges and, unsurprisingly, Harvard is number 1. The list was put together based on 6 categories: Academic Peer Review, Employer Review, Student to Faculty Ratio, Proportion of International Faculty, Proportion of International Students, and Citations Per Faculty.
The University of Tokyo is the top Asian university that came in at 19th, while University of Hong Kong was 26th. Two other HK institutions were in the top 50 as Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was 39th and Chinese University of Hong Kong was 42nd. This would surprise a lot of HKers as the only school people want to attend is HKU. Beijing University was the highest mainland institute, coming in at 50th, no surprise, but the low ranking (especially behind the HK schools) may shock a few.
Other Chinese schools on the list:
Qinghua University, 56
University of Southern California, 102 (couldn't pass this up)
Fudan University, 113
University of Science and Technology of China, 141
Nanjing University, 143
Shanghai Jiaotong University, 144
So what do the rankings mean? Is there any importance to them beyond just an interesting discussion? How does one decide Beida is 50th and Dartmouth is 54th and does it even matter to anyone? Anyways, I'm a sucker for lists.
And while we're at it, some notables for our writers/readers:
King's College London, 22
University of Virginia, 96
Georgetown University, 110
Indiana University, 170
2008/11/20
Bylines at Customs: The $40 Billion Disconnect
The Wall Street Journal's China Journal posted results from a survey yesterday regarding the "brand values" of countries and saw China only ranked 56th out of 78 countries while only 29% of respondents around the world rated China as "excellent" or "very good".
I'm not sure why the Wall Street Journal attempted to tie it in to the Olympics, but to me there seems a major disconnect between the two. This Olympics, more so than anything, was not meant as an external statement, but a necessary moment of pride for the Chinese people, it was about domestic nationalism just as much as portraying the image of a modern power abroad.
Further, almost as a throwaway, at the end is the paragraph:
Unlike a lot of countries (including fellow Asian destinations Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea) China does no international marketing/ad campaigns in an attempt to promote tourism and a more positive image. Perhaps a more proactive marketing campaign would be helpful, but China is well aware that the world knows the major tourist sites in China and no marketing is needed to bring people to the country. While that is true, there are many amazing natural sights and tourist gems that don't get enough international attention beyond the limited focus of most tourists on Shanghai, Beijing, and Xian. When issues like T!bet and food safety were in the news a lot over the past year it is understandable why the "Chinese brand" would not meet with overwhelming positive responses. Not to mention the fact that among most travelers, China's absolute foreignness is, unfortunately, a deterrent to visiting.
The results, to me, don't mean that the Olympics were a waste, it just means that it may be time to start doing more promotion and showing more of what China is about to foreigners, especially now that the nation is still in the limelight after the spectacular Olympics. However, with the global financial meltdown, people aren't spending as much on vacations and the one big hurdle to traveling to China, the expensive airfare, is sure to deter many from visiting. Considering how the government is PR-stupid, it makes such a campaign extremely unlikely.
I'm not sure why the Wall Street Journal attempted to tie it in to the Olympics, but to me there seems a major disconnect between the two. This Olympics, more so than anything, was not meant as an external statement, but a necessary moment of pride for the Chinese people, it was about domestic nationalism just as much as portraying the image of a modern power abroad.
Further, almost as a throwaway, at the end is the paragraph:
The survey data is more or less what one would expect. Further, reading the survey further, China is deemed a country "in vogue" which means that it is becoming the "new 'it' destination" and "establishing itself as the new place to be." The survey is also centrally focused on the tourist industry above all, something that WSJ fails to mention. What frustrated me about the blog entry was that somehow the Olympics were less of a success or that China should regret the huge price tag due to this one survey.The Futurebrand survey did toss China a bone. The country beat out United Arab
Emirates to place first in a category called “Most Impressive Last Year” – given
to the country with the “most noteworthy performances.”
Unlike a lot of countries (including fellow Asian destinations Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea) China does no international marketing/ad campaigns in an attempt to promote tourism and a more positive image. Perhaps a more proactive marketing campaign would be helpful, but China is well aware that the world knows the major tourist sites in China and no marketing is needed to bring people to the country. While that is true, there are many amazing natural sights and tourist gems that don't get enough international attention beyond the limited focus of most tourists on Shanghai, Beijing, and Xian. When issues like T!bet and food safety were in the news a lot over the past year it is understandable why the "Chinese brand" would not meet with overwhelming positive responses. Not to mention the fact that among most travelers, China's absolute foreignness is, unfortunately, a deterrent to visiting.
The results, to me, don't mean that the Olympics were a waste, it just means that it may be time to start doing more promotion and showing more of what China is about to foreigners, especially now that the nation is still in the limelight after the spectacular Olympics. However, with the global financial meltdown, people aren't spending as much on vacations and the one big hurdle to traveling to China, the expensive airfare, is sure to deter many from visiting. Considering how the government is PR-stupid, it makes such a campaign extremely unlikely.
2008/11/16
Bylines at Customs Returns?
The Olympics have been over for less than 3 months, but the mass of reporters in Beijing to cover the Games left before the start of September and skipped out on the Paralympics. Despite that, it seems reporters are still out published total crap stories on China. You see them all the time and they are utterly disappointing and rarely worth my time picking them apart. China Law Blog does an excellent job picking apart the Newsweek story about China being the world's most stressful place.
These sort of trend stories based on one or two incidents are just laughable, but easy to sell to gullible editors back home who know little to nothing about China and so the story passes their smell test. The problem is that too many readers will go on to believe it because "it was written." What is surprising is that the story is by Melinda Liu (at least it carries her byline) and while nobody is perfect, there are few with her depth of knowledge and experience writing on China nowadays. Even the best can make mistakes sometimes...
These sort of trend stories based on one or two incidents are just laughable, but easy to sell to gullible editors back home who know little to nothing about China and so the story passes their smell test. The problem is that too many readers will go on to believe it because "it was written." What is surprising is that the story is by Melinda Liu (at least it carries her byline) and while nobody is perfect, there are few with her depth of knowledge and experience writing on China nowadays. Even the best can make mistakes sometimes...
2008/11/07
The Last To Know
So we interrupt all this election talk to give a shout out to some great software, though its all stuff that I'm sure most of you have been using for years. Yes, I'm feeling like the last one to the party, no idea why my other co-editors didn't enlighten me, but right now I'm obsessed with two great programs that have been incredibly helpful, Google Reader and AnchorFree's Hotspot Shield.
Google Reader is great to keep track of all my RSS feeds and has made daily blog and news reading a hell of a lot easier. Hotspot Shield is an excellent private VPN, allowing those in China to get around the Great Firewall, and doing so for free. Both have been around for a dog's age and both are phenomenal, if you aren't using them, it's time to check them out.
Google Reader is great to keep track of all my RSS feeds and has made daily blog and news reading a hell of a lot easier. Hotspot Shield is an excellent private VPN, allowing those in China to get around the Great Firewall, and doing so for free. Both have been around for a dog's age and both are phenomenal, if you aren't using them, it's time to check them out.
2008/10/14
I'm Not Seeing It
I love lists and even though its not really a true "top 5" list, Shanghaiist pointed me to this article that listed 5 of the best cities around the world for expats, though each get their moniker in a specific category.
Shanghai is listed as the "Best Hot New City." Come again? First off, Shanghai is hardly new on the world travel map or as a "hot" city and isn't Beijing the "hot" city of 2008? If you go through the rest of the list, you see how laughable it is.
Let us look at why the writer lists Shanghai as a great "hot new" city. He states, "Shanghai’s dynamism can be seen in the layering of the futuristic skyline, colonial facades, and the teeming, gritty street life. This energy is percolating down to Moganshan Road’s gallery and warehouse studio scene, regarded as the epicenter of contemporary Chinese art."
Blah, blah, blah, a great mix of old and new, blah blah blah. Shanghai the epicenter of contemporary Chinese art? Has the writer ever even been to China? Has he been to Beijing? He further states "Shanghai already provides a good mixture of affordability, opportunity, nightlife, and culture."
I'm sorry, I'm not seeing it, especially when compared to the affordability, nightlife, and culture in Beijing. Nice try, though...
Shanghai is listed as the "Best Hot New City." Come again? First off, Shanghai is hardly new on the world travel map or as a "hot" city and isn't Beijing the "hot" city of 2008? If you go through the rest of the list, you see how laughable it is.
Let us look at why the writer lists Shanghai as a great "hot new" city. He states, "Shanghai’s dynamism can be seen in the layering of the futuristic skyline, colonial facades, and the teeming, gritty street life. This energy is percolating down to Moganshan Road’s gallery and warehouse studio scene, regarded as the epicenter of contemporary Chinese art."
Blah, blah, blah, a great mix of old and new, blah blah blah. Shanghai the epicenter of contemporary Chinese art? Has the writer ever even been to China? Has he been to Beijing? He further states "Shanghai already provides a good mixture of affordability, opportunity, nightlife, and culture."
I'm sorry, I'm not seeing it, especially when compared to the affordability, nightlife, and culture in Beijing. Nice try, though...
2008/08/06
Bylines at Customs: Oh the Humanity...
The stupidity begins....
Locals Buy Into Olympic Movement
How many articles will be filed after interviewing people at "Hou Hai"? This is bad, but it gets even worse:
Olympics Clean Up Hides the Real Beijing
Pure laziness. The local "noodle lady" and "popsicle lady". Yes, we care about how this effects you and your fellow reporter who have been in Beijing for less than 2 years. Don't find lifelong residents who were affected by the changes, just use your own anecdotal tales.
There's more of this kind of stupidity to come, I'm sure...
Locals Buy Into Olympic Movement
How many articles will be filed after interviewing people at "Hou Hai"? This is bad, but it gets even worse:
Olympics Clean Up Hides the Real Beijing
Pure laziness. The local "noodle lady" and "popsicle lady". Yes, we care about how this effects you and your fellow reporter who have been in Beijing for less than 2 years. Don't find lifelong residents who were affected by the changes, just use your own anecdotal tales.
There's more of this kind of stupidity to come, I'm sure...
2008/08/01
Bylines at Customs: Is China Asking For Negative Stories?!?
The top media story with only 7 days until the Opening Ceremonies isn't about how beautiful the weather is in Beijing today, but instead it's focused on how the internet is censored for foreign reporters. We were going to stay away from this topic, but then we got to talking more and more about it, and there is only one logical conclusion (if you can call it that) we could reach, China wants foreign reporters to write negative stories. It seems that the IOC agreed to China's internet censorship, but that's not important.
The one question we keep asking is why? Foreign reporters, mostly from the US and Europe are free to use the internet all they want to read negative stories about China in their home country. While China censors websites, it can't censor emails, so if a reporter finds a story or a website he wants to read, all he needs to do is have a colleague back home cut and paste the article and email it to him and he can then read away.
If China would have stuck to what seemed to be its original promise and left the internet uncensored for reporters, this wouldn't be a story, or at most it might have been talked about as a positive development (though I can imagine a reporter or two would write about how, despite the fact they could view the websites, the average Chinese was unable to, blah blah blah). Instead it stated that its initial promise was to not censor any stories connected to the Games (as if there was any reason they would to begin with).
It would seem the decision to censor was to create bad press even before the Games began so that they could rally against the"bias" of the Western media. What other rational explanation could there be for such an idiotic policy? Or am I giving the powers that be at BOCOG too much credit, are they really that stupid?
The one question we keep asking is why? Foreign reporters, mostly from the US and Europe are free to use the internet all they want to read negative stories about China in their home country. While China censors websites, it can't censor emails, so if a reporter finds a story or a website he wants to read, all he needs to do is have a colleague back home cut and paste the article and email it to him and he can then read away.
If China would have stuck to what seemed to be its original promise and left the internet uncensored for reporters, this wouldn't be a story, or at most it might have been talked about as a positive development (though I can imagine a reporter or two would write about how, despite the fact they could view the websites, the average Chinese was unable to, blah blah blah). Instead it stated that its initial promise was to not censor any stories connected to the Games (as if there was any reason they would to begin with).
It would seem the decision to censor was to create bad press even before the Games began so that they could rally against the"bias" of the Western media. What other rational explanation could there be for such an idiotic policy? Or am I giving the powers that be at BOCOG too much credit, are they really that stupid?
2008/06/25
Expat Crap
For the past 10 years or so, I've skimmed through the expat magazines and for the most part, very quickly throw them out. It's like Playboy, you don't get it for the articles, its just for the events listing/restaurant openings (though there are those who believe if you need these mags to find out about restaurant openings, you aren't cool enough).
City Weekend's article on "Turf Wars" this month was equal parts laughable and offensive. It's the kind of "humor" you'd expect from white bread high school students/frat boys who have little or no understanding of the inner city. They also seem to fail to understand very much about expats in China, but that's beside the point.
The article attempted to divide up the entire expat population in Beijing into 5 small categories, a tough prospect, but not so bad. The problem is their appropriation of gang names (Bloodz, Latin Kings) as an attempt to be funny and some strange looking ABC flashing a "gang sign" and attempting to mimic black slang. This is the print equivalent of a frat holding a "player's ball". It is unfortunately the image that too many white Americans, who have never had any contact with African Americans, imagine black culture to be. This is like the dolt who writes the Shanghai nightlife newsletter who refused to actually call Shanghai "Shanghai" and instead wanted to come up with some kind of "hip hop" term to refer to it as. Please!
You could do a funny article on the (lack of) diversity among US/Canadian/Aussie expats (beyond that, it gets dicey) without the usage of that language, which makes it offensive and downright stupid. Anyways, I'm not a fan of the expat rags to begin with, with the possible exception of Time Out and again, the main thing is the event listings. For everything else, the expat magazines only seem to serve a community of expats who don't know any Chinese people and only hang around with other expats.
Rant over.
City Weekend's article on "Turf Wars" this month was equal parts laughable and offensive. It's the kind of "humor" you'd expect from white bread high school students/frat boys who have little or no understanding of the inner city. They also seem to fail to understand very much about expats in China, but that's beside the point.
The article attempted to divide up the entire expat population in Beijing into 5 small categories, a tough prospect, but not so bad. The problem is their appropriation of gang names (Bloodz, Latin Kings) as an attempt to be funny and some strange looking ABC flashing a "gang sign" and attempting to mimic black slang. This is the print equivalent of a frat holding a "player's ball". It is unfortunately the image that too many white Americans, who have never had any contact with African Americans, imagine black culture to be. This is like the dolt who writes the Shanghai nightlife newsletter who refused to actually call Shanghai "Shanghai" and instead wanted to come up with some kind of "hip hop" term to refer to it as. Please!
You could do a funny article on the (lack of) diversity among US/Canadian/Aussie expats (beyond that, it gets dicey) without the usage of that language, which makes it offensive and downright stupid. Anyways, I'm not a fan of the expat rags to begin with, with the possible exception of Time Out and again, the main thing is the event listings. For everything else, the expat magazines only seem to serve a community of expats who don't know any Chinese people and only hang around with other expats.
Rant over.
2008/06/18
Bylines at Customs 2: It Only Took a Day
I've decided that this "Bylines at Customs" title will be used for a continuing look at really bad articles/blog entries by foreign reporters in China. The problem is, its almost too easy, everyday there's something new, from just badly worded headlines to downright false reporting.
Today's candidates are a WSJ blog entry and an article from Australian's ABC News.
The WSJ entry, entitled "Another Ticketing Headache" takes a critical stance against BOCOG/Bank of China for their handling of ticket issuance for foreigners. It seems that "several foreigners" at one branch of BOC in Beijing were unable to get their tickets because the names they used to register were different from the names in their passport (because they didn't include their middle names in the registration). Why BOCOG is to be blamed for this (as one blogger thinks), is beyond me. BOCOG instructions were to include your name exactly as it appears in your passport, which seems clear enough and not difficult to follow. Sure, foreigners, unlike Chinese, often have middle names, but in your passport (at least American passports), the middle name is not separate and is included in the part "Given Name". Why these foreigners should get off for not being able to follow instructions is beyond me.
The ABC article includes the headline Athletes Banned From Beijing Opening Ceremony. This seems pretty startling, right? But once you go beyond the fold and read the article, you find out Australia's track and field association decided its best to keep the athletes at their Hong Kong training base instead of moving them to Beijing for the Opening Ceremony. The reasoning for this is that the track events don't start until a week after the Opening Ceremony and concerns about Beijing's "pollution." The "pollution". I can't wait for all the whining about the "pollution" when the games actually begin. As if air quality in Athens and LA is unparalleled. My gut feeling is the team took a vote and decided it wants to boycott the Opening Ceremony and is using this as an excuse, but in any case, nobody was "banned" from the Ceremony. So the headline is inaccurate, but a more nuanced one would have caused most readers to flip past it.
Today's candidates are a WSJ blog entry and an article from Australian's ABC News.
The WSJ entry, entitled "Another Ticketing Headache" takes a critical stance against BOCOG/Bank of China for their handling of ticket issuance for foreigners. It seems that "several foreigners" at one branch of BOC in Beijing were unable to get their tickets because the names they used to register were different from the names in their passport (because they didn't include their middle names in the registration). Why BOCOG is to be blamed for this (as one blogger thinks), is beyond me. BOCOG instructions were to include your name exactly as it appears in your passport, which seems clear enough and not difficult to follow. Sure, foreigners, unlike Chinese, often have middle names, but in your passport (at least American passports), the middle name is not separate and is included in the part "Given Name". Why these foreigners should get off for not being able to follow instructions is beyond me.
The ABC article includes the headline Athletes Banned From Beijing Opening Ceremony. This seems pretty startling, right? But once you go beyond the fold and read the article, you find out Australia's track and field association decided its best to keep the athletes at their Hong Kong training base instead of moving them to Beijing for the Opening Ceremony. The reasoning for this is that the track events don't start until a week after the Opening Ceremony and concerns about Beijing's "pollution." The "pollution". I can't wait for all the whining about the "pollution" when the games actually begin. As if air quality in Athens and LA is unparalleled. My gut feeling is the team took a vote and decided it wants to boycott the Opening Ceremony and is using this as an excuse, but in any case, nobody was "banned" from the Ceremony. So the headline is inaccurate, but a more nuanced one would have caused most readers to flip past it.
2008/06/16
Bylines at Customs
Its hard to imagine, but now the Olympics are little more than 50 days away. With them will come reporters from around the world. Every writer, “freelancer” and even some bloggers will suddenly find themselves getting bylines in major papers.
That seems to be the situation in the New York Times recently where 2 features section articles focused on China. The first in the dining section was about strange meals in China and how one father’s children raised here are far more willing to eat all kinds of things (and not just their vegetables) that US children avoid like the plague. There doesn’t seem to be any real point to the article, just that kids should open their minds to different types of food.
An article in Sunday's NYT looked at the Beijing nightlife scene and specifically high-end luxury clubs Suzie Wong, Block 8, and Lan. I can't say I've been to Lan, though its a favorite of one of my other writers, I typically end up at Mix, as I prefer their "hip hop" to the techno played at some of those other places. I don't have much to complain about this article, because unlike the food article which really doesn't say anything, this one is informative if you don't live and go out in Beijing every night, but for those on the ground, doesn't add much to the conversation. This statement did get me to raise an eyebrow:
The one quote I did really like from the article was: "Indeed, on any given night, rows of BMW’s, Porsches and black Mercedes S.U.V.’s, many with government license plates, line up outside nocturnal hot spots, often in the shadow of imperial temples and Communist monuments." This is very true (though the government license plates part is wrong). At any night in front of Mix (before the tents went up), there would be a line of cars in the front row that would go Porsche Cayenne, Mercedes, Cayenne, BMW, Cayenne, Mercedes and on and on.
The floodgates are opening, the warning siren has gone off, there will be some good reporting on this city and country in the next 2 months and a lot more bad reporting, and I'll be here to analyze it all.
That seems to be the situation in the New York Times recently where 2 features section articles focused on China. The first in the dining section was about strange meals in China and how one father’s children raised here are far more willing to eat all kinds of things (and not just their vegetables) that US children avoid like the plague. There doesn’t seem to be any real point to the article, just that kids should open their minds to different types of food.
An article in Sunday's NYT looked at the Beijing nightlife scene and specifically high-end luxury clubs Suzie Wong, Block 8, and Lan. I can't say I've been to Lan, though its a favorite of one of my other writers, I typically end up at Mix, as I prefer their "hip hop" to the techno played at some of those other places. I don't have much to complain about this article, because unlike the food article which really doesn't say anything, this one is informative if you don't live and go out in Beijing every night, but for those on the ground, doesn't add much to the conversation. This statement did get me to raise an eyebrow:
This statement may be true if it was 10 years ago, especially when it comes to classic rock, punk, and techno, which have been around for a long time, but the quality has improved (this is definitely an arguable statement, the punk scene may have gotten worse, but people like Miao Wang, who is quoted in the article, have definitely raised the game of the house/techno scene here).Today, the Chinese seem to be discovering simultaneously the last 40 years of
pop music, not only house and techno beats but classic rock, salsa and punk. The
chaotic fusion of influences gives Beijing night life a creative, if hectic,
tang.
The one quote I did really like from the article was: "Indeed, on any given night, rows of BMW’s, Porsches and black Mercedes S.U.V.’s, many with government license plates, line up outside nocturnal hot spots, often in the shadow of imperial temples and Communist monuments." This is very true (though the government license plates part is wrong). At any night in front of Mix (before the tents went up), there would be a line of cars in the front row that would go Porsche Cayenne, Mercedes, Cayenne, BMW, Cayenne, Mercedes and on and on.
The floodgates are opening, the warning siren has gone off, there will be some good reporting on this city and country in the next 2 months and a lot more bad reporting, and I'll be here to analyze it all.
2008/06/10
Can't Catch a Break
So a reporter is in Beijing and gets his article filed in the New York Times. No, for once he isn't complaining about the pollution, in fact he gives the capital some credit for cleaning things up, but instead he's complaining about a sandstorm.
Blah blah blah, Beijing’s polluted, Beijing has sandstorms, what the hell is this crap? Yes, one or two days last week were really bad, but this is far from a daily thing here and beyond that, its only a spring phenomenon, but why not pile on? The article would make you think dust is going to be a problem during the Opening Ceremonies. Ah, I love how this works, can't wait until we get to July and August and see what first time visitors are writing...
Blah blah blah, Beijing’s polluted, Beijing has sandstorms, what the hell is this crap? Yes, one or two days last week were really bad, but this is far from a daily thing here and beyond that, its only a spring phenomenon, but why not pile on? The article would make you think dust is going to be a problem during the Opening Ceremonies. Ah, I love how this works, can't wait until we get to July and August and see what first time visitors are writing...
2008/05/26
Thank Goodness the Pandas Are Safe
I'm not going to criticize the foreign media that much for their coverage of the Sichuan earthquake, but there have been a number of "special interest" stories that focus on Sichuan's panda reserves. The AP even brought it up in an all-inclusive article about the dangerous state of Sichuan's dams, the very large aftershock that struck over the weekend, the miracle 80-year old survivor, and of course, the pandas. At the end of the article where it referred to the pandas, it talks about bamboo being trucked in for them to eat and includes the quote: "The road conditions are very bad and transportation takes much longer than normal. But thank goodness, the worst food crisis is almost over," Zhou said. When people are struggling to find places to sleep and food to eat, this comment about the pandas looks a bit callous, though I know its something on the minds of many foreigners who know Sichuan as the home of the pandas.
We have a lot more to say about the quake and will do it in the next few days, but for now, the NY Times had an extensive article about the "tofu buildings".
We have a lot more to say about the quake and will do it in the next few days, but for now, the NY Times had an extensive article about the "tofu buildings".
2008/05/22
Thom vs. Tom
Its interesting to see, yet again, the battle of the T(h)om's playing itself out, this time on the pages of the New York Times. These articles have been done to death over the past few years, ever since Tom Ford decided to "come back like Jordan" and start his own menswear line. Tom Ford, the man who reinvented Gucci and made it cool again, started his own label which featured traditional Saville Row tailoring elements alongside his concept of American masculinity. On the other hand, Thom Browne's style was classic Americana, the '60s with modern (read: strange) touches.
Fashion is a fickle thing, who do we credit for the current trend of narrowness (lapels, pants, ties) in men's wear? Should it be Europeans like Heidi Slimane for his work at Dior Homme and/or Jil Sander or are we living in Thom's world now? In any case, the trend of slim and narrow isn't only seen in high end US$4,000 suits, but in what you get at the local mall in stores like Banana Republic, J. Crew, and H&M.
Tom Ford hasn't impacted fashion so much anymore as he's going back to the classics, though during his Gucci days, he turned around that brand as well as men's fashion as a whole. Thom Browne's look has its impact, but only slightly, the overall Browne look, when adopted by the normal/average guy, looks ridiculous.
The Dior Homme aesthetic has taken over Beijing, as seen regularly on stylites, but will Thom's image of American men have its day in the Chinese capital?
Fashion is a fickle thing, who do we credit for the current trend of narrowness (lapels, pants, ties) in men's wear? Should it be Europeans like Heidi Slimane for his work at Dior Homme and/or Jil Sander or are we living in Thom's world now? In any case, the trend of slim and narrow isn't only seen in high end US$4,000 suits, but in what you get at the local mall in stores like Banana Republic, J. Crew, and H&M.
Tom Ford hasn't impacted fashion so much anymore as he's going back to the classics, though during his Gucci days, he turned around that brand as well as men's fashion as a whole. Thom Browne's look has its impact, but only slightly, the overall Browne look, when adopted by the normal/average guy, looks ridiculous.
The Dior Homme aesthetic has taken over Beijing, as seen regularly on stylites, but will Thom's image of American men have its day in the Chinese capital?
2008/05/13
A Lazy Foreigner's Look at the Beijing Dining Scene (Brought to You by the Wall Street Journal)
For a few months now, I’ve been frustrated with the quality of reporting coming out of China. It isn’t so much the news writers, but sports and features writers are coming to the capital and filing reports for folks back home in preparation for the Olympics, all too often just offering a guidebook glimpse of the city and failing to understand it. This time, a food writer from the Wall Street Journal works his lazy best on Beijing’s food scene. His recommendations and comments are straight of a Lonely Planet, giving knowledgeable readers the feeling that he could have written the article without even setting foot in one of the hutongs he talks about so much.
The writer states that: "the city has something else to offer attendees willing to venture beyond hotel and tourist restaurants: some of the best food on the planet.” Unfortunately, with few exceptions, he focuses only on tourist restaurants. The article talks about the “extremes of Chinese food”, listing a Crystal Jade fish dish that costs US$41 as the “most expensive” dish. Well, while it might be the most expensive out of the restaurants he chose, that’s far from the most expensive dish one could find in Beijing. Further, to call the Peking Duck at Liqun as the “most delicious” dish in Beijing is going a bit far.
He talks to 3 “foodies” to get his 8 recommendations, but these “foodies” qualifications are questionable at best. Let’s look at the choices:
Peking Duck – Liqun
Liqun has long been an expat favorite, probably because its in a hutong and its “authentic” because it is very run down. The restaurant is tiny, “inelegant” (as the author puts it), and the customer base seems to be entirely foreign. The duck is good, but isn’t outstanding and for my money, even though it is high on pomp, Da Dong’s duck is still the city’s best (with City Hotel’s restaurant in 2nd and Bianyifang in 3rd). Compared to those, Liqun’s just average.
Beijing Snacks – Jiumen Xiaochi
Another very popular hutong spot on every tourist’s list. It is one of the few places around to still sample many of the local specialities. The problem is, this place really isn’t very good, there are much smaller local places around that offer some of these dishes, but not many options to find them all in one setting. I still prefer the area around Huguosi for my Beijing snacks, but I can’t really complain too much about this choice, though why not sample another Beijing speciality, zhajiang mian at one of the many good options (like Lao ZhaJiangMian Wang)? Or what about the local chicken wings for places with real personality?
Tan Family Cuisine – Guo Yao Xiao Yu
Another hutong spot, are you starting to see the pattern? I’ve never been to this spot so I won’t say much about it. From my understanding of “Tan Family Cuisine”, its an offshoot of imperial dining, and while the idea of this tiny restaurant in a hutong might be appealing to some, there are better choices that aren’t necessarily on the tourist path. For my money, I’d go with Na Jia Xiao Guan, an excellent restaurant with an interesting design and always a huge line out front.
Guizhou - Jun Qin Hua
4th pick and 4th hutong you’d be entering. He describes this place’s Guizhou style lazi ji as the spiciest dish in China， though I highly doubt it could compare to a Chongqing style hotpot at Hai Di Lao. He completely misses the fact that while Guizhou food is spicy, it is a very different spicy from what you’ll find at the Hunan or Sichuan restaurants that foreigners are more used to. Guizhou food often incorporates sour flavors to cut the spiciness, not mentioning this is sort of doing a disservice to the reader. However, I do give him credit for not going with the easy choice of 3 Guizhou Ren.
Beijing Dumplings – Xian Lao Man
What can I say, this place does offer excellent dumplings and so I can’t complain too much about its inclusion.
Beijing Congee – Hong Zhuang Yuan
I’ve never heard of “Beijing congee” before, and typically consider this a very southern dish. Never been to this restaurant and therefore don’t want to say too much about it, though it seems like he was just trying to mix it up by throwing in a cheaper restaurant.
Modern Beijing – Hua Jia Yi Yuan
This place is excellent and draws in a pretty Chinese customer base, I have no complaints with its inclusion on the list.
Hakka - Kejia Xiao Zhen
I’m not a fan of southern food and wouldn’t really choose to eat Hakka food in Beijing. I don’t have too much to say about this place except, you guessed it, yet another hutong restaurant
Sichuan – Fei Teng Yu Xiang
This is a place that is popular with foreigners due to its Gongti location, but does get a decent amount of locals as well. The food’s good, but for the price, I’d go to the much classier South Beauty or Yu Xiang Ren Jia, which are just as good, and of course, the always popular Chuan Ban. Then again, there are many great choices for Sichuan food in Beijing and it’s kind of hard to go wrong.
Actually, this article (and the overwhelming choice of hutong dining), is connected to Stuff Laowai Like. Laowai favorites included in the article are: hutongs (coming soon), authenticity (coming soon), "local specialities", and contrasts.
The writer states that: "the city has something else to offer attendees willing to venture beyond hotel and tourist restaurants: some of the best food on the planet.” Unfortunately, with few exceptions, he focuses only on tourist restaurants. The article talks about the “extremes of Chinese food”, listing a Crystal Jade fish dish that costs US$41 as the “most expensive” dish. Well, while it might be the most expensive out of the restaurants he chose, that’s far from the most expensive dish one could find in Beijing. Further, to call the Peking Duck at Liqun as the “most delicious” dish in Beijing is going a bit far.
He talks to 3 “foodies” to get his 8 recommendations, but these “foodies” qualifications are questionable at best. Let’s look at the choices:
Peking Duck – Liqun
Liqun has long been an expat favorite, probably because its in a hutong and its “authentic” because it is very run down. The restaurant is tiny, “inelegant” (as the author puts it), and the customer base seems to be entirely foreign. The duck is good, but isn’t outstanding and for my money, even though it is high on pomp, Da Dong’s duck is still the city’s best (with City Hotel’s restaurant in 2nd and Bianyifang in 3rd). Compared to those, Liqun’s just average.
Beijing Snacks – Jiumen Xiaochi
Another very popular hutong spot on every tourist’s list. It is one of the few places around to still sample many of the local specialities. The problem is, this place really isn’t very good, there are much smaller local places around that offer some of these dishes, but not many options to find them all in one setting. I still prefer the area around Huguosi for my Beijing snacks, but I can’t really complain too much about this choice, though why not sample another Beijing speciality, zhajiang mian at one of the many good options (like Lao ZhaJiangMian Wang)? Or what about the local chicken wings for places with real personality?
Tan Family Cuisine – Guo Yao Xiao Yu
Another hutong spot, are you starting to see the pattern? I’ve never been to this spot so I won’t say much about it. From my understanding of “Tan Family Cuisine”, its an offshoot of imperial dining, and while the idea of this tiny restaurant in a hutong might be appealing to some, there are better choices that aren’t necessarily on the tourist path. For my money, I’d go with Na Jia Xiao Guan, an excellent restaurant with an interesting design and always a huge line out front.
Guizhou - Jun Qin Hua
4th pick and 4th hutong you’d be entering. He describes this place’s Guizhou style lazi ji as the spiciest dish in China， though I highly doubt it could compare to a Chongqing style hotpot at Hai Di Lao. He completely misses the fact that while Guizhou food is spicy, it is a very different spicy from what you’ll find at the Hunan or Sichuan restaurants that foreigners are more used to. Guizhou food often incorporates sour flavors to cut the spiciness, not mentioning this is sort of doing a disservice to the reader. However, I do give him credit for not going with the easy choice of 3 Guizhou Ren.
Beijing Dumplings – Xian Lao Man
What can I say, this place does offer excellent dumplings and so I can’t complain too much about its inclusion.
Beijing Congee – Hong Zhuang Yuan
I’ve never heard of “Beijing congee” before, and typically consider this a very southern dish. Never been to this restaurant and therefore don’t want to say too much about it, though it seems like he was just trying to mix it up by throwing in a cheaper restaurant.
Modern Beijing – Hua Jia Yi Yuan
This place is excellent and draws in a pretty Chinese customer base, I have no complaints with its inclusion on the list.
Hakka - Kejia Xiao Zhen
I’m not a fan of southern food and wouldn’t really choose to eat Hakka food in Beijing. I don’t have too much to say about this place except, you guessed it, yet another hutong restaurant
Sichuan – Fei Teng Yu Xiang
This is a place that is popular with foreigners due to its Gongti location, but does get a decent amount of locals as well. The food’s good, but for the price, I’d go to the much classier South Beauty or Yu Xiang Ren Jia, which are just as good, and of course, the always popular Chuan Ban. Then again, there are many great choices for Sichuan food in Beijing and it’s kind of hard to go wrong.
Actually, this article (and the overwhelming choice of hutong dining), is connected to Stuff Laowai Like. Laowai favorites included in the article are: hutongs (coming soon), authenticity (coming soon), "local specialities", and contrasts.
2008/04/15
Handing Out Bylines at Customs (Alternatively, "Drop a down payment on that Porsche Cayenne")
First off, I'd like to thank the reader "the NUN" for informing me of the New York Times article last week about Li Ning and Chinese brands as a whole. It's a very interesting look at Li Ning, the top Chinese sportswear manufacturer, but it often appears like this is the writer's first trip to China. I have a feeling that the closer we get to the Olympics, the more these sort of reporters will get bylines and so its going to get even more annoying. It's going to get to the point that when people get off the plane at Capital Airport, they walk through the brand, spanking new Terminal 3 and get handed a byline alongside a stamp in their passports, please, Mr. Nocera and your ilk, do your research!
He starts out giving a history of Li Ning, the athlete and the company, and about their "campus" in Beijing as well as some of the athletes the company has deals with, including Shaquille O'Neal. Then, he goes into the "similarities" between the Li Ning and Nike logo, as well as this line: "The Shaq figure stamped on his branded line of Li-Ning sneakers looked an awful lot like Nike’s Air Jordan figure." First, the Shaq logo looks absolutely nothing like the classic MJ logo. Beyond that, the logo is one that Shaq has been using almost his entire career and has spanned his time with Reebok, Starter, and now Li Ning (and probably a few other brands in between).
The article goes on to discuss how Li Ning, which dominated the Chinese market in the early to mid 90s before Nike and Adidas fully penetrated China, has fallen to number 3 in the Chinese market and has almost zero market penetration overseas. It claims that Li Ning holds 18% of the market, while both Nike and Adidas have over 20%, is this a negative? Where else in the world can a domestic sportswear company fight it out with these major players? It also fails to note that 3rd isn't so bad when you're talking about 18% in a country with 1.3 billion people and the fact that Li Ning is beating out all domestic competition as well as a number of major international players (Reebok, Puma, Converse, Kappa, etc) and doing all this with a marketing budget far less than that of Nike and Adidas.
Li Ning, if it attempts to go overseas, especially in the US and Europe, will have an uphill battle. The problem is that in China, it tries to market itself alongside Adidas and Nike, signing deals with major athletes, national teams, and sports leagues (the NBA and ATP, to name a few). The majority of items in a Li Ning store (including shoes) can be had for around RMB300 or less, the price that much of the clothing starts at in a Nike or Adidas shop. If they go downmarket overseas, they can bring in a ton of money, but will it hurt the brand image domestically?
Other Chinese brands mentioned in the article like Aigo and Lenovo (and some that are not like TCL and Haier) have gone a long way in attempting to enter the foreign market, but none of them are high-end producers, all are mid to low end players. For some, branding has been important, so much has gone into their marketing (for example, Aigo is one of the sponsors of the F1 Ferrari team), for Haier and others, their low, low prices (que Wal-Mart) and large distribution means less is spent on marketing. China's already spreading globally with these mid and low end products, more so than Japan in the 70s, but when and who will be China's first high-end brand to go abroad? This is what everyone is waiting for (often, at least in the west, very fearfully).
And what of the Porche Cayenne that Kanye sings about and I reference in the title? The article commits flaws of horrible research and talks about how Audi's are the height of luxury in China and how everyone wants an iPhone, which aren't even on sale here. Sure, an A6 is considered a "fancy" car, but the majority of people covet BMW's and Mercedes (or the extremely popular Cayenne). And iPhone's not on sale here? Hilarious!
Once more, reporters, please, please, please do your research and know something before coming to China, thank you.
He starts out giving a history of Li Ning, the athlete and the company, and about their "campus" in Beijing as well as some of the athletes the company has deals with, including Shaquille O'Neal. Then, he goes into the "similarities" between the Li Ning and Nike logo, as well as this line: "The Shaq figure stamped on his branded line of Li-Ning sneakers looked an awful lot like Nike’s Air Jordan figure." First, the Shaq logo looks absolutely nothing like the classic MJ logo. Beyond that, the logo is one that Shaq has been using almost his entire career and has spanned his time with Reebok, Starter, and now Li Ning (and probably a few other brands in between).
The article goes on to discuss how Li Ning, which dominated the Chinese market in the early to mid 90s before Nike and Adidas fully penetrated China, has fallen to number 3 in the Chinese market and has almost zero market penetration overseas. It claims that Li Ning holds 18% of the market, while both Nike and Adidas have over 20%, is this a negative? Where else in the world can a domestic sportswear company fight it out with these major players? It also fails to note that 3rd isn't so bad when you're talking about 18% in a country with 1.3 billion people and the fact that Li Ning is beating out all domestic competition as well as a number of major international players (Reebok, Puma, Converse, Kappa, etc) and doing all this with a marketing budget far less than that of Nike and Adidas.
Li Ning, if it attempts to go overseas, especially in the US and Europe, will have an uphill battle. The problem is that in China, it tries to market itself alongside Adidas and Nike, signing deals with major athletes, national teams, and sports leagues (the NBA and ATP, to name a few). The majority of items in a Li Ning store (including shoes) can be had for around RMB300 or less, the price that much of the clothing starts at in a Nike or Adidas shop. If they go downmarket overseas, they can bring in a ton of money, but will it hurt the brand image domestically?
Other Chinese brands mentioned in the article like Aigo and Lenovo (and some that are not like TCL and Haier) have gone a long way in attempting to enter the foreign market, but none of them are high-end producers, all are mid to low end players. For some, branding has been important, so much has gone into their marketing (for example, Aigo is one of the sponsors of the F1 Ferrari team), for Haier and others, their low, low prices (que Wal-Mart) and large distribution means less is spent on marketing. China's already spreading globally with these mid and low end products, more so than Japan in the 70s, but when and who will be China's first high-end brand to go abroad? This is what everyone is waiting for (often, at least in the west, very fearfully).
And what of the Porche Cayenne that Kanye sings about and I reference in the title? The article commits flaws of horrible research and talks about how Audi's are the height of luxury in China and how everyone wants an iPhone, which aren't even on sale here. Sure, an A6 is considered a "fancy" car, but the majority of people covet BMW's and Mercedes (or the extremely popular Cayenne). And iPhone's not on sale here? Hilarious!
Once more, reporters, please, please, please do your research and know something before coming to China, thank you.
2008/03/23
Step 1: Aim Gun At Foot, Step 2: Pull Trigger...
Why, why, why? Chinese government, Xinhua, why do you do this to me? I do my best to try and defend you logically against all comers and then you do something, some idiotic PR mistake, that is just shooting yourself in the foot and making things next to impossible for me.
So here we go, I come into the office and see the headline: International Community Supports China's Handling of Lhasa Riots. Okay, I'm interested, but I see its from Xinhua, oh well, I'll read it anyways, maybe some foreign leaders have started thinking logically about the situation in Tibet.
Great, leaders are coming to their senses, but who are they? The leaders (or foreign ministers) of Madagascar, Antigua and Barbuda, and Burundi top the list. Nope, that's not a list of major world powers or influence makers, unfortunately. Oh yes, most of all, China has the strong support of, sound the trumpets, the Sudan, read on:
So here we go, I come into the office and see the headline: International Community Supports China's Handling of Lhasa Riots. Okay, I'm interested, but I see its from Xinhua, oh well, I'll read it anyways, maybe some foreign leaders have started thinking logically about the situation in Tibet.
Great, leaders are coming to their senses, but who are they? The leaders (or foreign ministers) of Madagascar, Antigua and Barbuda, and Burundi top the list. Nope, that's not a list of major world powers or influence makers, unfortunately. Oh yes, most of all, China has the strong support of, sound the trumpets, the Sudan, read on:
A spokesman for the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said that to maintain socialWhy? Why does Xinhua want to publish this tosh, especially in English? Don't they know that people who read this, even their supporters, are simply going to laugh at them? Don't they know what the world thinks about Sudan? Do they just not care?
stability and safety, any country is obliged to respond when overseas forces
instigate domestic separatists to resort to violence.
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