KFC is most powerful international brand in China, Millward Brown study reveals

KFC: top international brand in China

KFC is most powerful international brand in China, according to Millward Brown research.

The study, carried out between 2011 and 2013 with more than 60,000 consumers in 10 Chinese cities, has identified 20 international power brands in China –

one of the great economic success stories of the past 30 years.

GDP in China grew 8.9% in 2009 and, while this slowed to 7.5% in the second quarter of 2013, Chinese news agencies have recently reported 7% is its bottom line for tolerance in an economic slowdown, signalling that the Government will support expansion if needed.

As consumer sophistication increases as rapidly as spending and price is no longer valued above any other factor, China is a key target market for the world’s leading organisations who are seeking to offset slow growth in Europe and North America.

The opportunity remains enormous: but the stories of those businesses who have tried to penetrate China reveal mixed levels of success, said Millward Brown. They need to work hard to penetrate this vast and complex market. Nonetheless some global organisations are succeeding in this market.

Millward Brown’s Top 20 International Power Brands in China 2013

Rank	Brand	Brand Power Index (average =100)	Nationality
1	Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)*	564	US
2	Pampers*	482	US
3	Colgate*	424	US
4	Olay	371	US
5	Crest	355	US
6	Apple*	336	US
7	McDonald’s*	324	US
8	Omo	286	UK/NL
9	Coca-Cola*	281	US
10	Carrefour	260	France
11	Pantene	241	US
12	Gillette*	236	US
13	Johnson’s Baby	232	US
14	Adidas	228	Germany
15	L’Oréal	226	France
16	Samsung*	225	South Korea
17	Nike*	224	US
18	Head & Shoulders	224	US
19	Volkswagen (VW)*	200	Germany
20	Armani	185	Italy

*Brand in the Millward Brown BrandZ Top100 ranking 2013

Other key research highlights include:

North America dominates – 13 of the top 20 brand are from the USA, two are from Germany, two from France, one from Italy and one is the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever. There is only one Asian brand on the list (Samsung)
Chinese consumers trust international brands – in the last three years the brand trust for Chinese brands has eroded creating a gap for well-known and well-supported international brands who want to leverage the Chinese consumers’ new values for quality and experience
Valuable and powerful – 11 of the brands are also amongst the BrandZ Top100 Most Valuable Global Brands
Meaningful, different and salient – all of these brands score significantly higher than other brands on being meaningful (meets relevant needs in a product category and is more loved than competitors), different (in a positive way) and salient (comes to mind ahead of others as the best answer for the needs of that category). These brands capture 5 times the average volume share, command a 13% price premium and grow four times the average value share

Peter Walshe, global BrandZ director at Millward Brown, said: “Success in China requires a deep understanding of the dynamics of Chinese consumers and markets in multiple regions. Cultural distinctiveness is still strong, while consumers in the lower-tier cities are loyal to local brands.”