U.S. Computer Products Still Preferred by Chinese Consumers; Survey of 300,000 Consumers and Vendors Also Shows Domestic Chinese Products Gaining Market Share
CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 1999--U.S. computer
products continue to be brands of choice for Chinese consumers,
according to a new survey of some 300,000 Chinese consumers,
distributors, vendors and resellers completed recently in China.
Six U.S. brands in 12 product areas received the highest ratings
by Chinese consumers according to a large-scale consumer survey
conducted by Advanced Forecasting-HuiCong (AFHC).
Among the leading choices for Chinese consumers is
Hewlett-Packard's PC Servers and Laser Printers, Microsoft Operating
Systems, Microtek Scanners, Motorola Modems, and Santak Uninterrupted
Power Supplier (UPS). In all, U.S. products took first place in six
respective categories.
The results are based on a survey of 300,000 consumers visiting
the "1998 China High-tech Product Tour Shows" in more than 20 major
cities across mainland China. This sample represents about 35 percent
of the 1,000,000 attendees of the popular shows organized by AFHC.
Thousands of companies, including vendors, distributors and
resellers, have participated in the "'98 China High-tech Product Tour
Shows", exhibiting all competing brands in the Chinese High-tech
market. The survey, conducted annually by AFHC covered the following
12 products (Rank of top five vendors in each product area is
attached.):
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Desktop PC,
Notebook PC,
PC server,
Laser printer,
Ink Jet printer,
Dot Matrix Printer,
UPS,
Scanner,
Monitor,
Modem,
Operation system and
the Chinese software Platform.
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Dr. Peng Fu, chief analyst for AFHC, maintains, "It's no
surprise, that U.S. vendors are still in the lead in most of the
high-tech product areas, but they are facing strong challenges from
domestic vendors. For example, in the desktop PC market, IBM ranked
behind Legend, and Compaq Computer followed Founder. This ranking is
closely correlated to their unit sales market share."
"U.S. firms have already lost the top places in consumers'
perception regarding two important dimensions of purchasing decisions:
corporate image and fast development," said Patrick Driscoll, vice
president of sales and marketing for AFHC. "IBM is the lone survivor
in the top of these categories. It is clear that further study of the
Chinese market place will be a good investment and a prudent planning
activity by U.S. companies wishing to increase or maintain their
market share."
In recent reports on the Desktop PC Market in China and the high
growth Home PC segment, AFHC forecasted that the winner of the
competition between foreign and domestic vendors in the Chinese
high-tech market "would be decided by the localization of the foreign
vendors and the internationalization of the local vendors," added Dr.
Fu.
"AFHC's Channel Survey & Industry Reports" is a series of reports
from AFHC, updated twice yearly, which include primary data from the
channel, vendors and consumers on advertising, channels, pricing and
analysis of vendors' popularity in the Chinese market. In addition to
historical data and forecasts through the year 2010, the comprehensive
reports include insight on features of the Chinese market and key
strategies to penetrate it.
Advanced Forecasting-HuiCong is a joint venture of Advanced
Forecasting, a leading Silicon Valley forecasting company, and
HuiCong, China's largest High-tech Market Research and Advertising
Group with more than 1,000 survey technicians. AFHC's data collection
capabilities in China provide its clients direct access to the Chinese
market for a broad selection of industries and over 100 product
categories -- down to the board level.
AFHC also delivers quantitative and qualitative information on
market trends via subscription services, reports and a variety of
customized consulting services. Industries include: personal computer,
telecommunication, office automation, automobile, broadcasting & TV
equipment and chemical industries.
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Appendix 1 - Summary of Survey Results
300,000 Consumers Selected the Most Welcome (most popular) Brands
(vendors) in the Chinese High-tech market in 1998
Category The Five Top Vendors (in descending order of votes)
Desktop PC: Legend IBM Founder Compaq Golden
Great Wall
Notebook: Toshiba IBM Legend Compaq Twinhead
Server: HP IBM Compaq Dell DEC
Laser printer: HP Epson Canon Legend NEC
Inkjet: Epson HP Canon Golden Lexmark
Great
Wall
Dot matrix: Epson Fujistu Star NEC Golden
Great Wall
UPS: Santak APC Sandon Fuden Upsonic
Scanner: Microtek HP Uniscan AGFA Sharp
Display: Philips Samsung Sony EMC Acer
Modem: Motorola HEYES Start AIWA GVC
OS: Win95 Windows3.X MS-Dos OS/2 PCDOS
Chinese
Platform: Chinese Star UCDOS Richwin CCDOS SPDOS
Corporate
Image: Legend Founder IBM Tondru Great Wall
Fastest
development: Legend Founder Tondru Hisense IBM
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--30--dl/sf* ao/sf
CONTACT:
Advanced Forecasting-HuiCong
Patrick Driscoll/Dr. Peng Fu, 408/725-2964
www.adv-forecast.com
afhc@adv-forecast.com
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