Gadgets and Computers in China

David Oliver on September 13, 2007  ·  Log in to Reply

While not as prominent as some of the western and Japanese brands there are Chinese brands such as Lenovo, Aigo and Haier that are well known in China. One problem that all brands have here is that there are always cheaper substitutes. While I would stick to a well known name when buying a laptop, if its a product I don’t use so much then I will buy something cheaper. For example recently I was looking for a webcam in one of the malls and was shown some made by well known brands, after I said they were too expensive they showed me the cheaper ones with similar functionality made by companies I had never heard of so I bought one of them instead.

Another issue for brands is fakes or “unauthorized products”. There have been numerous cases where the contract manufacturer makes additional products in addition to what was ordered by the brand owner and then sells them through the same distribution channels at a cheaper price. What do you think – if a product comes off the same production line in the same packaging but was not authorized by the brand owner (and they make no money) then are those products fakes, real or somewhere in between?