Chinese brands increase presence on global playing field: report

Chinese brands have increased their presence on the global playing field, according to a market-research report released on Monday.

A record high of 18 Chinese companies entered the 2021 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, compared with 17 in 2020. The top 10 chart saw Tencent outperform Alibaba this year, ranking fifth and seventh in brand value, respectively.

The brand value of Chinese firms grew significantly among international competitors, with TikTok skyrocketing 158 percent to become the second-biggest riser after Tesla.

The social commerce platform Pinduoduo -- a newcomer that was not on last year's list -- saw its brand value surge 131 percent from a year ago.

A prominent advantage of Chinese brands is the ability to react swiftly to changes, including the pandemic and new consumer demands, Doreen Wang, Global Chair of Kantar BrandZ told a press briefing.

"Chinese firms respond faster than local brands anywhere in the world," she said.

This leads Chinese firms to steer innovation, which has changed foreign consumers' perceptions of Chinese brands over the past five years, Wang noted.

The BrandZ Top 100 ranking is commissioned by global communication services provider WPP and conducted by brand equity research consultancy Kantar. It examines market data from over 3.9 million consumer interviews covering more than 18,500 brands across 51 markets.