Chinese buyers used to hold the opinion that products made by American or European companies were of higher quality (质量) than Chinese ones. Increasingly, that's no longer the case.
"Chinese people born before 1985 generally think that foreign brands are better than Chinese ones," William Li, a market researcher told Business Insider during a recent interview on CCTV 9. "But for those who were born after 1985, it is a different picture."
"When I first went to the United Kingdom in 1997, I thought that the difference between China and Europe was quite big," Li said. "But for those born in the 1990s, when they visit Europe or the US, they do not think there is a big difference."
The change in thinking among Chinese buyers is showing up in many markets in China where western companies used to control. A study by Credit Suisse published in March found that young Chinese buyers are increasingly showing a home brand bias.
More than 90% of young Chinese buyers would prefer to buy home brands, according to the study. At the same time, home companies producing food, drinks, or personal care products increased their share of the market by 3.3% over the last ten years to nearly 70%.
"Chinese buyers, especially the younger ones, don't just believe that foreign brands are better. Right now, Chinese buyers think China is good and 'Made in China' is not bad at all," Charlie Chen, head of China buyer research at Credit Suisse, told South China Morning Post in March.
The Chinese smartphone market is controlled by home companies—Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi. Apple is the only foreign brand in the top five, but it has lost large ground to the home brands in recent years. Its market share is believed to be down to 37% from a 2015 high of 54%.
