Home/Global practice/China
Country desk · China
For Chinese brands that need to be understood, not just cheaper
Chinese manufacturers and consumer brands moving up from OEM supply into their own brand face a specific problem abroad. Buyers already know the price. Almost nothing in the material tells them anything else.
Send me your export catalogue See the services
- Typical client
- Manufacturer moving from OEM to own brand
- Sectors
- Consumer electronics, appliances, automotive, machinery
- Markets
- India, Europe, Middle East, Southeast Asia
- Boundary
- Commercial marketing only, not regulatory or investment advice
Why China companies call me
The commercial pattern is consistent, whichever market is in question.
- We compete on price and cannot get off it. Because the material offers the buyer nothing else to compare. Documenting validation, service, warranty exposure and consistency changes what is being compared, and that is a marketing job rather than a pricing one.
- Our brand was built for the domestic market. Naming, visual language and claim style that work at home frequently read very differently in India or Europe. Checking this early is inexpensive.
- Our English material is not persuasive. Usually written internally, technically accurate, and unpersuasive to a buyer in a way that is genuinely hard to see from inside the company.
- We are moving from OEM to own brand. A significant transition with almost no existing brand equity to build on, and it needs a proper platform rather than a logo and a catalogue.
- Country of origin is a factor in our category. Sometimes decisive, frequently neutral, and it varies enormously between B2B and consumer. Establishing which applies to you is part of the work rather than something to assume in either direction.
What usually gets built
An international brand platform
Positioning built on what you can evidence, aimed at a buyer whose starting assumption is that you are the cheap option.
Identity and guidelines for export markets
Including a claim discipline that survives a European or Indian retailer audit. Brand identity and guidelines.
A market website
Built for verification. Equipment, process, certification with scope, real applications. Website design and build.
Marketplace and channel content
Listings, comparison content and review strategy where the category is bought online. E-commerce and D2C.
Distributor and dealer material
So the channel argues your case rather than your price. Channel communication.
Demand generation
Search, technical content and account programmes appropriate to a B2B buying process. Lead generation.
The document that decides whether you compete on price
The left column is what most exporters send. Accurate, professional, and it invites a straight price comparison against a supplier who does none of the testing you do.
The right column costs nothing extra to produce and changes what is being compared. Rebuilding this format is frequently the single highest-return hour of an engagement.
For companies moving out of OEM supply, this document matters more than the website, because it is the last thing the buyer reads before deciding.
Questions overseas teams ask
Do you speak Mandarin?
I don't. We work in English, and colleagues on my team produce Simplified Chinese versions of whatever your headquarters needs.
Can you advise on investment or regulatory questions in India?
No, and this is a firm boundary. Whether a particular investment, ownership structure or transaction is permissible is a legal question for counsel qualified in Indian foreign-investment law. I work on marketing and brand only, and I can introduce firms that handle the other question.
Does country of origin hurt us commercially?
It varies by category and buyer type and generalising is unhelpful. In industrial B2B where the buyer evaluates specification, price and support, it is frequently a minor factor. In visible consumer categories it can matter more. Establishing which applies to your specific category is part of the diagnostic.
We already sell abroad through distributors. Can you help us grow it?
Yes, and that is the most common engagement shape here. The issues are positioning, price argument, channel enablement and demand generation, exactly as for any other principal.
Send me your export catalogue
The English one you send buyers. I will read it as a buyer in your target market would and send back a written note on what is missing and what is working against you.
Send me your export catalogue See case studies
Kunal Waghmare · Padmavati Hills, Mokai Vasti, Bavdhan, Pune, Maharashtra 411021, India
office@quiamo.com · +91 90216 02686 · English