THE past 20 years have seen a massive redistribution of economic power to the emerging world. But so far there has been no comparable redistribution of brand power.Fortune magazine’s 2012 list of the largest 500 companies by sales revenue included 73 Chinese firms, more than from any other country except the United States, with 132. Yet Interbrand’s 2012 list of the 100 “best global brands” included not one Chinese firm.
However, in “Brand Breakout”, a new book, two academics, Nirmalya Kumar and Jan-Benedict Steenkamp, argue that developing-country firms are swiftly learning the art of branding. A few emerging-market brands have already gone global: it is hard to watch a football match in Europe without having “Emirates” burned onto your retina. More are on the way: Haier of China (white goods), Concha y Toro of Chile (wine), and Natura of Brazil (beauty products). Westerners feeling besieged by the rise of the developing world comfort themselves with the thought that they still hold the high ground of premium-priced branded goods. But they should be in no doubt that emerging-market contenders are mounting their warhorses and readying their battering-rams.
