China is at the forefront of innovation in many technological product areas
Typically, the impression of China in terms of the products it exports has been of mass-produced, low to medium quality items, which cover everything from musical key rings to flashing dog collars. Whilst these and a multitude of other products still get shipped by the container load to e-commerce sellers, high street retailers and wholesalers, it barely registers when compared to the ever-increasing influence of Chinese brands in the world marketplace, especially those brands which specialise in technology products.
Chinese Technology Now #1 In Asia
This massive growth of Chinese technology brands is first and foremost fuelled by its own domestic market which, with a population of over 1.3 billion people, is bigger than that of Europe and North America combined. In recent years this has led to China overtaking Japan, not only in terms of technology spending within its own borders, but thanks to the huge investment in development, it now exports more technological products overseas than any other Asian country, including South Korea.
China is at the forefront of innovation in many technological product areas. One of these most prominent is robot technology, witnessed by the fact that China now has more industrial robots, ‘manning’ its factories than any other country. In the continuous pursuit of ever more efficiency and the reduction of labour costs by global industries, China is also expected to be the world’s #1 exporter of robots within the next 4 years.
Taking On The Western Superbrands
Mobile technology is another area where China is investing heavily, with it seeking to move away from just being a mass producer of handsets and components, to a major player in mobile software and hardware innovation. With their flexibility and the number of interactive features they can offer users, services or apps such as Alipay and WeChat have already shown they can challenge, and in many cases, supersede, established players like Facebook Messenger, Google and PayPal.
On the hardware front, China has already shown it can go head to head with devices such as the iPhone with brands like Huawei producing a handset which can integrate Amazon’s Alexa voice protocol and another company, Xiaomi releasing a handset with state of the art edge to edge screen technology.
Innovating, Expanding and Increasing Efficiency
These innovations are driven not just by China’s willingness to invest in research and development, but also by Chinese consumers who have an insatiable thirst for ever more advanced products and the technology inherent in them. These two driving forces show no sign of slowing and are moving forward at such a pace that innovators and manufacturers in the rest of the world are struggling to keep up with the technological advances that Chinese brands are consistently making.
China also has the infrastructure in terms of factory capacity and workforce size, to cope with all the increased demands placed upon it to manufacture products quickly, efficiently and at lower costs. This is influenced by the relatively low wages of Chinese workers but also the huge advances in the use of robot technology in China which was mentioned earlier. This creates a snowball effect that means Chinese technological products become ever more advanced, but the costs to mass produce them remain low.
Maybe Not A Great Wall, But There’s Still Hurdles To Overcome
This win-win scenario for Chinese goods means that any company, retailer or reseller can take advantage of both the advances in technology that goods from China feature, but also the likely lower costs they are likely to have. But it is at this point where both resellers and Chinese manufacturers hit a problem.
We’ve already established that Chinese products have huge potential, but unfortunately, most Chinese manufacturers do not have the expertise or experience to create a sales strategy that is going be effective in western countries. Often this means that western resellers don’t even know if the company in China and their products exist and conversely the Chinese manufacturer has no route to market, so what might have been a mutually beneficial business opportunity for both parties, is lost.
Modus Brands Bridging East and West
This is where Modus Brands can become a matchmaker between Chinese brands and UK resellers, thanks to us having over 10 years experience of supplying goods from worldwide sources and manufacturers. This includes our offices in China where our expert staff have detailed knowledge of the brands, companies and products which can be sourced throughout the country.
Our first-hand expertise of manufacturers in China can have huge advantages for your business as we can pinpoint what innovative products are about to be released, which products are already hugely popular and selling well, and which brands have the highest standards in terms of quality and service in terms of supplying those products.
‘Opportunity Knocks At The Door Only Once’
Proverbs aside, China has become an economic superpower with its products already challenging established brands across the world. Even if some Chinese brands aren’t household names yet, they most certainly will be soon, and the demand for the innovative technology products that Chinese companies are producing is certain to increase exponentially.
Don’t wait to take advantage of this fact because awareness of China’s top brands and technological advances is gradually spreading throughout the business world. If you want to be a retail outlet profiting from those brands and products before your competitors even know they exist, get in touch and let Modus Brands’ unparalleled knowledge of China’s manufacturing landscape help make it happen for you.
