Rise of Domestic Brands Reflects Economic Momentum
Domestic products, embodying craftsmanship, cultural heritage, and showcasing the confidence and strength of a nation. Over the 75 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, domestic products have undergone an extraordinary journey from initial development, brand awakening, market competition, technological breakthroughs to a comprehensive rise. They have not only witnessed the vigorous development of China's economy but also recorded the continuous enhancement of cultural confidence.
From clothing to beauty products, from collectible figures to mobile phones, from small household appliances to large automobiles... Nowadays, the leading domestic brands not only hold the top sales positions in the domestic market but also stand out in the global market. This demonstrates the continuous leap of Chinese products to Chinese brands, to Chinese manufacturing, and to Chinese creation, allowing the world to see a more confident, open, and vibrant China.
From Nothing to Something: The Rise of Chinese Brands
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On September 10th, the organizing committee of the Guangzhou Marathon announced that Anta would replace Adidas as the top partner and the sole designated sports equipment sponsor for the 2024 Guangzhou Marathon.
In the 1980s, Anta was just an obscure contract workshop in Jinjiang. Today, Anta has become a sports goods giant with 15 major brands. Anta Sports' 2024 interim performance announcement shows that the group's revenue in the first half of the year increased by 13.8% year-on-year to 33.74 billion yuan, setting a historical record for the best interim performance. During the Paris Olympics, Anta's "Anta Linglong" series of short-sleeved T-shirts sold out, creating a situation where "one piece is hard to find."
From Anta's development, it can be seen that Chinese products have shed the label of "low-end contract manufacturing," replaced by Chinese brands with quality, stories, emotions, and strategies.
In the past two years, brands such as Fenghua and Yumeijing have gained good reputations on social platforms and live e-commerce platforms; brands like White Rabbit and Warrior have been revitalized through cross-border operations and product iteration... The rising domestic brands have become the main force in stimulating the potential of the domestic consumer market.
Moreover, domestic brands pay more attention to "both internal and external cultivation," not only favored in the domestic market but also increasingly affirmed by consumers in the international market.
"Every Pop Mart in Bangkok has a long line!" said a netizen living in Thailand on social media. Previously, a popular IP figure, Labubu, from the trendy toy brand Pop Mart, became popular in Thailand. Industry insiders introduced that Pop Mart localizes the development of trendy toy IPs: launching Maneki-neko figures in Japan, maple leaf figures in Canada, and French navy blue figures in Paris, France. This move has transformed blind box figures from "national trendy toys" to "international trendy toys." In the first half of 2024, Pop Mart's business revenue in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas reached 1.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 259.6%.
According to statistics from the China Item Coding Center under the State Administration for Market Regulation, as of the end of June 2024, the total number of consumer product varieties registered and using commodity barcodes in China has exceeded 200 million, ranking first in the world.Over the past 75 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chinese goods have undergone a transformation from scarcity to abundance. The rise of Chinese brands has become an important manifestation of the economic transformation and upgrading, and the continuous release of demand potential in the new era of China's economy.
From Existence to Excellence: The Comeback of Made in China
The ability of domestic trendy products to stand on the world stage is inseparable from the dual improvement of production speed and product quality of Made in China.
Guangzhou's Panyu District is home to 34,000 garment enterprises, and the supply chain of the billion-dollar cross-border e-commerce platform SHEIN is hidden here. In a factory in Xinji Village, Nancheng Town, Panyu, automated printing machines are working at full capacity, quickly presenting various patterns on fabrics to meet the immediate needs of overseas consumers.
In another factory, workers can produce a new piece of clothing every few minutes. These products, along with leopard print skirts, winter coats, and polyester fluorescent vests, will soon appear in front of consumers in Europe and America.
This scene is continuously played out in Panyu's garment enterprises. In the garment processing link of SHEIN, the shortest delivery cycle is only 7 days. Relying on the strong production capacity of Made in China, SHEIN has quickly become an important leader in global fashion consumption, and has made fast fashion move towards "instant fashion."
In the automotive industry, the "must-have, must-have, must-have" of Made in China is fully reflected. In the welding workshop of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd., robots are precisely and orderly performing welding and spraying, and the display screen is updating production data in real time. "In 1999, when I first joined Chery, workers were holding welding tongs to make welding points one by one, and now Chery's welding automation rate has reached 100%," said Wang Yuhui, Senior Manager of Chery Intelligent Manufacturing Factory. Each car has more than 5,000 welding points, and each welding point is related to the strength of the car. Thanks to high automation, Chery can produce a car every minute.
Over the past 75 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Made in China has achieved a leapfrog growth of "can be made," "can be made quickly," and "can be made well." China has become the world's largest manufacturing country with the most complete range of industries and the most complete industrial system. The overall scale of manufacturing has been ranked first in the world for 14 consecutive years.
From Excellence to Innovation: Chinese Creation Leads the Way
In recent years, Made in China has also been labeled with "innovation," allowing more domestic trend brands to lead the world's trend.The Chinese robotic vacuum cleaner brand, Roborock Technology, has evolved from "sweeping a room" to "sweeping the world" through continuous innovation and iteration. As of now, Roborock Technology's products are available in more than 170 countries and regions worldwide, with over 15 million households using their robotic vacuum cleaners. "The key to 'Roborock going global' is the ability to focus on refining our products to meet user needs," said Cheng Fei, Senior Vice President of Roborock Technology. "Currently, Roborock Technology has invested over 1.9 billion yuan in research and development, establishing three major research institutes: the AI Research Institute, the Electromechanical Research Institute, and the Optoelectronics Research Institute, which have helped Roborock Technology achieve multiple breakthroughs from '0' to '1' in the industry."
Innovation capability has become the core competitiveness for the growth and development of enterprises. In 2023, the World Intellectual Property Organization recognized China as the world's largest applicant for international patents. The "2023 Global Innovation Index Report" released by the World Intellectual Property Organization shows that China's innovation capability ranks 12th in the world, with the number of top 100 global science and technology innovation clusters rising to the top for the first time.
Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that in the first half of 2024, the number of large-scale industrial enterprises in China exceeded 500,000, with the number of high-tech enterprises reaching 463,000; among them, there are 12,000 specialized and innovative "little giant" enterprises and 1,557 manufacturing single-champion enterprises.
Industry insiders have indicated that by relying on the "dual drive" of technological innovation and aligning with overseas market demands, Chinese enterprises have not only accelerated their own development but also contributed to the modernization process and the prosperity and development of the global economy by sharing scientific and technological achievements and development opportunities with enterprises around the world.
The light boat has already passed through ten thousand mountains. Over the 75 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chinese brands have crossed mountains and seas, witnessing the iteration of Chinese manufacturing and the vitality of Chinese creation. With the continuous transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, Chinese brands, carrying cultural confidence, technological innovation, and humanistic care, will surely accumulate strength and bravely climb to the "quality" high point.