Automakers’ Success Inspiring Household Appliance Brands To Enter Chinese Market
The "German Living" event took place at the German Pavilion in Shanghai
The International Business Times reports today on the growing number of German lifestyle-focused brands entering the Chinese market, spurred on by the country’s expanding middle class and inspired by the success of German carmakers like Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW there. As the article points out, recent events like the “German Living” event at the Shanghai World Expo indicate that these companies are looking to capitalizing on perceptions among Chinese consumers that German household products, and not just automobiles, connote “the good life.” From the IBT:
“The Chinese market for household goods is the largest in the world,” said Markus Kepka, head of kitchenware maker Fissler and an organizer of the ‘German Living’ expo in Shaghai
Demand for major household appliances in China is projected to increase 4.5 percent annually through 2010 to 138 million units and outpace growth in most other parts of the world, according to Household Appliances in China, a new study from the Freedonia Group of Cleveland.
Germany already exports cars like the Audi, Volkswagen, BMW and industrial technology to China. But its share in the lifestyle market stands below one percent, way behind their rivals from France and Italy.
Around 30 exhibitors participated, promoting a German lifestyle. They presented crockery, cutlery and decorations to local distributors.The effort was to capitalize on the strong reputation of the country’s industrial and technological know how.
“The reputation of German industry for quality and reliability acts like a magnet, a lever on overseas markets,” according to Detlef Braun, also a part of the committee which organized the fair.
