One major win for Apple's current CEO Mr. Tim Cook after he took over the reins was expanding the company's sales in China. The Asian country has been in the spotlight over the past twelve months due to ongoing trade tensions between the Trump administration and Chinese officials. Huawei was caught in the crosshairs of this tension, with the US government placing the company on an entity list that requires American companies to obtain permits before selling components to Huawei, Now, it's looking as if Chinese consumers aren't happy with the current state affairs either, according to a report by research firm Prophet. Take a look below for more details.
Apple Drops To 24th Place In Chinese 'Brand Relevance' Suggests New Index
Apple is one of the world's most valuable companies as evidenced by the company's 1 trillion market capitalization. It earns more in revenues than other Silicon Valley tech companies combined, and the iPhone is well-known around the world. However, trade tensions between the American and Chinese governments combined with strong gadgets from competitors have led the company towards tough times in China.
Today, we've got a report that surveys customers and asks them for their brand preference and which brands they believe are relevant. The results of this survey list the top 50 companies that Chinese consumers believe are the most relevant. In this list, for 2019, Apple's fallen to the 24th place, down by 13 places from its 11th position last year.
Taking a look at the index, it's apparent that local brands dominate. Following AliPay, in the second place is Huawei, which can rightly be classified as China's darling. As the report that accompanies this index mentions, Chinese customers are more inclined to give local brands that project the country's image abroad a higher rating. So, it's not a surprise that of the top ten brands in Prophet's index, seven are local. The non-local brands in the top ten are Android (3rd), Intel (9th) and Audio (10th).
Replacing Apple at the 11th spot is Shiseido, which is one of the oldest cosmetics company in the world. No reasons are provided for Apple's drop to the 24th position, but if we were to wager a guess then we'd say that a static design for the iPhone and a negative perception of the American government play a part here.
Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments section below and stay tuned. We'll keep you updated on the latest.
